As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the United States, business owners and HR professionals are dealing with multiple workforce issues related to COVID-19. Below guidance and resources seek to shed some light on the Paycheck Protection Program, addresses how to complete the Form I-9 if your new hire is “remote” due to COVID-19 precautions, and  how to address the situation of an employee testing positive for coronavirus.

• My colleague Tenley Carp wrote a alert called “What Every Small Business Needs to Know About the CARES Act,” focusing on the Paycheck Protection Program and loans available through private lenders and funded by the government. The loan forgiveness program applies to companies employing 500 or less employees and the money can be used for payroll, rent, utilities. Click here to read her alert.
• Speaking of the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program, are you looking for the application for borrowers?  Click here for the application and click here to learn more about the program.  The Paycheck Protection Program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent and utilities.
• Are you hiring and wondering how to complete the Form I-9 when your office or worksite is closed due to a state or local order related to COVID-19 and your workforce is working remotely from home.  The government still expects businesses to comply with the Form I-9 and E-Verify requirements (if you are an E-Verify company) and these must be completed within three business days of hire.  But, how do you comply with the requirement to visually inspect the document(s) presented by the individual for Section 2 of the Form I-9 when your company is taking COVID-19 precautions and HR and the new hire are in different locations?  The Department of Homeland Security is offering a reprieve to the legal requirement that an employer visually inspect the documents (i.e., the “in-person” requirement). Click here to read an alert I posted on this topic.
• Finally, my colleagues Ashley Kelly, Henry Perlowski and Ed Cadagin wrote this alert on how a business can respond in this scenario–“Mike from accounting just texted me. He’s not coming in today because he’s tested positive for coronavirus. What do we do?” How would your company respond in such a situation?  Click here for guidance.