Congress has expanded the application of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA) to make available the streamlined and, therefore, less expensive form of business reorganization to more businesses. The SBRA went into effect on February 19, 2020 and provides for some modifications to a typical Chapter 11 reorganization for very small businesses, which streamlines the process in many ways, including: Creditor’s committees are eliminated. A private trustee is appointed in the case to act as a liaison between the business and its creditors to attempt to arrive upon a consensual plan. No separate disclosure statement is required and …
Ohio Health Director Continues “Stay at Home Order” Through May 1, 2020
On Thursday, April 2, 2020, Governor DeWine announced an Amended “Stay at Home” Order issued by Ohio Health Director Amy Acton, MD, MPH (the “Amended Order”). The Amended Order extends the original Order’s two-week restrictions on the ability of individuals in Ohio to leave their residences, this time through May 1, 2020 at 11:59 PM. Additionally, the Amended Order continues the prior Order’s prohibition on the operation of non-essential businesses and operations. The same exemptions for businesses operating as “essential businesses and operations” created under the initial Order still apply. Notably, the Amended Order provides some new requirements for stores …
SBA Issues Last Minute Interim Rule On Paycheck Protection Program Loans
On Thursday, April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an Interim Final Rule (IRF), which constitutes the much-anticipated “Regulations” called for in the CARES Act on implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). While the IRF is considered “interim” and requests public comments over a 30-day period, it is anticipated that lenders will rely on it once they begin accepting and processing applications for those small businesses seeking PPP loans. We previously explained the program in our blog post found here. Among other key changes in the IRF are the following clarifications: Independent Contractors. Contrary to the …
Ohio Governor Issues Guidance for Commercial Lenders and Landlords
Ohio Governor Mike Dewine issued an Executive Order (Order 2020-08D) on April 1, 2020 requesting that landlords and lenders to small businesses provide rent and payment relief to their tenants/customers. Governor DeWine’s order is here. Governor DeWine requests in his order that landlords with small business commercial tenants suspend rent payments and cease evictions, both for at least ninety consecutive days. Similarly, mortgage lenders are asked to provide at least ninety consecutive days of forbearance. Specifically, Governor DeWine is asking lenders to forgo monetary and non-monetary remedies (filing suit, initiating foreclosures, impounding funds, terminating credit, sweeping cash, or requiring waivers …
Coolidge Wall Outlines Key Features of the Paycheck Protection Program For Your Business
The Paycheck Protection Program provides approximately $350 billion for a temporary supplement to the SBA’s current loan program through which SBA-approved banks are authorized to make loans to qualifying eligible entities. The PPP has three key components: Expanding the businesses that are eligible for loans; Modifying the loan terms, including eliminating guaranty and collateral requirements of the borrower; and Allowing all or a portion of the loan to be forgiven if the borrower maintains its payroll during the eight-week period following the funding and uses the loan proceeds as permitted. SBA-approved banks are moving expeditiously to create simple PPP loan …
New IRS Guidance Requires Employees to Provide Information to Request Paid Leave
New guidance from the IRS, issued the evening of March 31, 2020, answers some of the questions left open by recent DOL publications on the issue of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Expanded FMLA leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Perhaps most importantly, the IRS guidance identifies specific information that employers can require from employees seeking paid leave under the new statute. Employers may require a written request for any leave sought under the FFCRA including, at a minimum: The employee’s name; The date or dates for which leave is requested; A statement identifying the COVID-19 …
SBA Affiliation Rules as They Pertain to the CARES Act
On March 27, 2020, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. Our separate post outlines the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and is a distinct component of the Act. Inherent to the PPP (and other SBA loans modified by the Act), is the question of “affiliation” as it pertains to businesses, their owners, and their parent and subsidiary entities and affiliations. Importantly, the SBA’s size and affiliation rules are broader than most common understandings of the affiliation concept in other aspects of the law and will …
Stay at Home Order Enforcement Underway in Montgomery County, Ohio
The Dayton Daily News reported this morning (April 1, 2020) that 270 Montgomery County sites are being investigated for failing to comply with Ohio’s Stay at Home Order. The Dayton & Montgomery County Department of Public Health is sending letters to businesses covered by such complaints and are requesting that they provide information proving that they comply with the Stay at Home Order. Health inspectors also started visiting sites on Monday. Specifically, responding businesses are going to be asked to submit: justification that the business meets the definition of essential businesses and operations; the measures the business has implemented to …
- Page 2 of 2
- 1
- 2