A message from Austin F. DuBois re: COVID-19 and protecting our loved ones, and our community
March 17, 2020
A message from DuBois Law Group, PLLC Founder Austin F. DuBois, in light of the various governmental recommendations and restrictions, because many of the families we help that have a loved one in a nursing home or some other form of long-term care.
To our clients, colleagues and friends:
I hope that this message finds each and every one of you healthy, and as comfortable as possible given the unprecedented public health situation we’re all dealing with.
But given the various governmental recommendations and restrictions, and especially with many of the families we help that have a loved one in a nursing home or some other form of long-term care, we want to quickly let people know a few things:
- First and foremost, truly, THANK YOU to everyone that is practicing social distancing. I admit having at first been skeptical, but it truly is what prevents the spread of a virus that can critically affect our loved ones receiving long term care. We here at the firm have converted most meetings to videoconferences or phone calls, and for the very few in-person meetings, have been sanitizing surfaces and objects like mad(wo)men and have adopted the “elbow bump” greeting in lieu of shaking hands.
- Don’t hesitate to keep open lines of communication with your loved one’s caregiver, caregiving agency, and assisted living or nursing facility–especially those that are in lockdown. You can and should ask for what policies and procedures they have put in place to ensure the safety of your loved one. If any of you are experiencing difficulty or have questions about that, do not hesitate to reach out to me. Even if we aren’t in the office, we have remote access to email and phones, so no matter what comes, we’re available.
- While our firm’s core mission is helping families concerned about or dealing with long term care costs, I think you all know how committed we are to our community. So in that vein I appeal to you to please do what you can to support our restaurants. As far as I can tell, the restaurant industry is the most labor- and equipment-heavy one to be specifically directed to be mostly shut down (and for good reason). But with it being the backbone of many of our communities and employing so many people, now is the time when we rally together to order take-out (which apparently includes alcohol–just wait until you get home to drink it), buy gift cards, and advocate with our state and federal representatives for support. I’m recommending that sales tax and payroll tax collection be suspended immediately–I’m not an industry expert so I’m open to any ideas anyone else has. It looks like the Federal government will be offering some tax relief to people and businesses, but so far Governor Cuomo has punted that to the Feds–so it’s up to us to put pressure on our state representatives for state relief.
We live in a crazy world, but together we can adapt and overcome anything. The silver lining of situations like this is that we can all unite to prove that. It’s in these moments that I am truly grateful to be part of a small business serving the people of my community–thanks again to all of you for making that possible.
Best regards,
Austin F. DuBois, J.D., LL.M.