Senate Passes PPP Loan Application Deadline Extension, More Than $130 Billion Still Unclaimed
Last night, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would extend the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application deadline through August 8, 2020. The bill is now set to be taken up by the House. The PPP provides forgivable loans to cover payroll and overhead expenses for small businesses. On June 27, 2020, SBA reported that over $134 billion in unclaimed funds remained of the $669 billion program. Unless Congress repurposes them, leftover funds will be returned to the . . . Read More
DC Launches Paid Family Leave Program July 1—What Employers Need to Know
Effective today, employees in DC are eligible for paid family leave pursuant to the DC Paid Family Leave Act (the Act). Below is our brief primer on what employers need to know and what to expect when administering paid family leave. The Act is an insurance program. It does not govern whether an employee is eligible for the leave itself but whether an employee will be eligible for paid leave benefits. Whether an employee is entitled to leave itself is . . . Read More
SBA and Treasury Release New PPP Application Forms
As we reported in our previous alert , President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (“Flexibility Act”) into law. The bill makes numerous changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) aimed at improving loan forgiveness procedures and loosening restrictions on PPP funds. In accordance with the Flexibility Act, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) released revised application forms for businesses participating in the PPP. The new PPP application forms differ substantially from their previous . . . Read More
Landmark SCOTUS Decision Holds Title VII Prohibits Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers who discriminate against gay and transgender workers violate Title VII. The Court’s 6-3 decision resolves a longstanding circuit split on this issue and extends Title VII protections to LGBTQ+ employees across the country. Justice Gorsuch drafted the majority opinion for the Court, and was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. For employers, we examine the ruling below and offer key takeaways. In its long-awaited and hotly-debated decision, the . . . Read More
Treasury and SBA to Make Changes Regarding Enactment of PPP Flexibility Act
On May 28, 2020, we wrote about the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the Act), a new piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives. The Act’s intended purpose was to give employers more latitude regarding the use of their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans while also increasing loan forgiveness in order to stimulate the economy. Since then, the Senate has passed the Act and President Trump signed it into law . On June 8, 2020, U.S. Department of the Treasury . . . Read More
Congress Approves Significant Changes to SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program
As we reported in our previous alert , the bipartisan bill the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 , was passed on May 28, 2020 by the House of Representatives. Last night, the Senate passed the bill, which now heads to President Trump for his signature. If signed into law by the President, the bill will make significant changes to SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, including: Extend the “covered period” under which small businesses can spend the loan proceeds from eight weeks to 24 weeks or until December . . . Read More
The Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application: Cracking the Code and Deciphering the Confusion
As noted in our previous alert , SBA recently released its long-awaited PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. Unfortunately, the Forgiveness Application is difficult to understand and complete. To help crack the code, we have put together the following analysis with our review of the application, SBA’s newly released guidance as to the loan terms, and key issues in the application, as well as input from our accounting partners. 1. Necessary Documents Before you fill out your Forgiveness Application, you will need to have . . . Read More
House Passes Legislation Modifying Existing PPP Regulations
On May 28, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the Act), new legislation meant to provide additional assistance to small businesses and loosen regulations related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Should this bill become law, it would make major adjustments to the PPP. The Act makes a few notable changes to PPP’s current loan forgiveness guidelines by: extending the period for which a PPP Loan may be obtained to December 31, 2020; increasing the length of time . . . Read More
DOD Issues New CARES Act, Section 3610 Guidance
Guidance from the Department of Defense (DOD) has finally been issued related to Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allowed for payments to federal contractors to keep non-working employees at the ready to return to work when required to do so. The new guidance can be found here . As we noted in a previous blog , the CARES Act allows contracting officers to pay contractors at the “minimum applicable billing rates” for any employees . . . Read More
SBA Issues Long-Awaited PPP Loan Forgiveness Application
SBA recently issued its 11-page Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application, linked here . The application walks borrowers through a step-by-step process to determine loan forgiveness amounts based upon the information the borrower enters. It is of note that the application does require borrowers to provide documentation to support the payroll and non-payroll costs paid using PPP Loan funds. This includes the following information to prove the funds were properly spent on covered liabilities incurred, or which became due, during the 8-week period following . . . Read More