TUCSON, Ariz. - Many employees across the country have had their hours at work reduced, others have been let go from their jobs completely, but one Tucson couple made the decision to step away from their jobs on their own.
Michael and his wife Tanya Laborin made the decision nearly two weeks ago.
Michael worked with a painting and landscaping company, Tanya worked at a local smoke shop.
KGUN9 spoke to Michael, who said he has a daughter with underlying conditions, and keeping her and the rest of his family is the most important thing to him.
“We didn’t do it because we got fired or anything, we did it because we felt it’d be better if, stay away from everybody and try as hard not to contract it from anybody because we have family members that have underlying conditions, like my daughter has a heart condition," said Laborin.
He added at first it was hard to convince his wife to step away from her job, but after talking about it, they both agreed it was the best choice.
“Well, it was kind of hard to convince her to stop working. She was like no I gotta go, I gotta keep going," he said.
Laborin said he realizes he and his wife are not eligible to apply for unemployment because because they willingly left.
“We have money put away, you know, for something like this that would happen," he said.
Laborin stressed that although he and his family are doing OK at the moment, they won't be able to go on like this for much longer.
“If this virus persists and lasts a lot longer than people think it’s gonna last, honestly, I don’t know what’s gonna happen, I don’t know what we’re going to do," he said.
