On Monday, January 11, 2021, the U.S. Small Business Administration (the SBA) along with the Treasury Department re-opened the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for both new and existing borrowers. This article focuses on existing PPP borrowers and outlines the steps to take to apply for a second draw PPP loan. Business principals considering a PPP […]

On December 27, 2020, the Economic Aid Act was signed into law, which is intended to, among other things, continue providing assistance to companies and entrepreneurs whose businesses were adversely affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. A key provision of the Economic Aid Act is an expansion of the already existing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). […]

With the initial distribution of the first vaccines approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration currently underway, employers are increasingly concerned about the extent to which they may or must mandate employee vaccination. In tacit recognition of those concerns and the complexities associated with vaccinating the American workforce, the Equal Employment Opportunity […]

Good news for small businesses. On November 20, 2020, the Northampton County COVID-19 Relief Small Business Grant Program re-opened and is currently accepting applications. Northampton County Council has approved this Grant Program, in partnership with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, that will distribute $1.3 million dollars of CARES Act Funds to Northampton County […]

Maraleen D. Shields, a shareholder in Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba’s Litigation and Healthcare practices was named to the Joint Task Force on Continuity of Delivery of Legal Services by Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) President David E. Schwager. Given the disparities in technological services across Pennsylvania’s counties, this 29-person task force is focused on creating recommendations […]

On July 23, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a procedural notice to lenders participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) concerning the loan forgiveness application process. The notice informs lenders that beginning August 10, 2020, they may begin submitting forgiveness applications through an online platform. The notice states that the SBA intends to […]

On July 16, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the availability of $50 million in grant funding to assist employers in providing hazard pay to employees performing life-sustaining jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The intent of the COVID-19 Hazard Pay Grant Program (Program) is to ensure that front-line employees in vital industries are able to […]

Rising COVID cases in counties across Pennsylvania led Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to implement targeted mitigation efforts.  These efforts, which went into effect the morning of Thursday, July 16, 2020, reimpose limits on gatherings and reemphasize the importance of telecommuting.  Here is how the order breaks down: The food […]

On July 4, 2020, President Trump signed a new law extending the deadline for applying for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to August 8, 2020. As the program was initially set to expire on June 30th, this extension provides potential borrowers additional time to access the program under its existing terms. Currently, it is […]

On June 26, 2020, twelve more counties in Pennsylvania (some of which were hit the hardest by COVID-19) will be moving into the “Green Phase” of Governor Tom Wolf’s process to reopen Pennsylvania. This means all counties, with the exception of Lebanon County, will be “Green.” The Green Phase is the third of three phases […]