As the unemployed are faced with jammed phone lines and changing processes at the Louisiana Workforce Commission, New Orleans attorney Wendy Manard saw a need for information and started a Facebook group.
The Louisiana Coronavirus Unemployment Legal Advice Group has gained a lot of interest in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, now with more than 4,000 members.
“New guidelines and rules keep coming out. It is complicated and confusing--even for lawyers and CPAs,” Manard says. “I never anticipated that it would grow so quickly."
Manard tries to post anything she sees in the media that might be helpful to people in the coronavirus environment.
“It is difficult for people to stay on top of it all,” Manard says.
Manard posts everything from policy changes to free lunch giveaways for children.
Each week, when Ava Dejoie, Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, appears on television, Manard takes notes and posts updates. The group even offers tips for how to navigate the phone system at the Workforce Commision.
“What prompts to press to get to the right person,” she says. Expect to be on hold for at least an hour if you try to call the commission, she says.
As Manard sees it, the Workforce Commission is overwhelmed because there are so many people applying all at once who have never had to file for unemployment before. Her Facebook group has given people a place to meet up and help each other.
People who join Louisiana Coronavirus Unemployment Legal Advice Facebook Group are welcome to post their experiences and offer advice for other people. The best tips on the site come from people who are having the similar issues.
Some posters, like Krista, are waiting for checks and wondering what to do about delays:
KRISTA: I have been filing every week since the 28th of March and have not received anything!! My work called and said we will not be back open till June 1st! I call/email and all they tell me is to continue to file every week. What do I do!? I am now 2 months late on bills.
Some posters, like Matt, are just frustrated and need a place to let off steam:
MATT: I am down over $2k a month net pay due to reduced hours and the business I manage being closed by Bel Edwards since March 17th. To keep my job, I have to work a mandatory of 20 hours a week, which is making me more than the $237 unemployment I would have been eligible for. So as a result, I am completely ineligible for any unemployment money or PUA money... This is absolutely ridiculous and really putting my wife, two children, and myself in a terrible spot financially.
Many posters, like Travis, have been offered part-time hours and they are not sure whether to take them.
TRAVIS: My employer offered my old restaurant job back. He would be willing to pay $20/hr but couldn’t guarantee 40hrs a week. So after taxes I’d make less than unemployment, yet put myself and my family at risk because I’d have contact with many more people. So my questions are 1) Can you accept the job, work approx 10hrs to make under the threshold, and still receive the $600 stimulus? 2) Could you not take the job bc of making less than unemployment and not having as many shifts guaranteed?