On Monday, August 9, 2021, Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation requiring certain state workers and health care workers to be vaccinated. This blog post is intended to provide an overview of what the Governor’s Proclamation says and how it affects certain state workers and certain public and private health care providers. It does […]
The SBA has released its loan forgiveness application: The application contains an “alternate payroll period” and instructions for calculation FTEs for forgiveness purposes. More guidance will be forthcoming.
When the Paycheck Protection Program rolled out the morning of April 3, many faith-based nonprofits had legitimate concerns about their eligibility for such loans or the impact of receiving federal financial assistance. We explored those issues in this post and advised faith-based nonprofits that were otherwise interested to apply but watch for the SBA’s promised […]
The Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act goes live today (though lenders are expressing concern about preparedness). This post is intended for religious nonprofits that have questions about the strings attached to governmental aid. What rights will they relinquish as a condition of accepting a government-guaranteed, forgivable loan? These concerns are rooted in the […]
The CARES Act allocates $349 billion for forgivable paycheck protection loans for small businesses, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, sole proprietors, self-employed (even gig economy) workers, and others. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has an excellent four-page summary here: Generally limited to employers with less than 500 employees, the maximum loan amount is 2.5 times the borrower’s average monthly payroll cost up to a maximum of $10 million. The loan can be completely forgiven to […]
On March 23, Governor Jay Inslee issued a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation. It requires all residents to stay at home except to conduct or participate in essential activities or for employment in essential business services. The proclamation is clear that multi-person gatherings, including spiritual and faith-based activities, are prohibited. But what about churches livestreaming […]
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act The recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act includes the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (Act). Effective as of April 2, 2020, employers that employ less than 500 employees must provide additional paid sick leave to their employees for certain absences related to COVID-19 (C19 Paid Sick Leave). The Act provides full-time employees 80 hours of C19 Paid Sick Leave. Part-time employees have C19 Paid Sick Leave equal to the number of hours […]
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act Congress passed and the president signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which included the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (E-FMLA). E-FMLA goes into effect on April 2, 2020 and expands coverage of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include paid leave to care for […]
Churches and other faith-based organizations that have children and youth programming have legal and moral obligations to protect the children in their care. Yet failure to provide adequate protection for children and youth is one of the primary reasons these organizations get sued, and victims carry lifelong scars. A strong child protection policy is critical […]
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed another constitutional challenge to the clergy housing allowance. The lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation argued that the clergy housing allowance violated the First Amendment. The Court of Appeals held that the FFRF did not have standing because it had not been specifically injured. The housing allowance allows […]
