Employers find $600 coronavirus unemployment checks tough to compete with as states slowly reopen

Some employers are having a tough time getting workers back on the job as coronavirus restrictions loosen in parts of the country.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. –– Some employers are having a tough time getting workers back on the job as coronavirus restrictions loosen in parts of the country.

The problem, employers say: Workers are often making more money through the $600 a week coronavirus unemployment payments – combined with state unemployment benefits – than they would on the job.

Andy Felix, the owner of the tree care company Tree Tech, Inc. in Foxborough, Mass., said he had to lay off about a third of his workforce at the height of the shutdown in March.

Andy Felix, the owner of the Massachusetts-based TreeTech, inspects one of his job sites. He said he had to lay off about a third of his workforce in March. (Rob DiRienzo/Fox News)

Now that business is back and the restrictions have been relaxed — and at the height of the busy summer season — he has a problem on his hands.

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"Business is booming right now, to the point where there's too much," Felix said. He said a handful of his workers chose not to return to work, on top of an already existing shortage of help.

Without the crews to keep up, he said he had to create an incentive to get his workers out of quarantine and back to chopping trees. He gave those who did return an extra $3 an hour.

"There was a lot of math going on with some guys," Felix said. "It was given to them for making the decision to come back to work versus staying on unemployment and collecting an additional $600 a week."

A lot of employers are finding themselves in the same position, Boston College finance professor Jeffrey Pontiff said.

"I have seen estimates that over 50 percent of the people getting unemployment insurance are making more money than they did when they were employed," Pontiff said.

But with that $600 weekly payment set to expire with the rest of the CARES Act on July 31, Congress has fewer than two weeks to come up with a new plan when it returns to session on Friday.

One proposal by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is to create a back-to-work bonus – similar to Felix's – but on the national level. Portman's plan would provide a temporary $450-a-week bonus for unemployed workers returning to work, on top of their wages, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"This would encourage folks to continue safely returning to their old jobs or newly available jobs while bolstering the economy," Sen. Portman said. "I will work with my colleagues to include this measure in the next legislative COVID-19 response package.”

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But many workers who are choosing to stay home say their decision was about more than dollars and cents.

“I don’t want to be at home. I like working, but I want to be safe,” said Carolyn Ford, a casino room attendant in Biloxi, Miss., who has been off the job since June 26. Ford said she already got coronavirus – just coming off her 14-day quarantine – and she believes she got it on the job.

She said with her age and underlying health factors, going back is too risky.

"I don't want to give anything to anybody and I don't want to give anything to my family," Ford said. "I'm kind of skeptical of going back to work so soon because I don't feel safe."

Carolyn Ford worked at IP Casino and Resort for 17 years – up until late June, when she contracted coronavirus. (Facebook)

UniteHere Local 23, the union that represents hospitality workers like Ford, said inadequate protective gear, lack of social distancing and lack of communication when there is a positive test result are forcing more employees to do the same.

A union representative said at least five employees at IP Casino Resort Spa, where Ford has worked for 17 years, have gotten sick and the other employees were never notified.

A spokesperson for the casino denied that their safety protocols are an issue but would not say how many of their employees have gotten the virus.

"We continue to practice comprehensive safety measures that meet or exceed the requirements of federal, state and local health officials," the spokesperson said in an email, "including social distancing, frequent sanitation of high-touch surfaces, temperature checks and symptom screening of team members and customers, and mandatory face coverings."

Regardless, Ford said if the CARES Act is not extended and those $600 checks stop, she will continue to stay home, although it will be tough to survive on just the $235 she gets from state unemployment.

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"It is not all about the money," Ford said. "I just want to be safe because I want to be here as long as I possibly can. I want to be on this earth as long as I possibly can."