Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Update: President Trump Signs Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020

Client Alert
June 4, 2020

Update: Today President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 ("FA"). The House passed the law on May 27 and the Senate approved on June 3. The legislation provides more flexibility to small businesses who received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

Maturity of PPP Loans

To start, the FA establishes that all PPP loans granted after the enactment of the FA will carry a 5-year minimum maturity term. For already existing loans, the FA allows for lenders and borrowers to mutually agree to modify the 2-year maturity term of the existing loan and implement the new 5-year minimum.

Extended Covered Period

Further, the FA extends the deadline to apply for a PPP loan to December 31, 2020. The covered period for which PPP loan recipients may spend the loan is also extended. Originally, small businesses had 8 weeks to spend the PPP loan money. Under the FA, small businesses may spend the PPP loan money during a 24-week period or until December 31, 2020, whichever occurs first. A business that has received a loan prior to the enactment of the FA may elect to spend their loan within the 8-week spending period that coincides with origination of their loan or extend it through the new 24-week covered period.

Payroll vs Nonpayroll Uses

Prior to the FA, recipients of a PPP loan were required to use 75% or more of the loan on payroll expenses in order to be eligible for loan forgiveness. The FA reduces that amount and requires recipients to spend at least 60% of the loan amount on payroll expenses in order to be eligible for loan forgiveness. This allows a recipient of a PPP loan to use up to 40% of the loan amount on non-payroll expenses like mortgage, rent, and utility payments.

Full-Time Equivalent Safe Harbor

The PPP requires loan recipients to restore its full-time employee count or employee wages to its February 15, 2020 level by June 30, 2020 in order to receive the full amount of loan forgiveness. Because many businesses are still facing difficulties in restoring operations to their February 15, 2020 levels, the FA extended the date to restore the loan recipient’s full-time employee count or employee wages to December 31, 2020.

Further, the FA provides a new exemption from a proportional reduction of loan forgiveness due to a reduction in full-time employees. This exemption is conditioned on the PPP loan recipient documenting, in good faith, one of the following two findings. First, a loan recipient can document an inability to rehire individuals who were employees on February 15, 2020 and document an inability to hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions by December 31, 2020. Second, a loan recipient can document:

“an inability to return to the same level of business activity as such business was operating at before February 15, 2020, due to compliance with requirements established or guidance issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020, related to the maintenance of standards for sanitation, social distancing, or any other worker or customer safety requirement related to COVID–19.”

Extended Deferral Period

Under the initial CARES Act, a deferral period of not less than six months and no more than one year was allowed for loan payments of principal and interest. Under the FA, the deferral of payments of principle and interest extends until the lender receives the total forgiveness amount of the loan, which is determined by the CARES Act. Additionally, if a PPP loan recipient fails to apply for forgiveness of the loan, then the recipient must begin payments of interest and principle within 10 months of the end of the newly established 24-week covered period.

It is anticipated that President Trump will sign the FA into law but, until then, the CARES Act and the PPP remain in effect leaving the above-mentioned changes unimplemented.

For questions regarding the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, please contact your primary BMD attorney.

PPPPaycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020CARES Actloan forgivenessextended deferral periodsafe harborBMD SBA Loan Team
Client Alert

DOL Finalizes New Rule Regarding Independent Contractor Status, But Its Future Is In Jeopardy

January 11, 2021On January 6, 2021, the Department of Labor announced its final rule regarding independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. As described in a prior BMD client alert, this new rule was fast-tracked by the Trump administration after its proposal in September 2020. The new rule is set to take effect on March 8, 2021, and contains several key developments related to the "economic reality" test used to determine whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee under the FLSA.Client Alert

Bankruptcy Law Changes - 2020 Recap And What To Expect In 2021

January 11, 2021In a year of health challenges and financial distress to many individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic, the year 2020 brought some significant changes to the bankruptcy laws. Some of these changes were in place prior to the pandemic; others were a direct response to the pandemic with the goal of helping struggling businesses and individuals. Ahead, we can likely expect further changes to the Bankruptcy Code with the incoming Congress.Client Alert

UPDATE - SBA Releases Rules and Guidance for Second Round PPP Funding

January 7, 2021Late yesterday (January 6, 2021), the U.S. Small Business Administration released rules and guidance for businesses wishing to take part in the long awaited second round of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funding. As most businesses are aware, the rules governing PPP loans have been updated as part of The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (“Act”). The Act was just one section of the massive 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act that was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President on December 27, 2020. To combat the ongoing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Act generally provides (a) first time PPP loans for businesses that did not obtain a loan in the first instance, (b) PPP second draw loans for businesses that already obtained a loan but need additional funding, and (c) additional funding for businesses that returned their first PPP loan or did not get the full amount for which they qualified.Client Alert

UPDATE - Vaccine Policy Considerations for Employers

January 4, 2021If you read our post from November, you’re already an informed employer. This first post of 2021 is to share good news, give a few updates, and answer some other common questions. Q: What’s the Good News? First, the EEOC confirmed that employers may require employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Second, polling indicates that the number of Americans who said they will receive a vaccine has increased from around 63% to over 71%. The number of Americans who are strongly opposed to a vaccine is about 27%. Third, initial returns show that the efficacy rate for certain vaccines is as high as 95% for some at-risk recipients.Client Alert

Changes to FFCRA Paid Leave: Congress’ Revisions to Employment COVID-19 Leave Benefits Signals the Light is at the End of the Tunnel

December 28, 2020Late in the evening on December 27th, President Trump signed into law the government’s $900 billion COVID-19 relief package (the “Stimulus Bill”). Among other economic stimulus benefits, the Stimulus Bill contains the $600 stimulus checks that will be issued to eligible individuals as well as, relevantly, changes to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The FFCRA was implemented in April 2020 and provided benefits to individuals who missed work as a result of an actual or suspected COVID-19 illness or to care for a child when their school or childcare service was closed because of COVID-19. Importantly, the Stimulus Bill extends eligibility for employer payroll tax refunds for leave payments made to employees on or before March 31, 2021 under the FFCRA, signaling to the American people that Congress believes many of the employed public will be vaccinated by this time, the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the Stimulus Bill does contain a caveat that employers are no longer required to provide FFCRA leave benefits after December 31, 2020, but if they do, they will receive the payroll tax credits, up to the maximums provided in the FFCRA, for payments made prior to April 1, 2021. Below we provide a list of questions and answers we received to date following the passage of the Stimulus Bill. We expect the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) to issue additional questions and answers as the Stimulus Bill is implemented, and we will update this Client Alert as these are received.
Older posts
Newer posts