Joanna James: Government needs to aid restaurants with employee paid leave

With a health epidemic of global proportions, self-quarantines and restaurant closings for undisclosed amounts of time, the urgency for a national paid leave policy is upon us… but how it should be paid for will determine if the restaurants providing it will survive beyond COVID-19 to bring back those employees.

The House passed a coronavirus emergency response bill striking a deal with the White House last week, which included temporary paid sick leave for millions of workers, but unlike the bailout in 2008 for the automotive and banking industries, Congress is now requiring small business to pay for it. Meanwhile restaurants, bakeries, cafes and bars have either had to shut down entirely or scale down business to take-out and delivery in which many businesses are scared they won’t be able to sustain themselves.

For government to think restaurateurs who already face extremely high margins and now with hardly any revenues will be able to afford to pay this benefit out-of-pocket and get reimbursed through tax credits on a future undisclosed date is irresponsible. Small business not only needs immediate emergency aid from government to survive, such as tax credits and deferrals, rent and loan abatement and unemployment benefits to hourly workers; but also the federal government needs to step up and provide the aid to cover this temporary paid leave.

Over the past five years while making the award-winning documentary “A Fine Line,” which explores why less than 7% of head chefs and restaurant owners are women, I have engaged directly with chefs, restaurateurs and multinational food companies learning what can be done to help them thrive and create more equitable workplaces. And I had the great privilege to premiere “A Fine Line” in Spokane through The Spokesman-Review hosting the film and important conversation via the Northwest Passages Bookclub.

We developed the MAPP impact campaign to empower women to lead through mentorship and advocacy. We joined the National Partnership for Women and Families in a mutual mission to get federal paid leave legislation passed by educating the business community as to how it would work, ultimately saving them significant costs while increasing their likelihood to retain labor.

But I cannot in good measure support this legislation as it is currently proposed. This is very hard for me to speak against this emergency bill considering this bipartisan support is long overdue and I myself am a working mother of three daughters – but it will put restaurants out of business. I have been committed to helping get paid family leave passed through the Family Act (H.R. 1185/S. 463), which is co-sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Rosa DeLauro as that is a responsible piece of legislation that does not expect small business to bear the brunt of it.

There are many justifications for a national paid leave policy, and that is why some large corporations already offer it even though they are not required to do so. Currently, only eight states have passed legislation for paid leave, and only 19% of the country’s workforce receives some form of it. Washington is one of the eight states that offers paid family and sick leave. Other than it is good for businesses’ bottom line, it is also the right thing to do as ever more evident today with scores of employees out of work from COVID-19.

I know first hand as I was raised in the restaurant industry by my mother’s side, Valerie James, who has owned Val’s Restaurant for 30 years this month in Massachusetts. Many of my mother’s employees have been with her anywhere from five to 25 years. That is why even though she is losing tremendous business from COVID-19, her first concern is how to pay her staff when she has to shutdown the restaurant. My mother was the inspiration in making “A Fine Line,” as she put her heart and soul into her restaurant, and it is that commitment and passion I see from many restaurateurs and chefs.

The restaurant industry is the backbone of many communities, not only as a gathering place to share a meal, but also to invigorate their cities and states. Their survival past the coronavirus is dependent on us to urge government to come to the rescue of small businesses.

Absolutely the U.S. should join every other industrialized country in providing a permanent national paid leave policy, but government should pay for it. Otherwise, restaurants will pay for it with their livelihoods.

Joanna James is a journalist and filmmaker. She developed the MAPP impact campaign to empower women to lead by advocating for equitable policies.