Five days after the enactment of Decree 135-20, which established a nationwide curfew, the President of the Republic announced a program aimed at workers and businesses to counteract the economic effects of the measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The Solidarity Assistance Fund for Employees (FASE) was created, a program that seeks to temporarily support eligible formal workers with an unconditional cash transfer so they have the resources to maintain basic consumption during the months of April and May.

Companies whose employees are contributing to the Social Security Treasury (TSS) and those that have closed their operations due to social distancing measures ordered to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are eligible to apply for this facility.

Starting April 2, companies wishing to participate in the program must begin reporting to the Ministry of Labor the employees who will be suspended or whose schedules will be modified during the emergency period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, when the Ministry of Labor approves requests for suspension of work or schedule modification, it will transfer the information of each worker to the Ministry of Finance, including their ID number and bank account, which will be used to process payments.

What does the government guarantee?
Contribute RD$5,000 per month to each worker registered in FASE who earns a salary less than or equal to that amount.

Those with salaries above RD$5,000 will receive a monthly contribution, which will be covered by the government in the amount of 70% and the employer in the amount of 30%. In this case, the State will contribute a maximum of RD$8,500 per month per worker.

These payments will be made on April 7th and 21st and will be deposited directly into the payroll accounts reported by employers.