Coronavirus update 4/8/20
MRA Board of Directors call with Secretary Michael Kennealy
Yesterday, the MRA Board of Directors did a conference call with Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Michael Kennealy and Undersecretary Mark Fuller. The participants on the call reaffirmed the need that government needs to be a partner in getting our industry back and flourishing. The Administration officials recognized the severe impacts that our industry has felt and pledged to do all they can to help and advocate for issues that are outside of their control. The call was recorded and can be heard in its entirety here:
MRA call with Secretary Kennealy
DOL finalizes regulations for COVID-2 implementation
As a reminder, COVID-2 was passed by the US Congress back in March and provides sick time protections for employees directly impacted by COVID-19 in addition to tax credits for employers that have employees that have been impacted.
The National Restaurant Association Public Affairs Team has created the following guidance document on the regulations.
Click for guidance
Governor Baker expands guidelines on grocery stores to 40% occupancy
The Department of Public Health released further guidance to promote social distancing at grocery stores. The new guidance requires that each grocery store limit occupancy to 40% of its maximum permitted occupancy level.
A Message from the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
Dear Restaurant Owner/Operators,
This is a difficult time for everyone and we in the Attorney General’s Office are inspired by the many ways those in our community have stepped up to help and support each other. We know many of you are offering free food or drinks, free delivery, or other special offers for our heroes on the front lines of caring for COVID patients – our healthcare workers and first responders. We are compiling a list of such offers as a resource for our front-line heroes, and for everyone who wants to support businesses that are supporting them. If your establishment has a special offer for our front-line workers, please complete this short form to be included in our listing:
https://share.hsforms.com/1HZQr90RiRuWbgFR3vwVavQ4dkuz
. Questions can be sent to
Mealsforheroes@mass.gov
. We appreciate all that you are doing.
PPP Questions
Everyday, new guidance and a new set of questions about the PPP come up. We are working with our Congressional delegation, Massachusetts SBA Administrators and our partners in the banking industry to get all of your questions answered. The list of questions that we are working on today, include:
- In order to qualify for loan forgiveness, are we required to hire the SAME employees? What if we lose some people or do not re-hire some laid-off workers, but replace them with other workers?
- Must all of the PPP the money be paid out by June 30 to qualify for loan forgiveness?What if we are not able to re-open until later than May 4? What if we need to reopen with limited capacity? Are we still going to be required to have same headcounts and 75% payroll to qualify for forgiveness?
- If an operation has applied for both PPP and EIDL loans, am I allowed to apply for both, and simply return the PPP funding and take the EIDL?
- Am I allowed to choose my funding date for the loan?
We will have these answers and more FAQ's as they become available.
