Shane Robertson, Small Business Owner, Tulsa, OK
Our family owns a tire and auto store chain in Tulsa, OK that employs 160 people. Business has remained steady enough, with the help of the PPP loan, to remain open and keep everyone employed. But one surprising thing is how many of our employees have filed for unemployment anyway. They are claiming they filed to try and recoup some lost wages because we cut their hours. They were still working for us full time, but were getting less overtime hours for 4 weeks. They are now being counted as “unemployment claims” which the public considers “jobless claims” and it could not be further from the truth. They’ve been working the entire time, and have never lost their jobs or benefits! This is happening all over America and the unemployment numbers are being drastically overstated.