These Austin businesses are reimbursing employees after cutting their salaries during the pandemic

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AUSTIN (KXAN) – The ZACH theater is rebuilding after being hit by COVID-19 pandemic standstills and lost revenue.

In a press release on Monday, organizers say they will use their $ 2.6 million Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) to reinstate staff and reimburse lost wages.

ZACH says they are cutting salaries for 21 full-time employees by 10-25% due to COVID cuts and that every employee will get those wages back – about $ 170,000 total.

“Right from the start we had the feeling that the most important thing is to make our employees whole again,” says Elisbeth Challener, managing director of the ZACH-Theater. “They were the people who sacrificed for ZACH, they were the people who did whatever it took – if that meant being on leave, if that meant being laid off, or if that meant cutting salaries . “

Alamo Drafthouse says they are also using their SVOG funds to reimburse lost wages to employees who weathered the pandemic on reduced wages.

Challener says they made that decision before the money was even received. It’s money Greg Garcia didn’t expect.

“That burden just falls off your shoulders,” says Garcia, associate director of marketing and analytics at ZACH Theater. “Especially when it came as it is, it is now. And with school supplies or school supplies and the like. “

Garcia says that as offices and schools reopen, gasoline and other essentials add up, making back payment a relief. (Courtesy photo by Greg Garcia)

Garcia saw that 10% of his salary was cut every month for almost a year.

“Like everyone gets a hit, so everyone can go on and … go on with what we do,” he says.

He and his family cut groceries and utilities.

“We have changed our overall spending behavior,” says Garcia.

Working off the tight budget, he said he hadn’t considered going for another job.

“I love this place,” says Garcia, who has been at the venue for about 12 years. “I kind of felt like I was in this … family of people who are essentially struggling to keep the theater going, to keep the art alive.”

The venue recently announced its 2021-2022 season and will also use the grant money to recreate the staff of 68 pre-COVID-19. Executives say they are currently about halfway there.

The Small Business Administration closed applications for SVOG on Friday.

Months after the law was passed and applications filed, the agency handled complaints from venues that had not yet received funding.

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SBA spokesman June Teasley says they have since “moved the SVOG program to a different department that is better equipped to facilitate applications faster.”

The agency had previously stated that the application requirements were complicated, but Teasley said Monday that they had not changed those requirements.

The latest data shows that $ 12.5 billion was solicited by companies and $ 8.7 billion was awarded through the SVOG program. Congress allocated $ 16 billion to the program.

Teasley says although SVOG applications are no longer being accepted, the SBA can “reopen the portal or make other adjustments to their plan to best meet the needs of small businesses.”

Garcia works at the ZACH Theater. The manager says they started bringing back employees on leave in the spring and then reduced the cut salaries back to full wages. Now they are paying back payments. (Courtesy photo by Greg Garcia)

The agency will open supplementary scholarship applications later this month for those who have already received initial funding.

Challener says they are hoping for that money too – which could be up to 50% of the initial knockdown amount.

“I think we can wholeheartedly say that it will flow into the art on stage,” says Challener.

She says while the initial funding will be used for hiring and back payment, additional funding will be allocated to production and educational programs.

It will also help replenish the reserves they had to replenish after 20 years of balanced budgets during the pandemic.

The latest data report shows that the ZACH Theater is one of approximately 90 venues in Austin that have received SVOG grants to date.

The agency has rejected more than 3,000 applications across the country.

Teasley says there are many reasons for this and no specific trends, but that the SBA is currently inviting some of these applicants to reconsider the award amounts and appeals.

“This rare opportunity gives applicants the opportunity to prove their eligibility and reverse a previous decision,” she said.

The SBA tells KXAN that an updated data report will be released on Monday afternoon, but it has not yet been released at the time of publication. They were the people who sacrificed for Zach, they were the people who did whatever it took, when that meant being on leave, when that meant getting fired, or cutting salaries.

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