In This Issue
- Save the Date: WANADA Annual Meeting Goes Virtual on Nov. 5
- Don’t Miss WANADA’s Legal and Ethical Standards Training Workshops
- Register Today for NADA’s Virtual D.C. Conference on Sept. 21 and 22
- Important Guidance for Real Estate-Related Forgiveness Under PPP
- Va. MVDB Adds Three More Sales License Background Check Providers
- New Guidance on FFCRA Paid Leave Provisions for Working Parents
- In Memoriam: Frank Culler
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Due to the current situation with COVID-19, WANADA’s 2020 Annual Meeting will be moving online this year, and will be held on Thursday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to noon (subject to change). WANADA members and partners will receive information on how to register for and access the virtual event, plus details on a keynote speaker and other scheduled programming, no later than mid-October.
While the event is moving online this year, WANADA will still be presenting the same high-quality programming as in past years, including hosting a keynote speaker who will help make sense of the 2020 election (which will be held two days prior to the meeting) and what it means for the auto industry.
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WANADA is offering virtual legal and ethics training seminars, with one for sales managers and another for service managers and advisors. The sessions will be held on September 22 through the Zoom video conferencing service.
Each session costs $100 per registrant and will last roughly four hours. To register for the sales manager training session, please click here. To register for the service managers and advisors training session, please click here.
The training session will fulfill the annual compliance re-certification requirement for dealership personnel, and will cover the latest federal and state laws pertaining to dealerships and business ethics. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Teich at kt@wanada.org.
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NADA’s 2020 Washington Conference will be conducted virtually on Sept. 21 and 22. We encourage all NADA members to click here and register for the event, which will feature updates from association leadership and political insiders. Given the unprecedented year we are all living and working in, and the trillions of dollars in financial support that have been disbursed from Washington in response to the COVID-19 crisis, you will not want to miss this event.
The conference will feature presentations from 1 to 3 p.m. on both Monday and Tuesday of next week. Monday’s presentation will be a policy briefing from NADA’s legislative staff, while Tuesday’s event will be a political update from Charlie Cook and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report, one of the best-known political forecasting outlets in Washington.
If you have any questions about the conference, please contact NADA at washconf@nada.org.
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According to the legislative affairs team at NADA, the guidance “clarifies that rent paid to a real estate entity owned by a borrower is forgivable only to the extent that the real estate entity makes mortgage interest or lease payments to a third party.”
NADA also acknowledges that, “for franchised dealership PPP borrowers most, if not all, of their forgivable expenses will consist of payroll and payroll-related items versus nonpayroll expenses such as rent or mortgage interest.” That said, this guidance could still be of use to many dealers who needed to use PPP funds to make rent or mortgage payments to a third-party lender, while still fulfilling the other forgiveness requirements of the program.
Please review NADA’s excellent guides to the program, PPP Loans: Use of Proceeds and Forgiveness, and their CARES Act FAQs page, for more information on this latest SBA rule and all others related to the PPP. Please be sure to consult your accountant and your SBA 7(a) Lender before you file any forgiveness application, particularly one that requests forgiveness for rent payments paid to a real-estate lender.
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Dealers in Virginia are now required to complete background checks on behalf of new sales personnel who are seeking a license in the state, and they now have five providers to choose from. Dealers will need to get a unique background check code number for each sales staff member, and list it on the MVDB 61 form they submit to the state on their behalf.
Employment Screening Services
Russ Blitz
205-879-0143
Partnership Screening International Inc.
Jim Hulburt
804-221-2341
Bill Auchmoody
804-908-4771
The Cole Group
Paige Johnson
1-800-337-0165
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Earlier this month, our friends at NADA issued additional guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a federal law enacted in April which greatly expands paid sick and family leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You may view the most up-to-date version of NADA’s FFCRA FAQs page, which incorporates new guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor around federally-covered paid leave eligibility for parents of students who are facing a number of school re-opening scenarios, including all-online schooling, blended learning, and all in-person classes.
We strongly encourage you to review the guidance, and to discuss it with your legal advisors to ensure that your employees are fully aware of all paid leave provisions available to them under the FFCRA.
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A native Washingtonian, Frank was a World War II veteran who came back to the region after serving in the Philippines and had a distinguished career in the automotive industry. After serving as an automotive tech at several regional dealerships, Frank spent 37 years working his way up the ranks at Hill and Sanders Ford in Silver Spring, serving as a vice president and general manager.
Frank was also the vice president of the Montgomery County Automotive Trades Foundation for nearly three decades, helping high school graduates in the region find a pathway to a stable and well-paying vocational career as automotive technicians at area dealerships. The ATF has long been a valuable partner in WANADA's Automobile Dealer Technical Institute.
To his daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, along with all those whose lives were greatly improved by Frank's hard work, kind spirit, and commitment to public service, WANADA expresses its sincere condolences.
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