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NEW CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON PPP LOANS
NJEDA GRANTS AVAILABLE TUESDAY JUNE 9, 9AM
LOOTING CONCERNS - GUIDANCE FOR VULNERABLE MEMBERS
PPP FORGIVENESS WEBINAR AVAILABLE NOW & BEST PRACTICES WEBINAR TODAY 

• Extending the covered period from approximately 8 weeks to 24 weeks. This tripling of time will grant PPP loan recipients a longer period to spend the funds and qualify for loan forgiveness (or come close to it). PPP loan borrowers do not have to opt to change the covered period, and can keep the original eight-week period.
• A change in the previously mandated "spending threshold", lowering the total amount spent on payroll expenses from 75% to 60% of the loan amount. However, unlike the existing law, borrowers must spend at least 60% on payroll expenses or none of the loan will be forgiven. This is in stark contrast to the current "sliding scale" paradigm; in which the amount eligible for forgiveness is reduced if the borrower spends less than 75% on payroll costs.
  • Please Note: Some Congressional Leaders have indicated that technical tweaks could be made to preserve the existing "sliding scale".  We will report more on this if it gains any traction.
• Clarification that June 30 remains the deadline for applying to receive a PPP loan, while the spending deadline is moved from June 30 to December 31 to allow for funds to be depleted over the new, longer 24-week window.
• Any amount that is not forgiven can now be repaid over five years, rather than two years as originally mandated in the CARES Act. The interest rate remains at 1% over the duration of the loan.
• A new "full time employee" exception was created to permit borrowers to achieve forgiveness, even if they are unable to rehire their entire workforce. The current guidance allowed borrowers to reduce the forgivable amount if a previous employee turned down a good faith offer to return to work (the existing rules allowed an employer to hire another worker to replace the non-returning employee, but at the same hours and wages as before the pandemic). Borrowers will now be able to adjust this calculation if they were unable to find a qualified, willing person to hire for the vacated position. This change essentially removes the requirement that borrowers rebuild their workforce to the same staff levels as before the pandemic (which was cited as February 15, 2020).
• Loan recipients will now be permitted to delay paying their payroll taxes (something that was not previously allowed under the CARES Act).

• Remove any valuables and cash off the premises
• Look for any vulnerabilities in security that you may have and address accordingly
• DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE ANY LOOTERS ON YOUR OWN - call the police if anyone breaks on to your premises 

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director
 

 

6/3/20
Overhaul Of Small Business Rescue Hits Snags In Senate
A bipartisan drive to relax restrictions on emergency small business loans is hitting roadblocks in the Senate, where Republicans are at odds over the future of the aid program designed to keep employers afloat during the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer want to pass a bill approved by the House in an overwhelming 417-1 vote that would give small businesses flexibility in how they use loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. The legislation has broad support among businesses because it would make it easier for borrowers to have the loans forgiven and avoid paying back the debt. Congress made debt forgiveness a key feature of the program, as long as employers agree to maintain payroll.

6/3/20
More People Drive as Gas Prices Stay Low
The roads are becoming a little more crowded these days, as drivers gas up and head out, taking advantage of low pump prices and states easing lockdown restrictions, the Wall Street Journal reports. The increase in driving comes as consumers are spending more, which some see as a hopeful sign of a recovering economy. With more motorists on the road, gas prices have crept up for the past five weeks, although still well under where prices had been at the beginning of 2020. Consumers are ready to hit the road again and resume their pre-pandemic routines, albeit at a slower pace, a survey released last week by NACS found.

6/2/20
California Narrative Casts A Pall Over East Coast Efforts To Elevate Gig Economy Workers
An Uber executive has been roaming the halls of the New York State Capitol bearing a 44-page sheaf of news clips that, he says, augurs the misery that will envelop New York should legislators grant gig economy workers "employee" status like California has. . . California's measure, which took effect Jan. 1, has Uber and other companies who use gig workers warily watching other states that might want to emulate the biggest U.S. state. But while labor-friendly politicians on the East Coast have been making noise about protections for contract workers in New York and New Jersey, the narrative emerging from California hangs over the two states like a specter.

6/2/20
Most Post-Pandemic Payments May Be Cashless
As U.S. businesses reopen following the recent COVID-19 lockdown, it won't be business as usual. For one thing, it's unlikely that consumers will go back to using cash after their recent experience with contactless payment, reports Fortune.com. The support for contactless payment comes from the widespread fear that using physical currency could be a way to pass the coronavirus from person to person. The World Health Organization stresses the importance of thorough hand washing after handling cash, and some banks have been using heat or ultraviolet light to sterilize money.

5/29/20
Murphy's Critics Chide His Covid-19 Policies After Offering Initial Goodwill
For weeks, it was no longer politics as usual in Trenton. As the coronavirus pandemic tightened its grip on New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy's usual Statehouse foes went silent. Republicans praised his efforts in flattening the curve. Democrats who had blocked key elements of his policy agenda offered their support. That goodwill is fading fast. Lawsuits have been filed. A bipartisan select committee is being formed to investigate the state's response to the virus. Senators on both sides of the aisle have become increasingly critical of the governor's cautious reopening strategy - which they claim caused undue harm to small businesses - as well as his administration's alleged mismanagement of deadly Covid-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities and state prisons.

5/29/20
Proposed Bill Grants Businesses Legal Immunity Against Covid-19 Lawsuits
If you were infected with COVID-19 at your place of work, or a restaurants or a store where you shopped, a bill introduced by state Republicans on Thursday would clamp down on the kind of legal actions you could take against the owner. Assembly Bill 4189 would grant immunity to businesses against any claims stemming from COVID-19 where a person believes they were exposed to the virus at their establishment. That comes as the Murphy administration gradually lifts restrictions on what businesses can open during the pandemic - with some businesses fearing a wave of potential lawsuits.

5/29/20
Murphy Vetoes Allowing N.J. Small Businesses To Delay Rent Payments
Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday shot down a bill offering small businesses slammed by the coronavirus a chance to suspend their rent payments for up to three months. The bill would have given the governor power to issue an executive order allowing some small businesses to defer rent payments. They would have repaid the missed rent over six to nine months following the end of the state of emergency. Landlords would have been barred from evicting small businesses that take advantage of the rent suspension order. They would have been considered in violation of the New Jersey consumer fraud act if they did attempt to evict their tenant, according to the bill (S2363). In his veto message, Murphy said the bill shifts the financial pain from small businesses to commercial landlords "who may not be relieved of their own obligations to pay mortgage payments and property taxes."

5/28/20
House Passes Bill To Ease Small Business Emergency Loan Rules
The House on Thursday passed legislation in a nearly unanimous vote that would relax restrictions on emergency government-backed loans designed to avoid mass layoffs at small businesses, a major restructuring of the popular aid program. The bill the House approved in a 417-1 vote would give borrowers under the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program more leeway in how they can use the funds and still have the loans forgiven in exchange for maintaining their payrolls. The forgiveness element was a key incentive Congress created for small businesses to take on the debt and keep paying workers during the pandemic. In the weeks since the program's launch, many employers have complained that restrictions imposed on the money threatened their ability to secure loan forgiveness, since many are more burdened by overhead costs than payroll.

Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.