COVID-19 Update April 1, 2020

Lots of new Information again, today. However, just when we thought we had it figured out, we received the following information from one of our labor attorneys that threw a monkey wrench into the FFMLA leave.

Here is what he sent:

The DOL just came out with a rule regarding the employer exemption from FFCRA for 50 employees and under. It’s 124 pages, so at this time, I can only provide a summary:

Employers with fewer than 50 workers will not have to provide this leave if doing so would raise expenses above revenue such that the employer would “cease operating at a minimal capacity”; the requesting worker’s absence would “pose a substantial risk” to the employer’s financial health or operations; or the employer can’t find enough workers to perform the work of the employee requesting an absence.

BUT these employers are not exempt from another provision of the law requiring employers to give workers who are directly affected by the virus up to two weeks of paid time off, however.

So, if you have under 50 employees and offering this leave will put your company in “financial risk”, then you can be exempt from the new FMLA law. You will, however, still need to abide by the 2-week sick leave that was passed as part of this law.

If you are a Delta Administrative Services client, then we will be tracking all this leave for you to ensure you can get the proper credit on your payroll taxes.

Speaking of payroll taxes, in the Care Act, you can defer your payroll taxes through the end of 2020. If you elect to defer those payroll taxes,  you must pay back at least half by the end of 2021 and the balance is due and payable by the end of 2022. HOWEVER, if your company plans to participate in the PPP SBA loan program, then you are not eligible to defer payroll taxes.

Delta is under the presumption that all companies are going to be filing for the PPP forgivable loan, (and they should) in lieu of requesting a payroll tax deferral.

Today’s downloads are as follows:

Cares Act Information Binder – this is a comprehensive guide provided by GNO Inc. that gives more insights on the CARES Act.

Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFRCA) – this is a 124 page document published by the Department of Labor that essentially is a giant FAQ document for the FFRCA legislation.

IRS Guidelines for COVID-19- FFRCA Related Tax Credits – this document is similar to DOL’s document noted about, except it is an IRS publication and tries to answer the FAQs from an IRS perspective.

Louisiana Loan Portfolio Guaranty Program (LPGP) – Louisiana announced today that it will provide access to additional loans through Louisiana Economic Development (LED). This document provides the details that were released during the Governor’s press conference today.

The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act – this is an eleven-page guide published by the US Congress giving their insight on the CARES Act.

As a reminder, Teresa and I have been asked to be the featured speakers for the Hispanic Chamber of Louisiana webinar this Thursday, April 2nd at 3PM CDT. We will be reviewing the basics for both the Cares Act and the Families First Act, and we will be available for questions and answers. Please let us know if you would like the link to join the call.

We will be sending out more information on the leave or sick pay requests as we get new clarifications on the changes mentioned above.

Our software will have new reporting capabilities, where you will be able to get access to the exact data required for the SBA. All payroll, tax or other expenses related to what qualifies for the PPP loan program will be available for whatever period is requested. More to come by end of week on this accessibility!!

As always please reach out if you have any questions.