Federal COVID-19 Response Bill “3.5”; Additional Funding To Key Areas

On April 24, 2020, President Trump signed a nearly $500 billion coronavirus “Phase 3.5” relief bill that designates additional funds to the small business rescue program known as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The relief bill does not add new programs, nor does it impose any new obligations on employers; instead, it solely provides additional funding for the federal COVID-19 response to support small businesses, hospitals and to help enhance COVID-19 testing.

The relief bill includes:

• $320 billion in additional funds for the PPP, a loan program designed to help small businesses with the economic fallout from COVID-19. Initially, lawmakers had allocated $349 billion to the PPP as part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, but the program was exhausted three weeks later. Of the new funding, $60 billion would be set aside for smaller lending institutions with the intent of reaching underbanked businesses.
• $10 billion for Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) grants, plus $50 billion more for loans.
• $50 billion for SBA’s Disaster Loans Program Account
• $75 billion for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to support health care providers and local hospitals by providing reimbursements for COVID-19 related expenses, public health services, and lost revenue for uninsured Americans infected by COVID-19.
• $25 billion for COVID-19 testing, including $1 billion for testing costs for individuals without health insurance, $1 billion for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and $11 billion for states and municipalities.

DOD Issues Class Deviation to Alleviate Impact of COVID-19 on Contractors

The Department of Defense (DOD) announced that the Defense Pricing and Contracting (DPC) office issued a class deviation to allow payments to contractors who cannot work due to COVID-19. The class deviation guidance seeks to provide relief to the contracting community who may be affected by COVID -19.

The DPC office issued the class deviation to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) entitled, “CARES Act Section 3610 Implementation.” The deviation addresses section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, allowing agencies to reimburse contractors for payment to employees who otherwise are prohibited from working due to facility closures or other restrictions caused by COVID-19.

Also, to recognize the importance of supporting affected contractors, the deviation guidance offers a framework for contracting officers to assess any claimed allowable costs associated with the declared public health emergency.

More information is available at https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/pacc/cc/COVID-19.html

WHD Provides Additional Guidance On Expanded Coronavirus Paid Family Leave

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued additional guidance to employers and workers about relief and protections offered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which took effect on April 1, 2020. This new guidance provides detailed information on common issues that employers and workers face when responding to COVID-19 and its impact on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The WHD has included a comprehensive webinar explaining which employers are covered by the new law, which workers are eligible, and what protections and benefits the law provides. They have also added to the Questions and Answers section of their website, which addresses the frequently asked questions received to date. To view the webinar and other guidance materials, visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic.

Additionally, a growing list of compliance assistance materials has been updated and published on the WHD website, including a Fact Sheet for Employees and a Fact Sheet for Employers, available in both English and Spanish, Questions and Answers about posting requirements, and a Field Assistance Bulletin describing WHD’s 30-day non-enforcement policy.

For Fact Sheets, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave and https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave.

Coronavirus Relief Bill Passes

Congress passed, and President Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill. The relief package builds on initial emergency response funding and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides paid family leave benefits, free coronavirus testing, enhanced Unemployment Insurance, and increases federal Medicaid funding to states.

The most recently adopted $2 trillion package touches the most impacted parts of the economy by providing targeted assistance to the most affected workers, industries, and communities.

The package includes

• One-time direct payments to households of up to $1,200
• A four-month unemployment extension for laid-off workers, which will also include the self-employed
• $150 billion for the health care system
• $350 billion loan program for small businesses

Members of Congress are already discussing the need for a fourth relief bill to help rebuild. These discussions may address infrastructure spending.

Coronavirus Relief Bill Passes

Congress passed, and President Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill. The relief package builds on initial emergency response funding and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides paid family leave benefits, free coronavirus testing, enhanced Unemployment Insurance, and increases federal Medicaid funding to states.

The most recently adopted $2 trillion package touches the most impacted parts of the economy by providing targeted assistance to the most affected workers, industries, and communities.

The package includes:

• One-time direct payments to households of up to $1,200
• A four-month unemployment extension for laid-off workers, which will also include the self-employed
• $150 billion for the health care system
• $350 billion loan program for small businesses

Members of Congress are already discussing the need for a fourth relief bill to help rebuild. These discussions may address infrastructure spending.

USDOL Provides Guidance On Expanded Coronavirus Paid Family Leave

The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division published guidance to provide information on the family leave benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The family leave benefits take effect April 1, 2020, and goes through December 31, 2020.

FFCRA was passed by Congress to assist the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. In addition to paid family leave benefits, the law also provides free coronavirus testing, enhances Unemployment Insurance, strengthens food security, and increases federal Medicaid funding to states.

FFCRA will provide employers with 500 employees or less with funding to allow for paid employee leave, either to care for the employee’s own health needs or to care for a family member. The purpose is to ensure employees do not have to choose between working when they are sick, which further spreads the coronavirus and lost wages.

The new law generally provides 80 hours of family and medical leave either at 1) at the employee’s regular rate of pay, because the employee is quarantined or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking medical care or 2) at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay, because the employee is subject to government or health care provider quarantine, or to care for a child because of school or child care provider closure. Employers are entitled to dollar-for-dollar reimbursement through a tax credit for all qualifying wages paid as a result of FFCRA.

The information provided by the U.S. Department of Labor is provided in fact sheets for employees and employers, and FAQs. Links to the family leave information can be found at https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20200324

Memorandum Addressing COVID-19 And Federal Contractors

Federal contractors play a vital role in helping agencies meet the needs of our citizens, including the critical response efforts to COVID-19. The Office of Management and Budget recently put out an Executive Memorandum regarding federal contractors and COVID-19 that we wanted to make sure you reviewed.

You can read the entire memorandum by clicking here.

UPDATE: Construction listed as essential in revised state order

We are pleased to report that after submitting a letter to the governor this evening expressing the need for clarity around construction’s essential function during a crisis, the Newsom Administration updated their Executive Order. 

Construction, including housing construction, is listed as an essential need during this crisis. 

This clarification will allow our industry to continue working on critical infrastructure improvements essential during this time, including hospital construction and upgrades, building schools, and ensuring our roads and bridges are safe for first responders. 

NLRB Issues Joint-Employer Final Rule

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) final rule for the joint-employer standard under the National Labor Relations Act is intended to provide well-defined criteria that encourage important collective bargaining and promotes the purpose of the Act. The final rule, which takes effect on April 27, 2020, aims to provide detailed guidance.

The standard established by the final rule restores the joint-employer status that the NLRB applied for several decades before the 2015 decision in Browning-Ferris. The joint-employer standard under the NLRA is essential because it provides the framework by which the NLRB will determine whether a business is an employer of employees directly employed by another employer altogether.

Under the final rule, an employer may be considered a joint employer only if the two employers share or co-determine the employees’ terms and conditions of employment, such as hiring, firing, discipline, supervision, and direction. Additionally, the final rule establishes key terms, such as what is considered “essential terms and conditions of employment.” Specifically, noting that the employer must also possess and exercises such substantial and direct and immediate control and that it warrants a finding that it “meaningfully affects matters relating to the employment relationship.” 

During the announcement of the final rule, NLRB Chairman John F. Ring stated, that the final rule gives our joint-employer standard the clarity and stability that is essential to any successful labor-management relationship. Ring stated, “With the completion of today’s rule, employers will now have certainty in structuring their business relationships, employees will have a better understanding of their employment circumstances, and unions will have clarity regarding with whom they have a collective-bargaining relationship.”

Market Volatility And The Impact of the Coronavirus

The coronavirus epidemic, which began in January, has continued to exact a significant human and financial toll. As of the beginning of March, there have been more that 83,000 confirmed cases of persons infected with the virus and over more than 2,800 deaths, surpassing the death toll from the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus in 2003. The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus a global health emergency. Most of the cases initially occurred in the Chinese province of Hubei, which was quarantined. The virus has since spread to South Korea, Japan, Europe, and the Middle East, and is expected to begin gaining a foothold in the United States. A vaccine is not expected to be available to the public for many months.

How have the financial markets reacted? The US stock market, after an initial rally, has corrected at the fastest pace on record.  

Looking back in time, markets generally shrugged off viruses so long as they were perceived as being under control. The SARS virus, after driving an initial selloff in 2003, was largely contained and the S&P 500 index rose nearly 30% for the year.

Are things different this time? The answer has been a resounding yes.

Why have the financial markets reacted so suddenly and violently to the coronavirus epidemic?

• The virus has not been contained, and there is significant uncertainty as to how long the virus will last and its impact on global economies. This is causing analysis, data and forecasts to be virtually impossible to rely on. There is a saying that “markets abhor uncertainty”, which is helping drive stocks downward, with investors going into “safe haven” assets such as US government bonds, gold and cash.

• The Chinese economy is expected to slow significantly due to the virus, which will negatively impact trade with other countries and world economic growth.

• US companies such as Apple and Starbucks have temporarily closed stores in China and flights have been suspended. Since Apple also builds its iPhones in China, any slowdown in production and demand could negatively impact its earnings going forward. In fact, Apple has warned that it will miss its sales forecast in the first quarter of this year.  Since Apple has a major impact on the overall US stock market, this bears watching in addition to other companies’ supply chain disruptions.

• US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while steady, has been slowing over time and is now averaging around 2% on an annualized basis. The key driver to GDP growth has been consumer spending. However, spending slowed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and any further slowdown due to the virus could hurt economic growth, and stock prices. Current estimates forecast a 0.25% to 0.5% reduction in 2020 US GDP growth, and global GDP growth could be lowered by 0.3%.

US stock prices had been at record highs and had been buoyed by expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to lower interest rates. However, the coronavirus has more than tested the resilience of the stock market. For investors, portfolio diversification and strategic asset allocation remain important. Although the stock market will rebound at some point, market timing in terms of calling a bottom or “buying the dip” is likely to be futile in this uncertain and volatile environment.

NOTE: Information presented herein is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Past performance is not a guarantee of future investment results.

Frederic P. Slade, CFA
Assistant Vice President and Senior Director, Investments
Pentegra Retirement Services
March, 2020

About Frederic Slade

Fred Slade has over 25 years of experience in the investment management and retirement services industries. He is Senior Director, Investments for Pentegra Retirement Services, a leading provider of retirement services to financial institutions and organizations nationwide, founded by the Federal Home Loan Bank System in 1943. Mr. Slade has managed over $1 billion in internal bond portfolios and provides analytics and strategy for Pentegra’s Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans. Mr. Slade holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a CFA, and has presented at a number of seminars and conferences.