Important Legal and Safety Update for Dealers and Suppliers
Dear WANADA Members,
It has been a busy week, to say the least, for everyone. As you continue working diligently to maintain your business operations during this time of crisis, I wanted to make sure you were up to date on the latest state and federal initiatives that have been enacted in response.
Dealerships Can Remain Open in Md. and Va.; Repair Shops Are Essential
At the state level, dealerships in Maryland and Virginia are allowed to remain open at this time, with restrictions around the number of patrons allowed in showrooms at any given time. In addition, both states are, at minimum, following the federal government's definition of "essential" businesses, allowing auto-repair facilities to largely remain operative without restrictions related to patron size limits.
That said, we cannot reinforce strongly enough how important it is for you to continue prioritizing the health of your employees and your customers if you choose to continue operating your businesses.
Both governors in Maryland and Virginia have imposed strict limits on gatherings of 10 or more people (which, under our legal interpretation, applies to patrons and not employees).
You should also ensure that everyone in your stores, customers and employees, both in showrooms and repair shops, are able to keep a 6-foot distance from others at all times. We urge you to adhere to this requirement and to document the steps you are taking to ensure compliance. This is not only to protect yourself from potential legal exposure for violating these edicts, and not just because the states could easily force dealerships to close at any time, but because, at the root, your employees and patrons deserve to spend their time at venues where they feel safe, and where they truly are safe.
WANADA's
COVID-19 Information Library features links to all pertinent state statutes that have been implemented in the past few weeks, plus guidance from both state and federal health and safety authorities about how to best protect your customers and employees.
Families First Coronavirus Response Act
President Trump has signed two enormous bills in the past two weeks that directly impact your business operations -- the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the
CARES Act. The FFCRA was signed on March 18, and takes effect on Tuesday, while
the president signed the CARES Act yesterday.
The FFCRA will drastically expand eligibility for paid leave for workers at businesses with 500 or fewer employees, including up to 10 weeks of paid leave (up to $200/day, with a $10,000 total limit), paid for entirely by the federal government, for workers who need time off to care for a dependent child who is home due to mandated school closures. With Virginia schools closed for the rest of the academic year, and Maryland and D.C. out until late April at the earliest, you will want to be prepared now in case you have employees who need to invoke this provision.
The CARES Act and Guidance for Small Businesses
As for the
CARES Act, the $2 trillion rescue package includes hundreds of billions of dollars in funding to help small businesses meet payroll, pay rent/mortgage costs, and sustain other key functions during this economic downturn.
Sen. Ben Cardin's office has created a very helpful and thorough Small Business Owners' Guide to the CARES Act. Please read this and familiarize yourself with it, whether you think you need access to the funding right now or not.
We also provided details about the legislation in a memo to dealers and suppliers on Friday, and will provide additional guidance as we learn more details about loan qualifications, implementation, and timing. Please also continue referring to the
Internal Revenue Service website, as the IRS will be issuing direct payments of up to $1,200 for workers who earned $99,000 or less in 2019, plus additional payments to their dependent children.
The CARES Act also drastically expands eligibility for unemployment benefits, while increasing payments by an additional $600 per week, for at least the next four months. While the additional funding will come from the federal government, the expansion will be implemented by states through their pre-existing unemployment benefit programs.
Summary
If you have any questions about these bills, or have any questions about how to access funding from state, local, or federal government entities,
please feel free to contact me or Joe Koch (
jk@wanada.org
) at any time. If you have any questions about how the new laws and state ordinances will impact your benefits and/or insurance plans, please reach out to Ed Mullaney (
em@wanada.org
) or Connie Ryan (
cr@wanada.org
).
As always, we are here to serve our members, and to do everything we can to help get you through this extremely scary and difficult time for everyone. We are here to be your advocates, and we stand ready to serve you in any way we can.
