All "at-risk" staff are asked to remain home, until Stay at Home orders are lifted. We have spoken to many of you and the same is still true. Your health and safety are more important during this time. That being said we understand the need for regular income.
We are investigating a number of federal and state level programs for assistance with continuing payroll during absence. We had hired and offered positions with the expectation of 60+ students in attendance from March 23rd on.
That is not the case due to the Stay at Home Orders. We do not question the need or validity of any such orders in helping to maintain the safety, health, and wellness of people around the country and world. We also made policy decisions for our center and have refused to be open for any parents who are not considered "essential functions" under the Stay At Home Orders.
Our goal is to be reliable, consistent care for all our parents. During this time that requires we also do our best to support the Stay At Home Orders to encourage the safety of all in our care, which is part and parcel for why those with underlying health concerns and other risk factors have been asked to remain at home.
Our goal for our employees is to also be consistent and reliable, as such we are pursuing a number of options. The first was the insurance company, that claim has been denied due to a general clause. Due to federal legislation passed March 27th there are also other avenues available to us. We are in the process of filing the applications for those other avenues.
The last avenue we will pursue is a partnership offered through the Missouri DOL. https://labor.mo.gov/news/press-releases/missouri-department-labor-stands-ready-serve-those-who-are-unemployed-due-covid This partnership could maintain payroll and hours for all employees if the other avenues fail.
In the interim we encourage those in quarantine to remain there until cleared, those at-risk to stay at home as much as possible to minimize their risk factors, and those with us to wash their hands regularly.