Hello GO-HR friends and clients.
Wednesday, April 1 is International Fun at Work Day. It seems counterintuitive to even think about this right now, but your employees who are still with you need this more than ever. Think about what you could do to stay connected.
The CARES Act was signed late last week and many small businesses and their partners are combing through it to understand how to access various relief options. I reached out to my business bankers who shared with me that the business banking arm of their organization does not anticipate being able to work with their business clients until the SBA finalizes the loans and terms that will be offered. They’re projecting end of this week at the earliest.
Reach out to your bank NOW and ask them to put you on their follow up list to be contacted as soon as terms are finalized.
Talk with your accountant/CFO to understand the best strategy for NOW AND LATER for your business and your business’s unique needs regarding the various components of the CARES Act and its interplay with any disaster loan or grants you may already have, any filing extensions, etc.
Talk to your health insurance people. If you have an HSA or FSA, there is an expansion of items (such as over-the-counter meds and personal hygiene products) that employees can submit through their accounts for reimbursement.
Talk to your financial advisors about the hardship withdrawal options employees can take from their retirement accounts.
As you review the Paycheck Protection Program Loans, consider this. If you keep your workforce on payroll – even if work has slowed down to a trickle – is this a good time to invest in upskilling them or working on professional development options so that your team comes back stronger and ready to dig in once we’re on the other side of this? I have already started to hear that the dollars from the unemployment portion of the stimulus may create more money on unemployment for someone than if they worked, and that may be tough to argue with, but that won’t be the case for every employer or every employee.
Her are some helpful links, which we have also added to our update page at https://www.go-hr.biz/covid-19
CARES Act: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6819239-FINAL-FINAL-CARES-ACT.html
Stimulus Check Calculator (for employees): https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/taxes/T023-S001-stimulus-check-calculator-2020/index.php?utm_source=SYN-yahoo&utm_medium=referral&rid=SYN-yahoo&fbclid=IwAR2nzHHmsD7ZQnMOLOc9v7amvLMakknLCcymZeKTz96tVSfdGHVtriN3PKQ
NAWBO Small Business Owner’s Guide: https://www.nawbo.org/sites/nawbo/files/The%20Small%20Business%20Owner%E2%80%99s%20Guide%20to%20the%20CARES%20Act_0.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3BqqF7TS_Q7O3aBE8ehZ4M-KmbDVcwrNhR3I0YXXaltL0lJXUxKCZzb9c
NPR overview of Act: https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/818881845/senate-reaches-historic-deal-on-2t-coronavirus-economic-rescue-package
Fortune overview of Act: https://fortune.com/2020/03/27/coronavirus-unemployment-benefits-stimulus-package-who-eligible-when-start-how-much-long-faq-relief-bill/?fbclid=IwAR23Zv36AUVZ7SmJXWy-2T64PYGGHW3RujqldTW71PwKJYbeHjWtx-p1PVY
Finally, I am trying to pull together a panel for a call this week. I’ll keep you posted.
Sharon DeLay, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CPCC
GO-HR (a dba of BoldlyGO Career and HR Management, LLC)
[O] 614-473-0122 ▪ [C] 614-233-1522
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