15,000 File For Unemployment, And Aberdeen Single Mom Is One

ABERDEEN, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Labor received so many applications for unemployment this week that the system crashed on Monday.

"We've been receiving record numbers," said Dept. of Labor spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi. "When our system got close to 15,000 new claims on Monday, our system crashed. We are back up and running, and our IT department added capacity so we can take more claims online."

Aberdeen waitress Lauren M. (last name withheld) is one of those 15,000 people. On Monday, she was told by her employer, Blue Ale House in Woodbridge, that she was out of a job.

"I literally have no income coming in, not a dime," Lauren, 37, told Patch. "It's scary."

Lauren is a single mother of a twelve-year-old boy. She's worked at Blue Ale House for about five months now, and doesn't have much in the way of cash savings. In response to the millions out of work now due to the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump has plans in the works to send two separate checks to taxpayers, with payments tiered based on family size. In total, $250 billion will be sent to Americans in need, and the checks would be sent on April 6 and again on May 18.

For Lauren, the money can't come soon enough.

"I'm a single mom, I'm divorced. This is my reality," she said. "It's awful."

The signs started two weeks ago, even before the full virus scare took hold and locked people in their homes: "There were not a lot of people coming in, and it got less and less every day," she said. "We had to cancel bands. But the bar was packed, always packed."

"Then little by little last week our hours kept getting cut. My schedule got cut to three days," she said. She normally works six days a week, and on a good month brings home $3,300. Her salary is $2.63 an hour; she survives on tips.

"And then I was supposed to work Monday night and they called me and said don't come in anymore," she said.

Monday was the day Gov. Phil Murphy announced all restaurants in New Jersey had to close, and could only serve takeout. Well-known Monmouth County restaurant owner Tim McLoone was forced to lay off nearly 1,000 employees on Monday.

"We have no cash reserves. Nothing," McLoone told Patch earlier this week. "As an industry we are probably the worst in the world as far as having cash reserves of any kind. The reality is that we have no money coming in."

Lauren filed for unemployment within an hour of being laid off. The DOL now asks those who file a claim a series of special questions, such as did they get laid off or have their hours reduced because of COVID-19.

But what about business owners?

Kim Constantineau, 50, owns Modern Teknigues hair salon in Shrewsbury. She said she agonized for weeks over whether she should close, especially as customers came in and said they had been exposed to people who were sick, frightening salon workers and other clientele. Finally, on Monday she made the decision to close. She told the ten women she employs they have to file for unemployment.

"But I can't collect it. I don't know what to do," she told Patch. "If you have any ideas I'd love to know."

Constantineau closed her salon four days before Gov. Murphy announced that all personal care businesses – including salons, barbers, health clubs and tattoo parlors – will be ordered to close at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Constantineau said she does have a rainy day savings. "Thank God I don't have a huge house, a huge mortgage."

She called Jersey Central Power & Light this week to ask for a break on her electric bill, and after that she called her commercial landlord, to ask if she could have a break on the April rent.

"He said, Oh my god, I don't even know. He said everything's hitting the fan right now. I'll get back to you in a couple days."

"That's where we are right now," she continued. "I'm basically telling my girls they can file for unemployment and when we get back to work everyone will work more days just to catch up. Trump has said over and over again, 'I'm going to help small businesses.' He said that."

Constantineau said she's optimistic she can re-open in two weeks.

"We have to. Just have the stylists wear masks and put hand sanitizer at the door," she said.

Lauren said she will hear how much she gets in unemployment by March 27. Paying her April 1 rent is out of the question, and she's nervous about how she can buy groceries.

"I would take a food handout," she said. "I mean, there are people out there who probably need it more than me. But um, I need it."

Important:

People who need to file for unemployment in New Jersey should visit nj.gov/labor and look at the chart to determine which program fits their circumstances. Applying for the right program will speed up their claim, said Delli-Santi.

Some people will need to file for unemployment. For others, family leave, temporary disability or workers' comp would be the program they are eligible for.