September 2, 2005 | Posted By Diane Pfadenhauer | print this article

Employer Responses to Katrina

The print edition of the Wall Street Journal had an article yesterday about how employers in the Gulf region are responding to assist employees in the aftermath of Katrina.  We've seen coverage of the horror and frustration of thousands in the area.  Here's what some of the local employers are doing.

  • Wal-Mart estimated that 10,000 employees are without a place to work and announced a fund where they will donate up to $1000 for each employee whose home had been destroyed.  It's paying hourly employees for the first three days and employees are eligible for $250 in emergency funds for necessaries.
  • Harrah's Entertainment, which operates several casinos employing 6,000 in the area, has set up an employee hotline and employee emergency centers in the area.  Employees will continue to receive their salaries for 90 days (wow!).
  • BellSouth, with 1.75 million telephone lines down in the area, plans to set up "BellSouth Cities" - tents to house displaced employees and their families, providing them with food, shelter, etc.
  • Hilton expects to pay employees through this week and is preparing to provide lodging for displaced employees for long periods.

Also, as a bit of a reprieve from all of the gut-wrenching news coming out of the area, the Christian Science Monitor published a photo essay entitled "People Helping People." Take a look.