As of 8 p.m. Sunday, March 22, the entire state of New York is now on PAUSE (Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone). Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the sweeping order to all non-essential workers throughout the state to stay home until April 6 in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. With this order, residents are required to work from home, leaving only to purchase essential items such as food and prescription drugs. Schools, religious services, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and other places of congregation are now closed. Click here to read details about the NY State on PAUSE order.

To support NY’s small businesses during the PAUSE period, the NY Department of Labor offers a Shared Work program that allows trained employees to access partial unemployment benefits. The program allows employers to offer furloughed workers reduced wages which, when combined with partial unemployment benefits, will match the employee’s current salary or weekly wage earnings. Details about Shared Work guidelines and application instructions can be found on the program’s webpage.

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