Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

As discussed in our previous alert on this issue, the CARES Act established a $349 billion U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to provide immediate access to capital for small businesses who have been impacted by COVID-19. On April 13, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott provided additional guidance to Texas employers when he announced that investment banking, securities and investment management firm, Goldman Sachs, will partner with San Antonio-based nonprofit organization, LiftFund, to provide $50 million in loans to small businesses. Specifically, Goldman Sachs will provide the capital, and LiftFund and other community development financial institutions will administer the funds. Texas business owners can now apply for a PPP loan and find more information about the program on the LiftFund website.

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. One aspect of the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), permits certain employers to obtain forgivable loans in order to keep employees on the job and to pay overhead costs.

Below are 10 facts small business owners should know about the PPP, which is administered by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) Loan Program.

On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES”), an unprecedented $2 trillion economic rescue plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our firm has previously summarized the CARES Act’s tax and health and retirement benefits provisions here and here.  Below, we summarize additional aspects of the Act that impact the workplace.  It is important to note that there are a number of open questions presented by this legislation, which could impact employers’ structure for layoffs, furloughs, and pay reductions.  We anticipate the various governmental agencies charged with implementing the CARES Act will be issuing guidance soon, and we will provide updates as appropriate.