CARES Act Overview (04/03/20)

Family First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) – Federal

 The FFCRA went into effect on April 1^st and all employers with fewer than 500 employees should now be in compliance with the FFCRA which would include the following:

• Display the DOL FFCRA poster:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

• Understand the criteria and implement appropriate actions that involve any employee’s that would be eligible to receive full pay for up to 2 weeks (80 hours) and/or 12 weeks or 10 additional weeks at 2/3’s pay.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave

• Employer’s with fewer than 50 employers are still covered by this act, but they may be able to “claim” an exemption as specified by the DOL (see DOL FFCRA FAQ’s questions 58 & 59).

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions#58

Although when claiming such an exemption, an employer will forfeit their ability to be reimbursed for wages they could otherwise have issue to impacted and eligible employees.

CARES Act Overview

 The CARES Act as signed by President Trump is a comprehensive relief act that you must understand and should utilize to assist your business and employee’s through the devasting impact the coronavirus has and will continue to have for the immediate and foreseeable future. Below is a summary of some key employment related provisions of this act.

In addition to the summary information below, we are providing a link to a more comprehensive webinar presentation and slides from Clark Schaefer Hackett on key provisions of the CARES Act.

https://www.cshco.com/cshco-webinar/coronavirus-legislation-and-aid-for-businesses/

1) Paycheck Protection Program (Small Business Loan Forgiveness)

The Paycheck Protection Program is designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses (with fewer than 500 employee’s and/or otherwise meet the SBA criteria for a small business) to keep their workers on payroll by providing each small business a loan up to $10 million for payroll and certain other expenses. 

The relief provided to qualifying business is significant and should be actively pursued by all potentially qualifying business but has numerous complexities that you will need to navigate through with an authorized lending institution and qualified financial expert to ensure your eligibility.  If you have not already done, you should immediately initiate contact with a representative at an authorized lending institution.

2) Employee Retention Credit

The credit is available to businesses whose operations were fully suspended crisis or whose receipts declined by more than 50 percent during the COVID-19 crisis when compared to the same quarter in 2019.   This payroll tax credit is for 50 percent of wages (up to $10,000 per employee) that an employer paid each calendar quarter during the COVID-19 crisis.  There are numerous considerations for employers who may consider pursuing the Employee Retention Credit. 

• Employers with 100 or fewer full-time employees, all employees’ wages up to $10,000 for each employee are eligible for credit.
• Employers with more than 100 full-time employees, qualified wages are limited to wages paid to employees who are unable to provide services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• An employer cannot receive a “double benefit” such as receiving an Employee Retention Credit and a payroll tax credit for employee wages paid as a result of the FFCRA or as part of a forgiven loan issued as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.

3) Pandemic Unemployment Insurance

 The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program covers any individual who: (1) is not otherwise eligible for, or has exhausted all rights to, unemployment benefits; and (2) is unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work because of a specified COVID-19-related circumstance. In summary this $600 federally subsidized unemployment insurance benefit is being provided to qualified individuals (including COVID19 impacted employees) on top of the state unemployment benefits for which the individual qualifies. For more information on Ohio Unemployment Benefits employers should access the following link. 

https://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm