Many from WNC among thousands to apply for unemployment within a matter of hours

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    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Millions of jobs in the United States are at stake because of the coronavirus outbreak, leading many to call on government officials for help.

State Rep. Brian Turner said the unemployment benefits portal is being overloaded with people.

Restaurant owners News 13 spoke with said they had to fire their employees so they could have some financial help.

“They were ready for it. They had scaled up, but it was just an unprecedented sort of number of people that came to the website trying to access it,” Turner said about the N.C. Department or Commerce’s employment security website.

Turner said the Department of Commerce is trying to keep up after thousands of people applied for unemployment in a matter of hours.

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“I am taking down some of the barriers to unemployment benefits in response to this unprecedented health crisis,” Gov. Roy Cooper said when he announced his executive order on Tuesday.

Cooper said his executive order should help in five ways:

Remove the one-week waiting period before applying for benefits.
People won’t have to look for work while getting benefits.
Employees who lost their jobs or lose orders as a result of the outbreak are eligible to apply.
Applicants won’t have to interview in person.
Businesses with workers seeking unemployment won’t have losses count against them.
“Calling them my employees is already not even appropriate. My crew worked together. We’ve been through a lot together,” Rosetta’s Kitchen and the Buchi Bar owner Rosetta Buan said.

Buan had to fire her entire staff after she decided to close her restaurant for the time being.

“We had just spent the day trying to run with only carry-out and delivery service, and that was that wasn’t very successful. So, this was the best that I could ensure that, one, we could reopen and, two, that my crew would be able to get some sort of financial support,” Buan said.

On Wednesday, she and several others packed up the remaining perishable food to give to 17 families of the people Buan had to let go.

“I had to refuse cash being shoved my way by people that I just laid off after years,” Buan said.

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Turner said more relief could soon be coming to businesses to help them reopen after all of this with the hopes of hiring back their employees.

“The Small Business Administration is going to be able to access more tools in terms of no-interest or low-interest lending loan,” Turner said.

Turner said the unemployment benefits website should be running full strength Thursday.

He said people can contact his office for help.

He also recommends going to government websites for the most accurate information and helpful resources.

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