As the NHL season remains paused, leaving thousands of game-day employees around the league out of work, the Montreal Canadiens have laid out a plan to help.
The plan, which was announced Sunday, aims to offset the financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak for 1,200 employees that work games for the Canadiens and the team’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
“Our industry is going through a difficult time right now and our employees are being hit especially hard by recent events,” Canadiens president and CEO Geoff Molson said in a release.
“The Montreal Canadiens and Laval Rocket are deploying the means necessary to reduce the impact of this unique situation on our employees, whom I wish to sincerely thank for their collaboration and understanding.”
For employees who aren’t eligible to receive employment insurance, Montreal will pay 75 per cent of the salaries they would’ve received for the remaining regular-season games (four for the Canadiens, eight for the Rocket).
For employees who are eligible for employment insurance, Montreal will enhance the insurance benefits by 40 per cent, so employees can receive 95 per cent of their salaries (the maximum allowed by Service Canada in order to be eligible for full employment insurance benefits) for the remaining games.
The Canadiens are the latest team to join a widespread group of athletes and franchises across the sporting world that are supporting game-day staff and other team employees.
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