The unemployment rate in Massachusetts topped 15% last month. But businesses say some workers who were laid off because of the pandemic are choosing to stay off the job.
With a $600 federal boost to benefits, they’re actually making more collecting unemployment.
Usually, laid-off workers would run the risk of losing unemployment benefits if they refused to come back to work when recalled by their employers. But those requirements have been temporarily relaxed during the pandemic.
"The first one who called us, a young lady maybe taking home $350," said Bob Bolduc, CEO of Pride convenience stores. "She called and she said, 'I'm now getting $950 a week, and I'm staying home.' And she called her co-workers and said, 'Ha ha.'"
Bolduc said his business has tried to challenge benefits claims of former employees who are refusing to come back to work.
“Massachusetts said, 'We don't have time for that. We're just paying them,'" Bolduc said.
Asked repeatedly about that claim, a spokesperson for the state office of labor and workforce development did not answer, directing us to the agency website.
But Harris Freeman, a law professor at Western New England University, said the system for reviewing unemployment claims is overwhelmed. And he said the guidelines provide many reasons for workers who feel they can't go back to their jobs.
"You've been diagnosed, or recovering from COVID-19," Harris said. "You're quarantined [or] you're caring for a child or other person whose care facility is closed."
Freeman said there's another valid reason: Some workers feel their employers aren't following safety protocols surrounding COVID-19. That's a concern Rose Bookbinder with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center has been hearing from people who have chosen to stay off the job.
"Many people we speak to, it's not that they just want to sit around doing nothing. They want to contribute to the community, especially in this moment in time," Bookbinder said. "But they want to be making sure that their lives are being prioritized in that process."
And more people getting additional unemployment benefits because of COVID-19 may have an unintended consequence — a shortage of those applying for work. Bookbinder said she's been hearing from businesses looking to hire, and Pride Stores' Bolduc said he's having trouble finding candidates for jobs.
"I've got ads all over — starting pay $20 an hour — and the pickings are very, very slim," Bolduc said.
Since March 15, there have been nearly 900,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance in Massachusetts.
Alden Bourne contributed to this report.
