More companies are furloughing employees. How is it different from getting laid off?

Companies including Gap, Macy’s and Kohl’s are furloughing their retail employees during the coronavirus pandemic, media outlets reported.

Gap and Kohl’s said that employees would retain benefits during the furlough period while stores remain closed, ABC News reported.

Furlough is an “unpaid leave of absence” in which employees can return to their jobs after a certain point, while being laid off is “a permanent termination of one’s employment, including salary and benefits,” according to Fortune.

Companies don’t pay workers during a furlough but the coronavirus stimulus package has extended unemployment benefits to furloughed employees, according to Fortune. Getting unemployment benefits while furloughed usually would depend on the state in which you live.

Workers usually can seek new jobs during a furlough depending on their employer’s policies, The Street reported.

A public employee who has been furloughed has employment rights and “cannot be fired or replaced without process,” according to The Street.

There are downsides to a furlough for employers, according to Business Insider. Kay Van Wey, a medical malpractice attorney at Van Wey, Presby, and Williams Trial Law Firm, told Business Insider: “If an employee in an office setting, for example, was furloughed, they left everything right where it was and it will take time for them to catch up and get back on track.”

Non-furloughed employees also likely will have an increased workload, according to Business Insider.

This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 11:40 AM with the headline "More companies are furloughing employees. How is it different from getting laid off?."