Important COVID-19 Resources for Businesses and Employees
Dear WANADA Members,
It's only Tuesday, but, owing to the circumstances we are all in these days, it's already been a busy week. The leaders of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia have all issued stay-at-home orders for their jurisdictions, further underscoring the importance of avoiding social contact with others as much as is reasonably possible during the coming weeks.
Yesterday, we issued a best practices guidance to Maryland dealers that goes above and beyond what Governor Larry Hogan's latest executive order requires. Under Maryland law, dealers are not required to close their showrooms
, but all businesses are required to adhere to the strict social distancing and capacity guidelines outlined by the state and the CDC. Maryland has an excellent resource page for businesses and we strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with it.
We continue to encourage dealers to limit the number of customers in their dealerships as much as possible by conducting sales on an appointment-only basis. Where it is possible to conduct sales business online or over the phone, we encourage dealers to do so.
For employees on both sides of the Potomac River who are still performing essential work at essential businesses, we have published sample letters for them to keep in their car to show police officers that they have a valid reason to be traveling during this time.
You can view the
Maryland letter here
, and the
Virginia letter at this link
. Thank you to Don Hall and the team at VADA for allowing us to share the Virginia employee letter that they drafted.
Families First Coronavirus Response Act
CARES Act and Small Business Funds
As we have communicated over the past few days, the newly-enacted
CARES Act is a gigantic economic rescue package that includes the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses through their
Small Business Administration lender.
Already, American Honda Motor Co.
has sent a memo to their dealers detailing steps they have taken to help their franchisees qualify for SBA loans under the act. We will continue sharing communications from OEMs
at this link as we receive them, and we encourage you to reach out to your manufacturers (and your SBA lender) if you believe you will need any of these funds.
As we have mentioned previously, there are also
resources in Maryland for small businesses to secure funding to help prevent layoffs or to continue basic business operations. Please click the link above for more information. Also, the
Virginia Employment Commission has updated their COVID-19 information page with the latest details on how laid off and furloughed workers in the commonwealth can qualify for the expanded unemployment benefits that are a major component of the CARES Act.
Summary
As always, you can feel free to contact me or
Joe Koch (
jk@wanada.org
) at any time.
Similarly, please contact Ed Mullaney (
em@wanada.org
) or Connie Ryan (
cr@wanada.org
) if you have any questions about your WANADA-provided insurance or benefits programs.
We are working around the clock to serve and advocate on behalf of our members, and we will continue doing so long after this crisis passes.
