Blogs

Business and Financial Services

Online Board Meetings – What to Know When Social-Distancing Requires Your Meetings to Go Virtual

Many corporations and LLCs that have traditionally held in-person shareholder and board meetings are looking for alternatives during the social distancing required for COVID-19. Fortunately, corporate and LLC governance statutes in most states, including Delaware, Virginia, Maryland and DC allow for meetings to be held remotely, if some special considerations are followed. Corporations are required…

April 16, 2020

Business and Financial Services

What Can Employers Ask and Do About Their Employee’s Health During the Coronavirus Crisis? Answers from the EEOC

EEOC Update, May 7, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has had an undeniably dramatic and devastating impact on public health in the U.S. It also has had dire consequences for the U.S. economy and businesses across the country. Many nonessential businesses have been forced to close altogether. Those that have been permitted, or required, to continue providing essential services, including many retailers, have struggled to find ways to keep workers from getting sick from coronavirus, and keep their…

April 14, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Documentation and Recordkeeping: COVID-19 Paid Leave and Employer Paid Leave Tax Credits

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which creates two new emergency paid leave requirements in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The FFCRA covers private employers with fewer than 500 employees and certain public employers. Overview of Paid Sick Leave Law Division E of the…

April 7, 2020

Business and Financial Services

SBA Paycheck Protection Loans under the CARES Act

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) contains numerous benefits for businesses. One of these benefits is the addition of “Paycheck Protection Loans” to the existing Small Business Act (SBA) 7(a) loan program. The new program provides many businesses with 500 or fewer employees as well as non-profits, independent contractors, and sole proprietors, the ability to obtain government-backed, 1% interest loans from private lenders, with payments deferred for at…

April 4, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Emergency Paid Leave Laws: DOL Issues Additional FAQs to Answer Employer Questions

By all accounts, the coronavirus public health crisis continues to worsen, affecting the health of many of your workers. On March 30, 2020, the governors of Maryland and Virginia both issued expansive stay-at-home orders. The District of Columbia was already under similar restrictions. Most employees of non-essential businesses on both sides of the Potomac will be forced to stay away from work, as a result of yesterday’s executive orders. Schools and day care facilities for the children of…

April 2, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Paycheck Protection Loans under the CARES Act: What Do Lenders Need to Know?

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) became law in the United States. Among other things, the CARES Act provides relief to certain businesses in the form of “paycheck protection loans” through what the Act calls the Paycheck Protection Program (the “Program”). These loans are to be…

March 30, 2020

Business and Financial Services

DOL Issues Second FAQs: Provides More Guidance to Employers on Paid Leave Laws

On March 26, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a second set of FAQs to address some of the fundamentally important questions that employers have been asking about new paid sick and FMLA leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which goes into effect on April 1, 2020 . The second FAQs elaborate in some areas on the first set of FAQs issued by the DOL and in other areas provide a first look at the agency’s thinking about how the new paid leave laws are intended…

March 30, 2020

Business and Financial Services

4 Tips for Businesses Impacted by the Coronavirus

Small businesses across the United States are currently faced with the very real and extreme effects of the Coronavirus on their continued business operations. This unprecedented illness and the resulting drop in substantial revenue of many companies will place great strain on businesses and forcing quick analysis and decision-making about how they are to deal with payment of their current financial obligations considering such falling revenue. While the answer may differ for each business and…

March 24, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Maryland COVID-19 Small Business and Nonprofit Assistance

Maryland has announced a Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Loan Relief Fund (“Loan Relief Fund”) and Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Grant Relief Fund (“Grant Relief Fund”) to support small businesses and nonprofits during the COVID-19 crisis. The Funds assist businesses or nonprofits that can demonstrate financial stress or disrupted operations. Maryland also created a COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Fund (“Layoff Aversion Fund”) to assist small businesses and nonprofits to create remote work…

March 24, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Understanding the Available Tax Credits Under Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“Act”) became law on March 18, 2020. The Act goes into effect on April 2, 2020 and will expire on December 31, 2020. Implications to employers and employees have been covered under separate BKK posts which can be found here . This post will provide employers with guidance on how the tax credits are expected to work. Family and Medical Leave As my colleague Doug Taylor recently discussed , the Act requires certain employers to provide twelve weeks of…

March 23, 2020