Dan Swenson-Klatt, Butter Bakery - Minnesota

The paid leave and paid sick days provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act have been a crucial support to my business and my employees as we’ve been operating during the pandemic. Since we opened our restaurant in southwest Minneapolis almost 15 years ago, we’ve made it a priority to stand by our staff. Staying true to that mission has been tough since the outbreak. Our revenue is down by about half and we’ve reduced staff and hours. But we know our employees are facing their own challenges. 

The paid leave and paid sick days programs have given us an important resource to help our employees balance their health and families while still earning income. We’ve had three employees use these paid days for child care. One of them also used some paid sick days as well. Given how tight our budget has been, I’m not sure if we would have been able to provide these resources without the public programs. They’ve given our staff some peace of mind during a trying time and they’ve given us the flexibility to manage our staffing in a way that works for our businesses and our employees. Small businesses like mine will need this continued support for the duration of the health crisis. We should strengthen these programs and make sure they don’t expire in December. Now more than ever it’s in the interest of everyone to make sure people can take the time they need away from work.