Rep Jenkins Explains Process for Checks for 'Essential Workers'

State Rep. Sam Jenkins talks about legislation that would send $250 to some workers classified as "essential" during the Coronavirus during the stay-at-home shutdown.

Jenkins explains that his legislation, now going to the governor's desk for John Bel Edwards' signature, will give $250 to what are termed "front line workers."

"That includes everyone from nurses to grocery store and convenience store clerks to sanitation workers, a very wide variety of critical workers that are addressed by this bill."

Then the Shreveport representative explains the thought behind the legislation. "It is CARES Act money, it's federal money that came to the the state," Jenkins explains, "About $800 million had been set aside for local governmental bodies. The legislature, at one point, carved out about $300 million for small businesses and it was at that point that we thought that we needed to do something for the front line workers. By doing that we found a way to really help all of the entities that had been impacted by the COVID 19 emergency. That included governmental bodies, small businesses and now front line workers."

Jenkins then talks about the application process for workers who are eligible to receive the money. "It should begin next month, July 15 through October 31. The Department of Revenue is going to oversee the application process. Once workers fill out the application, it will be reviewed and once it's verified it will also be reviewed by the Work Force Commission to verify that the (applicant) did work during that time. Once that's been done, a list will be formulated, passed along to the State Treasurer and the Treasurer begin to issue the checks."