NEW PPP Loan Forgiveness Application; NEW CDC Guidance for Restaurants
Link Below to PPP Loan Forgiveness Application and Instructions
On Friday, the Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and detailed instructions for the application.
The form and instructions inform borrowers how to apply for forgiveness of their PPP loans, consistent with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). SBA will also soon issue regulations and guidance to further assist borrowers as they complete their applications, and to provide lenders with guidance on their responsibilities.
The form and instructions include several measures to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers, including:
- Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs using an “alternative payroll covered period” that aligns with borrowers’ regular payroll cycles
- Flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred during the eight-week period after receiving their PPP loan
- Step-by-step instructions on how to perform the calculations required by the CARES Act to confirm eligibility for loan forgiveness
- Borrower-friendly implementation of statutory exemptions from loan forgiveness reduction based on rehiring by June 30
- Addition of a new exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction for borrowers who have made a good-faith, written offer to rehire workers that was declined
Click here to view the application and instructions.
CDC Releases Official Guidelines For Safe Practices When Restaurants, Bars Reopen
On Thursday, the CDC released guidelines instructing certain organizations on how restaurants and bars can safely open their doors.
The guidance outlines a series of steps that should be taken to keep employees and customers safe, including encouraging hand-washing, social distancing and how to check for symptoms of potential Covid-19 cases.
The one-page flowchart for food-service businesses outlines a series of protocols those establishments will have to follow in order to open. The sheet identifies requirements such as “hand washing and employees wearing a cloth face covering, as feasible” and instructions to “intensify cleaning, sanitization, disinfection, and ventilation.” The businesses are also expected to “encourage social distancing” and “enhance spacing” by positioning stools or tables away from each other, and continuing to encourage customers to order take-out food instead of dining in.
Restaurants and bars will need to limit occupancy and group sizes in line with local and state mandates, and create distancing for employees in shared spaces.
In addition, restaurants and bars will have to implement procedures to check employees for symptoms, including possible temperature checks when they arrive for a shift. There must also be a plan in place for if an employee gets sick. To that end, businesses that reopen will have to monitor employee absences, and report positive cases.
A more extensive version regarding reopening guidance has reportedly been drafted, but not released. That longer document, obtained by the Associated Press, would give different organizations specifics about how to reopen while still limiting the spread of the virus, and include instructions on spacing workers six feet apart, and closing break rooms and cafeterias to limit gatherings. Many of the suggestions already appear on federal websites, but have yet to be presented as reopening advice.
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| ERICA M. SOROSKY esorosky@ptwww.com (949) 851-7271 |
ERIN K. OYAMA eoyama@ptwww.com (949) 851-7288 |