COVID-19 Human Resource Updates and Guidance
The HR COVID-19 page has information about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which encompasses the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. The HR COVID-19 page also has links to other resources related to hours reductions, temporary layoffs, permanent layoffs, policies, forms, and other human resources topics.
Updated April 3, 2020 @ 2:15 PM
More information about the Paycheck Protection Program
Calculate the borrowing amount for U.S. employees based on the following guidelines:
- The amount for any one employee is capped at $100,000 in annual salary.
- The calculation excludes FICA taxes or income tax collected at the source.
The calculation can include the following:
- Salary, wage, commission, or similar compensation
- Payment of cash tip or equivalent
- Payment for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave
- Allowance for dismissal or separation
- Payment required for the provisions of group health care benefits, including insurance premiums
- Payment of any retirement benefit
- Payment of state or local tax assessed on the compensation of employees
The calculation also can include payments of any compensation to, or income of, a sole proprietor or independent contractor that is a wage, commission, income, net earnings from self-employment, or similar compensation.
The permitted uses for the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans include the following:
- Payroll costs
- Costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums
- Employee salaries, commissions, or similar compensations
- Payments of interest on any mortgage obligation (which shall not include any prepayment of or payment of principal on a mortgage obligation)
- Rent (including rent under a lease agreement)
- Utilities
- Interest on any other debt obligations that were incurred before the covered period
- Other approved uses for loans made under Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act, which includes equipment and fixtures, working capital, inventory, seasonal line of credit, or refinancing debt, including an EIDL
PPP loans are subject to forgiveness, in whole or in part, for certain “covered expenses” incurred during the eight-week period following the date of the PPP loan. The amount of principal that is forgiven is not included in gross income for tax purposes.
- Covered expenses are payroll costs, interest on covered mortgage obligations, rent obligations, and utilities
Updated April 2, 2020 @ 11:30 AM
CARES Act Employee Retention Credit
The Employee Retention Credit is a fully refundable tax credit for employers that is equal to 50% of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) that Eligible Employers pay their employees after March 13, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. The maximum amount of qualified wages taken into account with respect to each employee for all calendar quarters is $10,000, so that the maximum credit for an Eligible Employer for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000.
Adriane Harrison is an experienced human resources professional with an extensive background in business, law, and non-profit sectors. She practiced law for fifteen years and now heads the human relations department for Printing Industries of America, the national trade association for the print industry based in Warrendale, PA. Adriane holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago.
