Our company is honored to serve a diverse range of customers, many of whom are directly defending the nation as essential businesses during this time of crisis. Our financials are strong, and we are well-positioned to continue providing payroll and employer services in all conditions. Following recommendations of Ohio Department of Health, Minutemen HR Management Services has implemented contingency plans allowing for remote work from home for most service representatives while providing enhanced safety for essential office personnel. To read more about our organizational response to the COVID-19 crisis, click here. Until further notice the following operational changes are enacted in order to protect the safety of our associates and clients:
We recommend using this checklist to ensure that business-owners have considered taking these key steps to best position themselves to respond to the economic and legal concerns related to the novel coronavirus:
Congress has passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which is effective from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. This Act includes both the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”). All employers must post this Employee Rights Poster (PDF) published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) in a conspicuous location in the workplace and, if the workplace is currently closed, the employer must either email the employees this Poster or post it to an employee information website.
The EFMLEA expands the current provisions of the FMLA. The EFMLEA provides qualified employees with the ability to take 12 weeks of a combination of unpaid and paid time off if the employee is unable to work or telework due to the need to care for a child under the age of 18 as a result of such child’s school or place of care being closed due to COVID-19. Because the EFMLEA is an expansion of the EFMLEA, an employee does not get an additional 12 weeks of leave, rather an employee gets a total of 12 weeks of leave per year whether taken under the EFMLEA or the FMLA.
The EPSLA provides employees with the ability to take 2 weeks of paid time off if an employee is unable to work or telework due to certain qualifying reasons related to COVID-19. An employee is not required to take acquired paid time off, personal days, or sick days before taking EPSLA leave. However, an employee may choose to use such acquired paid time off first, if the employee chooses to do so.
Please note that many health care provider employers are excluded from the requirement that they implement these policies. If your company provides health care services and you would like to exercise this exception, please contact an attorney to discuss.
The cost of providing the FFCRA leave can be offset with payroll tax credits. The IRS has published guidance on this, and our payroll software has be updated. If your tax credit exceeds the current federal taxes due, the IRS will send a reimbursement.
Below is a list of important points and several informational resources pertaining to the FFCRA. We will post more details and guides here as they are developed.
One of the main components of the economic lifeline known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allows businesses with fewer than 500 employees to receive loans up to 2.5 times their 2019 average monthly payroll expense.
Businesses can work directly with their banking representatives to apply for the loans via the Small Business Administration. More information about the CARES Act and the PPP loans is included in the links below.
Please refer to our guide How To Gather Payroll Info for PPP Loan Applications (PDF) for more instructions. Clients using the desktop version of Evolution (aka Evolution Classic) can run a new report called CARES Act SBA PPP Census. Below are some additional tips for gathering payroll information.
Evolution Minute Men Select PEO clients:
Company> Reports> Tax Report for PEO (run for the entire 2019 year, and be sure to deselect any unprocessed payrolls showing a status of “W”)
Evolution ASO (standard payroll) clients:
Company> Reports> Tax Report For Payroll (run for the entire 2019 year, and be sure to deselect any unprocessed payrolls showing a status of “W”). Copies of 941s, if needed, are found in sets of Quarterly Reports previously distributed. Client Payroll Representatives can provide additional copies upon request.
Kronos clients:
1. For a wage/tax summary: Main Menu> Team (double person icon)> Payroll> Reports> Taxes> Tax Wage Details (change from default filter parameters of “Calendar Date” to “Date Range,” set as needed and click Apply).
2. For employee-specific detail: Main Menu> Team> Payroll> Reports> Payroll Register> Payroll Register by Employee (set Date Range as described above. Multi-EIN clients should select desired Company EIN in “Filters” menu [funnel icon]. In “Additional Settings” menu [gear icon], be sure that the “Include ER Taxes” (see image) box is checked.)
Minute Men Select PEO clients should be aware that in lieu of a 941, an explanation may be required to let the SBA know that your company’s 941 and Federal Income Tax filings are aggregated as a part of the Minute Men Select Inc 941 under Minute Men Select’s Federal EIN 26-4663300.
In addition to the PPP, there are new grant programs, both nationally through the SBA and locally in Cuyahoga County, that are being launched to help businesses with less than 20 employees.
The SBA program offers $5,000 in short-term relief grants to businesses that employ between three and 20 employees, operate in an economically vulnerable community (see section on SBA’s website where you can enter a zip code), and have been financially harmed by COVID-19.
The Cuyahoga County program offers $2,500 to $5,000 in grants, based on need as evaluated by a Grant Committee, to businesses: (1) with less than 20 employees; (2) that have less than $1 Million in annual revenue; (2) that have been operating for at least one year; (4) that have a physical establishment in Cuyahoga County (5) that are owned by a resident of Cuyahoga County; (6) that is composed of a workforce containing at least 25% Cuyahoga County residents; (7) that plan to re-open within one calendar year; and (8) that have experience more than 50% revenue disruption due to COVID-19. Additionally, the applicant must certify that he/she applied, or are not eligible, for one of the SBA Disaster Relief Programs through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) at www.sba.gov.
Finally, in addition to the grants, Cuyahoga County is offering additional $5,000 to $350,000 loans through its Stabilization Fund partners. To be eligible for such loans the business must: (1) have a physical establishment in Cuyahoga County, and (2) have been in operation for that least one year.
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