On May 28, 2020, we wrote about the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the Act), a new piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives. The Act’s intended purpose was to give employers more latitude regarding the use of their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans while also increasing loan forgiveness in order to stimulate the economy. Since then, the Senate has passed the Act and President Trump signed it into law . On June 8, 2020, U.S. Department of the Treasury . . . Read More
Presented by Sam Finnerty . Click here to view the recorded session. A government agency’s evaluation of an offeror’s past performance can often be the difference between winning or losing a government contract. And, for better or worse, agencies are given broad discretion in how they evaluate past performance. As such, it is critical that companies working with the federal government understand not only what steps they should take to cultivate and utilize positive past performance, but also the steps they should take to . . . Read More
As we reported in our previous alert , the bipartisan bill the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 , was passed on May 28, 2020 by the House of Representatives. Last night, the Senate passed the bill, which now heads to President Trump for his signature. If signed into law by the President, the bill will make significant changes to SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, including: Extend the “covered period” under which small businesses can spend the loan proceeds from eight weeks to 24 weeks or until December . . . Read More
If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link . COVID-19 Client Resource Center: To access resources for businesses navigating the COVID-19 crisis, we invite you to visit PilieroMazza’s “ COVID-19 Client Resource Center .” Please contact covid19@pilieromazza.com for immediate assistance. LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW Creating a New Normal: 5 Steps for Employers Preparing a Returning Workforce in a COVID-19 Environment, May 21, 2020, Sara Nasseri As government authorities slowly begin the reopening process, employers are now preparing to reopen facilities and return employees to their worksites. Undoubtedly, with . . . Read More
As noted in our previous alert , SBA recently released its long-awaited PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. Unfortunately, the Forgiveness Application is difficult to understand and complete. To help crack the code, we have put together the following analysis with our review of the application, SBA’s newly released guidance as to the loan terms, and key issues in the application, as well as input from our accounting partners. 1. Necessary Documents Before you fill out your Forgiveness Application, you will need to have . . . Read More
On May 28, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the Act), new legislation meant to provide additional assistance to small businesses and loosen regulations related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Should this bill become law, it would make major adjustments to the PPP. The Act makes a few notable changes to PPP’s current loan forgiveness guidelines by: extending the period for which a PPP Loan may be obtained to December 31, 2020; increasing the length of time . . . Read More
In this second part of our blog series on the CARES Act Section 3610 (visit this link for Part 1), we move on to the conflicting information out there, and the basis of one of the most frequently asked questions we receive: What is the potential conflict between state shelter-in-place orders and federal contract performance requirements? State shelter-in-place orders come with various enforcement mechanisms, some of which include large fines and even imprisonment. This is true in, for example, California, used . . . Read More
As we noted previously , last week Defense Pricing and Contracting issued draft instructions and requirements for contractors submitting funding requests under Section 3610 of the CARES Act. These requirements contain some departures from previous guidance and define several points that previously were left up to a contracting officer’s discretion. In this two-part blog series (visit this link for Part 2), we examine some of the key areas in which the guidance either clarified or, in some cases changed, existing practice. First, . . . Read More
As government authorities slowly begin the reopening process, employers are now preparing to reopen facilities and return employees to their worksites. Undoubtedly, with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, a return to work certainly will not mean a return to how things used to be and employers will need to implement new processes and procedures to adequately prepare employees and comply with state and local requirements. This brief guide outlines various considerations employers will have to make to gradually and safely . . . Read More
Guidance from the Department of Defense (DOD) has finally been issued related to Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which allowed for payments to federal contractors to keep non-working employees at the ready to return to work when required to do so. The new guidance can be found here . As we noted in a previous blog , the CARES Act allows contracting officers to pay contractors at the “minimum applicable billing rates” for any employees . . . Read More
