In the first six months of COVID-19 outbreak, more than 60 million Americans filed for unemployment. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) suggests that companies are still cutting a high number of jobs, and in recent weeks, a large wave of new layoffs has been announced. The airline industry is furloughing an additional 32,000 employees; Disney will be cutting 28,000 jobs in California and Florida; and Shell Oil is shedding up to 9,000 more jobs.
While Congress has passed a variety of economic stimulus legislation to help lessen the impact of COVID (most notably the CARES Act in March 2020), the huge number of furloughs and layoffs threatens to result in an avalanche of COBRA claims. Employers and benefits administrators must prepare for this possibility.
