What Employers Need to Know about Returning to Work
As it looks like all offices will now be returning to work by mid-May at the latest, we switch from the defensive to the offensive mindset. While new opening dates are great news, it does open a can of worms that need to be dealt with.
Worm #1 - Timing the PPP funding
The first step is SBA approval. By now, you have hopefully received confirmation from your bank that your application has been accepted and they are just waiting on the SBA to open the bank portal on Monday morning. Most banks have thousands of applications to submit to the SBA so it may be Friday before you find out if your application got the SBA approval.
If accepted, the bank will schedule a day for loan document signature and funding. This funding date will start your 8 week forgiveness window. Therefore, try to plan your funding day as close to your first payroll date as possible.
If denied, you obviously still need your staff, so we recommend using the ERC (Employee Retention Credit) to help offset your payroll cost. We will work with you to set this up in Gusto as it is a refundable payroll tax credit.
Worm #2 - Employees with kids
The FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act) expanded the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) to cover conditions created by COVID-19. We emailed our clients the new required poster early today to distribute to employees.
The main area of concern is employees with children at home due to COVID-19 (better known as Every Parent in America) qualify for 12 weeks of leave at partial pay. The pay will be reimbursed to you as a refundable payroll tax credit so no longer term cash flow issues.
The problem comes in that you will be without that employee for up to 12 weeks. As a small business, you can deem that employee as essential and require they come to work, but that creates an unhappy employee.
Worm #3 - Employees who don’t feel safe returning
You have taken steps to make your office safe and are probably spending time every day calling Burkhart or Patterson for faceshields and other PPE. But based on some staff meetings I have been part of and the ADHA pushing back on back to work dates,employees are still nervous.
This article gives a great overview of possible issues and legal ramifications. If you have an employee who expresses concern, we recommend working with them to calm their nerves. If that does not work, we recommend a call to CEDR or your employment attorney. There are ways they can help you work through this situation so do NOT just fire the employee due to their concerns.
Worm #4 - Ending Unemployment
Just like when you put your employees on furlough, we recommend a formal letter to all employees informing them that the office will be opening for business and that their unemployment period is coming to an end. We recommend bringing all employees back on the same day, especially if you receive the PPP funds.
Worm #5 - You thought you had more time
While some of you still have a couple of weeks to plan, others are rushing to put together plans and protocols. Please join us for a webinar on Tuesday, April 28th covering some best practices for returning to work amid the pandemic.
Final Chore before you return to work
If your dog is anything like ours, it may be time to try DIY dog grooming.
Stay safe, healthy and happy