Partially true. Employees were furloughed but there is no mention of permanently closing any restaurants and there is no reason to think they would unless this situation persists for an extended period of time.
Here is a quick breakdown of what is going on...
1. Employees were furloughed and were encouraged to seek unemployment benefits.
2. Employee benefits will remain in place until the end of June.
3. Furloughed employees will not be allowed to use PTO during the furlough, but will not lose it.
The official statement from Landry's.
Team Members will not be terminated, but due to the closures most will be placed on immediate furlough. All team members with a loss of hours are encouraged to reach out to the state as soon as possible regarding the potential payment of unemployment benefits… We have made the decision to maintain benefits for those team members currently enrolled in our health plan and who have accepted and remain on furlough through June 30, 2020.
However, at this time the Company is suspending use of PTO until further notice. Therefore, hourly team members may not request or use PTO until further notice. Any accrued hours will be available upon your return for future use. Should you choose to resign from employment during this time, in accordance with applicable laws, we will pay out accrued and unused PTO, and your benefits coverage (if any) will terminate at the end of this month, March 2020. Any Team Members who choose to resign will not be scheduled when operations resume and will need to reapply for any open positions, once available.
Salaries team members who are placed on furlough will not receive pay during that time. Salaried team members on furlough will not be permitted to access e-mail or any other systems while off, and should not respond to any work-related calls. If any manager asks you to work or perform any tasks related to work while on furlough, please contact Human Recourses.
It is our sincere hope that these changes will only be in place for a short time. We look forward to getting back to work soon with our valued Team Members. We hope that everyone stays healthy and safe during these times.