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| Additional Funding for Paycheck Protection Program and EIDL |
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by Patrick Hayes and Mahek Bhojani Today, President Trump signed into law an approximately $484 billion interim coronavirus relief package that authorizes an additional $310 billion to replenish funds for the Paycheck Protection Program. Of the $310 billion, $60 billion is set aside specifically for smaller lending institutions such as credit unions and community banks. According to the text of the bill, $30 billion will be dedicated to institutions with between $10 billion and $50 billion in assets, and the other $30 billion to institutions with less than $10 billion in assets.
Due to high demand, the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of its initial $349 billion funding in approximately 14 days. As such, we encourage any eligible borrowers who have not yet been approved for the Paycheck Protection Program or have not yet applied for the program to contact their lender as soon as possible. The Small Business Administration has made a list of participating lenders available here.
Since our last update, the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Treasury have released additional guidance with important direction to self-employed individuals and publicly traded companies applying for the Paycheck Protection Program. The text of the guidance is available here and here.
The interim relief package also adds an additional $60 billion of funding to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Of the $60 billion, $50 billion is allocated to the EIDL program and $10 billion is allocated to the associated EIDL emergency advance. At this time, it is unclear whether the Small Business Administration will be taking new applications for the EIDL program. |
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| EEOC Allows Employers to Test Employees for COVID-19 |
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by Tony Stergio The EEOC provided an updated guidance yesterday in which it announced that employers could test employees for the presence of the COVID-19 virus.
While the ADA requires that any mandatory medical test of employees be "job related and consistent with business necessity," the EEOC indicated that employers may take steps to determine if employees entering the workplace have COVID-19. The reason for allowing such testing, according to the agency, is that an individual with the virus will pose a direct threat to the health of others. Therefore, pursuant to this guidance, an employer may periodically test current employees for COVID-19 before they enter a work site. Employers can also perform post-offer, pre-employment tests on job applicants.
Consistent with the ADA standard, employers should ensure that the tests are accurate and reliable. For example, employers may review guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about what may or may not be considered safe and accurate testing, as well as guidance from CDC or other public health authorities, and check for updates.
The guidance does not authorize administering COVID-19 antibody tests to employees or applicants. Antibody tests indicate whether an employee previously had COVID-19, and may have some immunity to the virus going forward. Such tests do not detect the presence of COVID-19. |
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| Important Information on COVID-19 |
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| Celebrating 30 Years in 2020 |
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| Founded in 1990, with offices in Houston and Austin, Andrews Myers, Attorneys at Law, is a corporate law firm and recognized market leader in Texas construction law. The firm focuses on the concentrated disciplines of commercial litigation, construction, commercial real estate, corporate and business transactions, with additional emphasis on related issues including bankruptcy and insolvency, energy, employment and capital formation. A seasoned team of attorneys provides timely and cost-effective solutions to the most complex problems facing entrepreneurs and middle-market industry leaders throughout the state and the nation. For more information please visit www.andrewsmyers.com. |
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