She got a forgivable loan. Her employees hate her for it – By Greg Iacurci (CNBC) / April 22 2020
Jamie Black-Lewis felt like she won the lottery after getting two forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.
Black-Lewis saw the $177,000 and $43,800 loans, one for each of the spas she owns in Washington state, as a lifeline she could use for payroll and other business expenses.
She’d halted pay for the 35 employees — including herself — at Oasis Medspa & Salon, in Woodinville, and Amai Day Spa, in Bothell, in mid-March, when nonessential businesses in Washington closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When Black-Lewis convened a virtual employee meeting to explain her good fortune, she expected jubilation and relief that paychecks would resume in full even though the staff — primarily hourly employees — couldn’t work.
She got a different reaction.
“It was a firestorm of hatred about the situation,” Black-Lewis said.
The animosity is an unintended consequence of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted last month.
Continue to article: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/she-got-a-paycheck-protection-loan-her-employees-hate-her-for-it.html
