Companies that want to keep the employer-employee relationship but don’t have enough work to justify full-time employment can consider a short-time compensation program. This means reduced hours as an alternative to layoffs. Employees may be eligible for a pro rata portion of unemployment benefits (eligibility requirements vary from state to state and not all provide benefits for short-time compensation programs) once employers apply for the program with their state. Find more information from the U.S. Department of Labor (more states now have programs than are listed here) and your state labor department.

Alert: Follow coronavirus-related federal tax changes for your business through the IRS.