NYC Restaurant Workers Are Scared to Return to Work Because of the

When outdoor dining returned to New York City in late June, Charles Payne was hesitant to go back to his job as a server at a neighborhood bar in Brooklyn. But with enhanced unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of July, Payne took the shifts. By the end of the week, he was bedridden with a cough and fever, and his workplace was shuttered. He is convinced that he got the virus during those first few days of outdoor dining.

“The government-added $600 is what’s been making it work for me,” says Payne, referring to the payments that the federal coronavirus relief CARES Act adds to weekly unemployment benefits. “The state assistance running out is forcing us to go back whether or not we want to.”

The conversations surrounding reopening (and the decimation of the restaurant industry) have largely focused on owners thus far. But workers are the cogs that make the machine run, and while some have been eager to go back to work, most say that they are trapped in a Catch-22 situation regarding their return.

“Nobody’s really talking about the fact that a lot of people are being thrown into a corner having to go back to work even when they don’t want to do it,” says Tonya Brooks, a server at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Midtown. “But what other choice are we going to have when it comes to July 31? We don’t have any other source of income.”

Eater spoke to workers across the city to get an on-the-ground perspective of what it’s like returning to work for restaurant industry staffers in the middle of a pandemic. All spoke under the condition of anonymity, to avoid reprisal from their employers or, in some cases, the government. Their names, including the ones above, have been modified.

Jason Rice

Server at a Midtown steakhouse

At 9 p.m. on Monday, June 29, Jason Rice got an email from his employer, a popular steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan. It was a recall letter, telling all employees that they would have to return to work by Wednesday at 11 a.m. or the restaurant would report the absentee worker to the Department of Labor as a resignation.

“They’re putting everyone in this position where it’s kind of like, either return to work and lose your unemployment, or don’t return to work and lose your unemployment,” says Rice. “I would prefer to be at home and not be working while all this is going on.”

In addition to safety concerns, tips are lower due to reduced customer volume. Because the enhanced unemployment benefits are in effect until the end of the month, some workers are augmenting those lower paychecks by clocking just few enough days a week to still qualify for the bonus $600. At the same time, their employers are trying to have their federal loans forgiven, which is contingent on employers rehiring most of their staff.