Coronavirus-Related Financial Assistance Update for Employers
By Paula A. Barran & Gabrielle A. Hansen
Posted on March 31, 2020
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
The CARES Act is a roughly $2 trillion dollar aid package that provides financial assistance for small businesses, business tax reductions and deferrals, and financial aid for certain industries hit especially hard by the coronavirus, such as the airline industry. Notably, the Act also includes assistance to “gig-economy” workers, such as Uber and Lyft drivers who might otherwise be ineligible for unemployment benefits.
Internal Revenue Service Guidance Re: Reimbursement for Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
Eligible employees can begin taking paid leave under the federal EPSL and FFCRA starting April 1, 2020. Although much of this wage-replacement cost will be reimbursed by the federal government, there has been uncertainty as to how this would work in practice.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Department of Labor have announced that they are making plans to facilitate these reimbursements. When employees take paid leave, employers can offset the cost of that leave by retaining the payroll taxes that it would otherwise have paid. If there are insufficient payroll taxes to cover the cost of leave, employers can file a request for accelerated payment from the IRS. The IRS has indicated that it intends to process these requests in two weeks or less. We anticipate that the IRS will release additional information on this process shortly. More information can be found here.
Other Financial Assistance Resources
Business Oregon has compiled a list of resources for businesses at the local, regional, state, and federal level including such resources as:
- Loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Assistance Program.
- The Portland Small Business Relief Fund.
- The City of Portland has approved $1 million dollars in aid to provide grants for qualifying small businesses. Prosper Portland will manage the grant application and selection process.
- The timeline for this process is as follows:
- Monday, March 30: Applications open
- Wednesday, April 1, 11:59 pm: Applications close
- Tuesday, April 7: Recipients selected
- Friday, April 10: Funding provided
- Business Oregon’s coronavirus resource page
- Portland Small Business Relief Fund
- Washington State coronavirus resource page
Oregon Tax Relief Information
The Oregon Department of Revenue is not canceling taxes, but there is some tax-related relief in the form of deadline extension.
More information can be found on the Oregon Department of Revenue’s webpage.
For questions regarding coronavirus-related financial assistance for employers, contact Paula Barran or Gabrielle Hansen at 503-228-0500, or at pbarran@barran.com or ghansen@barran.com. For additional content, including other Electronic Alerts, articles, and employer resources, visit www.barran.com.
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