From Kathy Hollinger, President and CEO:
Dear Restaurant Community,
We know that everyone is anxiously awaiting guidelines and timelines on local relief and grants across the region. We want to share important updates on what we know NOW and what has been discussed in regard to potential timing of local relief efforts as we head into the weekend.
In DC, we were informed that guidelines on grant applications for local relief will likely be posted by the Mayor this evening.
The application process will start as early as Monday or Tuesday with easy-access and immediate funding, however it is unclear how much will be available at this time.
Mayor Bowser will host a press conference at 4:00pm today which will address Unemployment Insurance, SBA Disaster Loans, and other local business relief status and efforts. We recommend tuning in real time to channel 13 or watch a livestream on the
@MayorBowser
twitter feed.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are getting flooded with great questions regarding UI, relief, local and national efforts and everything in between. Please visit our
FAQ post on our blog
for answers to your questions. If you don’t find an answer to your question, please let us know and specific to UI email eden@ramw.org
This is a rapidly evolving situation and
our blog
is the best place to get information. You can also text the message RAMW to the number 52886 to get real time text updates. Again, I strongly urge you do to this to get the latest information in a timely and succinct manner.
Furlough vs. Termination for UI eligibility:
One question many DC specific operators are asking is: “Will furloughed employees qualify for UI benefits?”
The answer is: yes, the person should be furloughed without pay and when applying for UI they should say, “laid off due to lack of work.” Click here to visit the RAMW blog for more information.
National Relief Efforts
The National Restaurant Association is working hard to make sure our industry gets the relief necessary to recover from this crisis. We need you to reach out to Congress and tell your story! Text the message RECOVERY to the number 52886 to get involved today. If you have a MD or VA address, we encourage you to use that instead of your DC address.
On Immediate Federal Relief:
Speedy progress is being made at the national level in regard to our specific industry. There are serious conversations that are rooted in assistance for our industry across the country. One of the opportunities for relief being discussed is creating a federal loan program for a business to get a loan equal to lost revenue. The loan would receive forgiveness as long as the employer keeps its workers on the payroll without reducing their pay. This legislation also keeps more Americans in the workforce rather than on public assistance.
