Honda employees filing jobless claims with the state of Ohio because the company is temporarily implementing days of no work during the coronavirus pandemic will have access to a separate phone line with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS).

Honda employees filing jobless claims with the state of Ohio due to the company temporarily implementing days of No Work Available during the coronavirus pandemic will have access to a separate phone line with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS).

Production at auto plants in the U.S. and Canada is suspended through May 1.

ODJFS said the reason for this is to help alleviate the number of people calling into the main line to make sure more people can get the assistance they need.

ODJFS said they would do this for other companies too with more than 10,000 employees affected.

A spokesperson for ODJFS gave this statement to 10TV:

“In an attempt to provide the greatest access and quickest processing times for the hundreds of thousands of Ohioans who are filing initial jobless claims, we decided to siphon off the more than 10,000 Honda employees’ and their subsidiaries employees’ claims and funnel those claims through a separate phone line starting on Monday. This decision seeks to ensure the greatest access for the greatest number of people who are depending on unemployment benefits by easing the congestion on our overloaded claims system. These specific claims from one of Ohio’s largest employers have a separate mass layoff-number for each of Honda’s Ohio locations, again, to speed claim processing times. When large employers contact us through our normal mass layoff process, we evaluate their needs and attempt to accommodate the best way possible. If companies laying off more than 10,000 employees contact us ahead of time through our mass layoff process, we can make similar arrangements.

A spokesperson for Honda said in a statement:

“These unprecedented circumstances require that we take some difficult actions in order to cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will include temporarily implementing No Work Available (NWA) days during the continued production suspension in our plants. We have shared with associates the process they can take to apply for state and federal benefits. The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), along with state benefits will provide associates substantial income replacement during this temporary suspension of production. All Honda associates will continue to receive their Honda benefits during this time.”