COVID-19 Update August 20, 2020

We just wrapped another successful webinar – don’t forget, we host one every other Thursday at 3 PM CST. If you missed it, the recording will be uploaded within the next 24 hours.

New unemployment claims have exceeded 1 million again for the week ending August 15. Those that received the federal stimulus subsidy for unemployment of $600 were reminded earlier this week by the IRS that it will need to be declared as earnings for next year’s tax returns. The recently announced additional $300 unemployment benefit will have the option to have taxes withheld, avoiding potential inability to pay later on. In addition, the IRS affirmed that PPP loan forgiveness is considered income to your bottom line and should thus be viewed as a taxable event.

Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) submitted a proposed rule for pooled retirement plans. This would be slightly different than the plan that Delta and other PEOs offer, typically referred to as MEPs or Multi-Employer Plans. The new pooled plan could be interpreted as MEPs with shared employment or vendors that tie companies together. We should have more info on this tomorrow.

Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security has advised that employers with entirely remote workforces as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic now have until September 19th to take advantage of relaxed document inspection requirements for Form I-9 when onboarding new hires.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s permission to allow businesses to take employees’ temperatures to ward off the spread of COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic could be interpreted as conflicting with the Americans with the Disabilities Act (ADA) which prohibits medical examinations unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. SHRM has created a guide for employee temperature checks that acknowledges the fact that certain people with Coronavirus do not show symptoms of a fever. Moreover, the EEOC has released initiatives and degrees for guidance on how to make hiring and promoting more equitable as many businesses are eager to evaluate and improve diversity.