By Ennie Lim, CEO of HoneyBee

Disneyland has closed its doors. NCAA March Madness has been canceled. The Boston Marathon postponed till fall. Nascar is holding races in Atlanta and Miami without any fans in attendance. The NBA, MLS, MLB, NHL, all suspended activities. Hourly employees and contract workers will get hit the hardest.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, promptly put together a program for Mavs employees affected by the sudden cancellation. Kevin Love, a star player of the Cleveland Cavaliers, donated $100,000 to help arena workers and support staff. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a star player of the Milwaukee Bucks, also donated $100,000 to support staff. 

Disney announced they’d pay all hourly employees through the end of the month. Tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Twitter all pledged to continue paying hourly workers affected by reduced demand for their services during the coronavirus outbreak. 

Olive Garden, Walmart, and corporate-owned McDonald’s have instituted emergency paid sick leave in cases where COVID-19 is confirmed or mandatory quarantine is needed. Starbucks has expanded catastrophe pay and reminded employees of additional benefits they can take advantage of to support their mental health and financial well-being. 

America’s financial health was already in distress, this crisis is making it worse. How can we act quickly to ensure that our employees, friends, and neighbors have the support they need during this uncertain time? 

“The virus will bankrupt more people than it kills. As we learned last year during the government shutdown, missing even one paycheck can have a domino effect for families, leaving a trail of missed mortgage or rent payments, utility shut-offs, unpaid bills,” wrote Jennifer Tescher, President & CEO of the Financial Health Network in an email to stakeholders.

We’re proud to announce that we’re covering the first three months of subscription costs for all employers wishing to make our programs available to their employees. We’re committed to helping workers and their families during this time of increased need. HoneyBee provides employees immediate access to funds to pay their bills and on-demand financial coaching for questions and concerns. 

Communities, workers and their families need our collective support. The time is now, let’s lead with empathy. 

If you want to find out how you can help your workforce, visit https://meethoneybee.com/covid19-response/