Heightened Scrutiny for PPP Loans and Safe Harbor to Return PPP Funds

The Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury Department responded to recent Congressional and media attention to businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. In public statements of Secretary Mnuchin and SBA's updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) effective as of April 29, 2020, the government clarified its approach when auditing PPP loans.  A loan audit Read More »

More Funding Available for Employers to Meet Payroll

Federal legislation authorizing additional funding for employers, hospitals and healthcare providers confronting Covid-19 pandemic is effective April 24, 2020.  The Paycheck Protection Program Increase Act of 2020 ("PPPIA") is the fourth piece of major federal legislation adopted in response to Covid-19. NOTE: The Payroll Protection Program resumes Monday, April 27th at 10:30 AM EDT. The SBA will resume Read More »

Proclamation Suspending Immigrant Visa Entries

This week, a Proclamation was issued suspending some immigrant visa entries.  The order went into effect April 23, 2020 at midnight eastern time and will last for 60 days.  The effect of this proclamation is that some people who are outside the U.S. waiting for an immigrant visa may not enter the U.S. as immigrants Read More »

2020-2021 NYS Enacted Budget Requires Prevailing Wage on Industrial Development and Local Development Corporation Projects

Pursuant to the enacted 2020‐2021 NYS Budget (the "Budget"), covered projects undertaken by industrial development agencies ("IDAs") and local development corporations ("LDCs") will be subject to prevailing wage, effective January 1, 2022. A "Covered Project" is any construction work done under contract that is paid for in whole or in part out of public funds where the Read More »

LEGAL ALERT: Limited Immigration Services Continue

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Homeland Security and related agencies have closed or strictly limited many immigration-related services, but emergency services continue and some applications are still being processed. The following is an overview of the current immigration services. USCIS Offices Closed through at least May 3, 2020 USCIS initially cancelled Read More »

Recent New York Medicaid Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak

In response to the COVID-19 health crisis, the New York State Department of Health issued statewide directives on March 21, 2020 to counties across the state as to how they should be addressing certain situations specifically with respect to Medicaid eligibility and enrollment.  To be more specific, the Department of Health issued guidance in the Read More »

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”), effective April 1 through December 31, 2020.  The FFCRA seeks to assist employees impacted by COVID-19 and covers employers with less than 500 employees and certain public agencies. This summary is focused on the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Read More »