U.S. Department of the Treasury (January 2021) The Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act, is implemented by the Small Business Administration with support from the Department of the Treasury.  This program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The Paycheck Protection Program prioritizes millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $659 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses.

U.S. Department of the Treasury (January 2021) The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 authorized additional payments of up to $600 per adult and up to $600 for each qualifying child. In general, individuals with adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint filers or surviving spouses) will receive the full amount of the second payment.  For filers whose adjusted gross income exceeds these amounts, the payment is reduced.

The Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) allows employers to defer the deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security taxes and self-employed individuals to defer payment of certain self-employment taxes.

brookings.edu (07.01.2021) In the spring of 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated recession, policymakers originated significant expansions to social insurance, including unemployment insurance benefits, refundable tax credits, and paid leave. Because of this expansion, the average household experienced an increase in purchasing power, even as the labor market and employee compensation sharply contracted during the spring of 2020.

The Washington Post (21.12.2020) The biggest concern with the bill is that the aid doesn’t last long enough

CNNPolitics (21.12.2020) Congress is on the verge of passing a far-reaching $900 billion Covid relief package that promises to accelerate vaccine distribution and deliver much-needed aid to small businesses hit hard by the pandemic, Americans who have lost their jobs during the economic upheaval and health care workers on the front lines of the crisis.

NBER (October 2020) This working paper examine trends in employment, earnings, and incomes over the last two decades in the United States, and how the safety net has responded to changing fortunes, including the shutdown of the economy in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The U.S. safety net is a patchwork of different programs providing in-kind as well as cash benefits and had many holes prior to the Pandemic. In addition, few of the programs are designed explicitly as automatic stabilizers.

The Guardian (11.11.2020) Ballot measure exempting ride-sharing companies from treating drivers as employees could serve as model for future laws

yahoo.com (04.11.2020) The policy will go into effect in 2024 and will give workers 12 weeks of paid leave that will be funded through a payroll tax. An additional 4 weeks of leave would be available to parents who experience pregnancy or childbirth complications. An estimated 2.6 million Colorado workers will have access to leave, according to the campaign’s website. Self-employed workers will be eligible, too. Workers will get up to 90% of their pay during their leave, up to the maximum weekly benefit of $1,100 that will be adjusted based on the state average weekly wage.

The Washington Post (05.11.2020) Gig economy workers were pushed to the brink. It led to a historic confrontation over the future of the business model. The state ballot measure, Proposition 22, will make drivers independent contractors according to California law. That supersedes a new law, known as A.B. 5, intended to grant drivers full employment, including minimum wage protections, health care and such benefits as unemployment and sick leave.