Businesses To Pay Employees Caring For Kids

WAAY 31's Ashley Carter joined live after speaking with a woman who said her business could potentially shut down.

Business tiffany draper opened studio 53...an event rental facility ....four months ago.

She said she's lost a lot of money already because coronavirus has people cancelling events.

The response act's requirement could hurt her even more tiffany draper, studio 53 owner: "small business we don't have a lot of access to resources that bigger corporations have."

Tiffany draper's event rental facility has taken a hard hit in the last couple weeks.

Tiffany draper, studio 53 owner: "the whole month of march and april and may were already booked and now we're having to give people refunds."

Now draper is stuck with another financial challenge of having to find out how she's going to be able to afford to pay the small staff she does have with paid leave if they have to stay home.

Thursday, the governor closed schools for the remainder of the school year, child care facilities already closed earlier this month.

Tiffany draper, studio 53 owner: "we don't have anything that's like a paid leave for people to be off, we can't afford that because we are a small business, we can't afford to even take off ourselves."

She said the added expense along with having to issue so many refunds due to cancelled events could shut them down.

Tiffany draper, studio 53 owner: "if we can't have that income to offset some of the costs that we have of the business then unfortunately that may not work, it may not be able to remain open."

But she said even in this challenging time..hope remains tiffany draper, studio 53 owner: "i'm a firm believer that you can come back from anything so there is hope, i just don't know when it's coming.

There is hope though."

Draper said right now no one has asked for the paid leave.

She said she's been seeking words of encouragement and advice from other small business owners on how to maintain during this time.

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