Hector Padilla lost his Las Vegas house after the 2007-09 recession. It could be happening all over again.

A 50-year-old former construction worker, Mr. Padilla helped build the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and Venetian casinos on the Strip, which has been a ghost town since shutting down amid the new coronavirus outbreak. He was laid off March 16 from his most recent job, as a building engineer at Meruelo Group’s Sahara casino. He spent several days on the phone, trying to find out why he hadn’t received an unemployment payment,...