Stimulus for Small Businesses

The expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act provides:

Paid leave, connected to a public health emergency related to COVID-19, to
employees at organizations with fewer than 500 total employees to care for a child if childcare is unavailable. Employees must be employed for at least 30 days by their employer and the U.S. Secretary of Labor is empowered to grant hardship exemptions for certain businesses with fewer than 50 employees and to exclude certain health care providers and emergency responders.

• The first 10 days of such leave may consist of unpaid leave, with employees being able to substitute vacation, paid leave, or sick leave for
  unpaid leave. Employers are required to provide paid leave for leave days after the initial 10-day period. The amount of pay is required to be at
  least 2/3rds of the pay an employee would receive based on an employee’s normally scheduled hours per week. Paid leave would not have
  to exceed $200 per day or $10,000 in the aggregate.
• The benefit is provided to employees of private businesses with fewer than 500 employees and employees of public entities for illness or quarantine related to COVID-19 or the care of someone who is quarantined due to or ill because of COVID-19. Employers may exempt health care providers or emergency responders from this benefit.
• Full-time employees can receive up to 80 hours, with part-time employees receiving up to the number of hours they would normally work over a 2-week period.
• The paid sick leave benefit is in effect through the end of 2020. Limits exist on daily and aggregate paid sick leave amounts provided to employees.
• The U.S. Secretary of Labor is empowered to grant hardship exemptions for certain businesses with fewer than 50 employees and to exclude certain healthcare providers and emergency responders from the benefit.

Other provisions that impact businesses and nonprofits

• Charitable Contributions – the bill allows individuals to make contributions up to $300 to qualifying charities and deduct the contribution “above the line” in computing adjusted gross income (AGI). The bill also modifies the AGI limitations on charitable contributions for 2020, to 100 percent of AGI for individuals and 25 percent of taxable
  income for corporations.
• Employee Retention Credit – the bill provides a credit against social security payroll taxes (6.2 percent) for any business, including nonprofits, that close or suspend its operations due to the virus.
• Delay of Tax Payment – the bill would allow employers, including nonprofits, struggling to make payroll to be able to pay their share of the 6.2 percent Social Security tax, that would otherwise be due, from now until the end of the year.
• Paycheck Protection Program – the bill provides $350 billion for 8-weeks of cash-flow assistance to small businesses and small nonprofits (under 500 employees) through guaranteed loans. Loans may be forgiven if they largely maintain their payroll.
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) – the bill creates expedited access to capital by establishing a $10 billion program for small businesses, including nonprofits, who have applied for EIDL to request an advance of up to $10,000 on the loan to provide paid sick leave to employees, maintaining payroll and other debt obligations.

Thanks to the Penn Hill Group for their interpretation of the bill.

LoanSense helps employers attract and retain talent by building a customized student loan repayment benefit. In the stimulus bill, Congress passed tax-free contributions of $5,250 annually to assist employees with their student loans. [Learn more about the entire student loan provision of the stimulus bill. Check out this blog to learn more about student loan provisions in the stimulus bill

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