A big concern during the NBA's regular season suspension is how part-time and hourly arena event staff will be compensated without games being played.
As we've already seen a handful of NBA players step in and donate their own money to help organizations pay their arena employees, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has a plan in place to compensate Scotiabank Arena's staff.
According to a statement from MLSE obtained by Sportsnet, “Anyone who is affected by this temporary halt in our operations will receive a financial payment from MLSE to bridge employees between their [Employment Insurance] benefits and 95 per cent of their regular average earnings (the maximum allowed by Service Canada for them to be eligible for full EI benefit) for four weeks.
“Those employees who do not qualify for EI benefits will be paid the equivalent MLSE top-up portion.”
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has become the next organization to step up and help their workers in a time of need, and they surely won't be the last.