Employment Law Alert: FFCRA, PUA, and PPP Updates

NOTHING IN THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE AND THE READER SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE STATEMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN.

The Federal Government passed a new COVID relief bill, which amends a number of laws. There are key provisions impacting employers, which are highlighted below:

• The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which required certain employers to provide eligible employees with paid sick leave and partially paid emergency family and medical leave benefits, expired on December 31, 2020. The new law does not extend this requirement, but rather permits certain employers to receive a tax credit for the leave that they allow employees to take between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021 which would have been covered by the expired FFCRA.

• The new law also expands the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which was created by the CARES Act. The new law increases the time period of PUA benefits from a 39 week period to a 50 week period. Further, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplement is restored to all state and federal unemployment benefits in the amount of $300 per week for all workers receiving unemployment benefits between December 26, 2020 and March 14, 2021.

• The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provides small businesses with potentially forgivable loans equal to the total amount of money spent on payroll and certain other costs. Under the revised law, businesses that already received a PPP loan may be eligible for a second loan. Further, the law expands eligibility to all nonprofit organizations.

The Rabb Law Firm will continue to monitor developments regarding the new law. Please contact us should you have any questions.