STREAMLINED FORGIVENESS APPLICATION FOR PPP UNDER 50K

 

Washington, Oct. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, today released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less. This action streamlines the PPP forgiveness process to provide financial and administrative relief to America’s smallest businesses while also ensuring sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Steven Mnuchin said, “Today’s action streamlines the forgiveness process for PPP borrowers with loans of $50,000 or less and thousands of PPP lenders who worked around the clock to process loans quickly,” he continued. “We are committed to making the PPP forgiveness process as simple as possible while also protecting against fraud and misuse of funds. We continue to favor additional legislation to further simplify the forgiveness process.” 

See form 3508S

PPP rules loosened

The senate just passed and sent to the President to be signed rules easing the way the PPP
monies may be used. Here are some highlights.

The bill, which overwhelmingly passed in the House last week and is now headed to President Donald Trump's desk, loosens some key rules regarding loan repayment and spending restrictions of the PPP.

The new changes are:

Lower to 60% from 75%the minimum portion of the PPP loan that must be used on payroll. The rest must be used on rent, utlitites and other business related expenses.

Extend from 8 weeks to 24 weeks the amount of time the loan can cover.

Extend from 2 to 5 years the time the new PPP loans must be paid back if the amount isn't converted to a grant.

COVID 19 HELP RESOURCES

NYC Employee Retention Grant Program

The purpose of this grant is to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees. This grant is available is for businesses and non-profits that reside in the five boroughs of NYC, with four or less employees. To qualify for this grant, the business must be established for at least 6 months, and have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgements. The business will need to demonstrate that the COVID-19 crisis has caused at least a 25% decrease in revenue.

More info on this grant can be found at NYC Employee Retention Grant Program

Many credit card companies are helping out:

Apple and Barclays will allow you to skip March payments with no interest or late fee

Bank of America, if you call they will refund late fees and not report it as negative.

Citibank waiving fees to small businesses

Chase, USbank, Wells and Capital will extend deadlines if you call them.

AMEX also waiving fees if you contact them.

NEW JERSEY COMMUTER BENEFITS takes effect

New Jersey Commuter Benefits: Effective March 1, 2020, New Jersey employers with at least 20 employees will be required to offer a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit to employees who are not subject to a collective bargaining agreement. TaxFree commuter benefits can be structured as an employee-funded tax-free payroll deduction; as an employer-funded benefit; or the costs can be shared by the employer and employee. This transportation fringe benefit allows an employee to set aside funds from their paycheck on a pre-tax basis. The employee can then purchase eligible transportation services, including transit passes and commuter highway vehicle travel or for parking fees.
Currently an employee is allowed to use $270. for commuter benefits plus an additional 4270. for parking if the commuter uses both.

California's Compensable Time

In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court held that the time spent by employees waiting for and undergoing security checks of bags and other personal items is compensable time under California law, even when the policy applies only to employees who choose to bring personal items to work. California has traditionally provided greater protection to working employees. Federal law has determined that the time employees spend going through security checks is not part of their workday. California law requires employees to be compensated not only when they are working but  when they are subject to the employer's control. The court ruled that the time is compensable if a # of factors are in play: mandatory nature of the activity, location of the activity, degree of the employer's control, whether the activity primarily benefits the employee or employer and whether the activity is enforced through disciplinary measures. This case has many ramifications. It provides a key for evaluating other compensable time under CA law

Salary History Ban

NYS  law that bans salary history questions takes effect January 6, 2020.
Employers can not ask employees or applicants their previous salaries. Employers can not use salary history to determine an employee's rate of pay.

NYS Expands Pay Equity Law

New York state has expanded a state law prohibiting gender pay discrimination, making it illegal to pay someone less based on factors such as race, religion or gender identity. 

The new law also changes a legal standard for pay equity to make it easier for employees to prove discrimination in court. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the changes into law in Manhattan, the law takes effect October 8, 2019.

The law requires equal pay  among employee who preform " substantially similar"
work not just "equal work". Employers will not be able to hide behind job titles but must consider classes of job and roles.
This law does not just cover sex but includes age, race, creed, color, gender identity, gender expression, martial status, domestic violence victim status or other status protected by law.

NJ MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2019

Effective July 1, 2019 minimum wage goes up for most workers to $10.00 per hour from $8.85. 1/1/2020 it will go to $11. and then increase each January 1st by another dollar.

Small employers of less than 6 employees (and agricultural employers) remains at $8.85 till 1/1/2020 when it goes up to $10.30 and then increase each January 1st.

NJ is on a march to $15. per hour by 2024.

Tipped workers increase from $2.13 to $2.63 effective July 1, 2019 and then every January 1st it will increase till 1/1/2022, where it will hit $5.13. Tips must bring it to regular minimum wage.

New In 2019: Illinois Employers Must Reimburse Business Expenses

Illinois amended the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, effective Jan. 1, 2019. The new amendment requires employers to reimburse employees for certain expenses and losses.

The law states that employers are required to reimburse employees for “all necessary expenditures or losses incurred within the employee’s scope of employment and directly related to the services performed for the employer.” This includes, but is not limited to, business travel, customer entertainment, home office supplies, cell phone expenses and more.

Employees must submit reimbursement requests, along with supporting documentation, to employers within 30 days of incurring the expense unless a different time period is specified by the employer.

Lastly, the amendment excludes certain types of losses from those an employer is required to reimburse, including losses due to an employee’s own negligence and losses due to regular wear.

Illinois now joins several other states such as CA, IA AND NH with this requirement. IL law is different in that the law permits employers to maintain written expense reimbursement policies that reimburse employees for less than the full cost of the expense.

The act provides that an employer will not be liable for the portion of the expenditure that exceeds the specifications or guidelines of the employers policy, so long as the policy does not provide for no reimbursement or a de minimis reimbursement. Employers may reimburse at less than 100% of the expenditure amount as long as the employer provides some real reimbursement based on a written policy that provides some real reimbursement.

2019 NEW LIMITATIONS ON FICA ET. AL.

                                  FICA (oasdi) limit will be $132,900. up from $128,700.
                                  401k/403b limit is $19,000 up from $18,500, if over 50, $25,000.            
                                  NYS SUI wage limit $11,400. NJS SUI wage limit  $33,700.
                                  NYC minimum wage if below 11 employees $13.50 if over 11 $15.00.
                                  tipped minimum in NYC $10. if 11 employees for food service workers if less
                                  than 11 employees $9, tipped delivery workers $12.50 in Nyc
                                  LONG ISLAND & Westchester county $12. minumum per hours, tipped
                                  workers $8.
                                  Rest of NYS $11.10 per hour and tipped workers $7.50
                                  NJS minimum wage $8.85, tipped workers $2.13 per hour
                                 
                                 

NJ Paid Sick Leave Law Takes Effect Oct 29

NJ becomes the 10th state in the nation to require employers of all size to provide paid sick leave.
Any employer in NJS irrespective of size are covered. All employees are covered except per diem employees, public employees who already have sick leave benefits and employees in the construction industry employed under a collective bargaining agreement.
A maximum of 40 hours per year may be accrued at a rate of 1 hour per 30 worked. Here is the hard part: the employer is allowed to designate any period of 12 consecutive months as a benefit year. This can only be changed with first notifying NJ D of L. Existing employees begin accruing sick days on Oct 29th. New employees hired after that date begin accruing on their first date of employment.
Employers must post notification of employees rights.
Employees may begin to use this sick after the 120th day of employment.
Employees may use accrued sick time for diagnostic, care, treatment or recovery for self or family member or to attend a school meeting for their children.

NYC NEW POSTER REQUIREMENTS effective July 18, 2018

new poster requirements.
The new law of TEMPORARY SCHEDULE CHANGE LAW. It is now required that you post a poster that employees have a right to a schedule change twice a year.
This is for all employees who have worked 80+ hours (in a calendar year) and have worked for their employer 120 days.
An employee is allowed to request a temporary change in their schedule for a personal event. A personal event is, care for a child under 18, the need to care for a care recipient, any legal procedure and any other event which would fall under the paid safe and sick leave act.
The employer MUST grant accommodation with pay or allow unpaid time off. Request may be verbal but correspondence needs to be kept in writing
Employee may complain to NYC for not reasonable accommodation.
Contact me if you need a poster to hang up

NEW EMPLOYMENT OBLIGATIONS

Some recent legislation takes effect soon:
 Implement mandatory sexual harassment training for NYS employees
 Issue required notices for NYC employees regarding their right to "safe leave"
 Update sexual harrassment policies to include new protections for NYS workers
 Post new posters regarding sexual harrasment for NYC workers
 Issue information sheets to all new hires in NYC regarding sexual harassment
 Issue notices to MA employees regarding the rights or pregnant & nursing employees
 Revevaluate whether CA based workers should be classified as employees instead of independent
contractors based on CA newly issued more restrictive independent contractor test

NJ Enacts Equal Pay Protections Effective July 1, 2018

Effective July 1, 2018 NJ's equal pay law will provide new measures aimed at preventing unequal pay for employees performing essentially they same duties. The Act will now make it unlawful employment practice to pay employees unequally based on not just sex but on any protected classes. Which currently include race, creed, color national origin, age, martial status sexual orientations, disability and more.
The act gives employees an easier path to sue and win because now the burden of proof will be upon the employer. The employer will now have to prove why there is a difference in pay between similar workers.

NYC Requires Sexual Harrasement Training For Workers

For every employer in NYC of 15 or more employees, the employer must provide training to all employees on how to prevent sexual harassment. This law known as the stop sexual harassment in NYC act takes effect April 2019.

NYC Tempoary Work Schedule Changes

NYC recently expanded an employee's right to work schedule changes. Beginning July 18, 2018, NYC employers will be required to consider and permit 2 temporary schedule changes per calendar year due to certain personal reasons.  Personal reasons may include legal matters or other care giving issues.
In addition time off for sick time has been expanded to include help in getting to a violence shelter, file a domestic violence complaint or other similar reasons. Answers must be provided in writing.

NJ Paid Sick leave law

NJ recently passed a law requiring all employers to give paid sick time off. Employee's will accrue 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, to a maximum of 40 hours per year. Employers must post paid sick rules and provide it to all new hires. Sick time off may be used for victims of abuse in additional to sick and schooling related issues.

Amendment to NYC Human Rights Law

Recently NYC amended their human rights law to read that all NYC companies must engage in
"cooperative dialogue" with employees who request reasonable accommodation for time off.
NYCHRL has long required accommodation by employers to employees for many reasons (religious, disability, health or other) where it doesn't create a undue hardship.The real change is the way it's done. You must engage in good faith, upon final determination a written final determination must be done. No longer may you just talk it out, talk it out and write it up. This goes into effect Oct 15, 2018

Ban the Box A/K/A Fair Chance Act

Washington state just become the next state to Ban the Box. Employers are now prohibited from asking employees if they were arrested or incarcerated during a job interview or before a job offer is extended.
Washington state joins NYC which issued this law in mid 2017 also known as fair chance act. Washington's law takes effect June 2018.
Only after an offer of employment is offered may the employer ask about incarceration and can only withdraw the offer if the crime has a direct relation to the job offered.
In the last decade about 30 states have laws banning these type questions on the books.

NYS Paid Family Leave Act (PFL)

Effective 1/1/2018 Paid family leave act goes into effect. Employees will now be allowed up to 8 weeks off and 50% salary going to 67% of salary for 12 weeks (in 2021).
Employees will be allowed off to care for a family member who has a serious health condition. Also may be used to bond with a child during the 12 months after the birth, adoption or fostering of a child. This program is funded solely from the employee thru a deduction similar to NYS disability, .0126% of an employee's wage to a maximum of $1.65 per week.
This insurance is mandatory for all employers for PT or FT workers.
Leave can also be used when a spouse, child, domestic partner or parent of employee goes on active military duty.
Employees are entitled to job protection and retaliation is forbidden.
Compliance with this program must be posted conspicuously.