Let CSSI Help You With Your COVID-19 Exposure Control Program
The safety of our members and their employees remains paramount in this fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, we have heard an uptick in the number of owners requiring the submission of a COVID-19 exposure control program by contractors. In this blog update, we are taking additional steps to provide MBI members with a template that can be adapted to fit your own company’s needs. This document, created by the professionals from Construction Safety Specialists Inc. (CSSI), is NOT intended to be fixed. It IS intended to be flexible, providing you and your team, and the owners you serve, a written plan on how you are doing your part to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our safety professionals at CSSI are standing by and ready to assist you should you need it. Please feel free to contact any one of them below:
Mark Wieland
515-577-7622
mark@iowacssi.com
Brandon Black
515-577-5198
brandon@iowacssi.com
Michael Messer
319-572-3595
michael@iowacssi.com
BrownWinick Law Firm Provides Best Practices for PPP Loan Participants
BrownWinick has identified some best-practices for ensuring compliance with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Below are high points, but please reach out to me with any questions. Additionally, new regulations are coming out and our firm will be posting more about those on brownwinick.com.
- Once the applicant receives the loan, those funds are eligible for forgiveness based on use on qualifying expenses over the next eight weeks. In eight weeks, the recipient will need to demonstrate to the SBA and its lender how the funds were spent on qualifying expenses (i.e. payroll, rent, interest on mortgage debt and utilities).
- During these eight weeks, it is critical that recipients document accurately and in an organized manner all use of forgivable funds.
- Recipients should consider opening a separate account exclusively for PPP funds. This will assist in tracking payments to qualifying expenses.
- Recipients will also need to provide documentation verifying the number of full-time equivalent employees on payroll as well as the dollar amounts of payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered rent payments, and covered utilities for the eight week period following the loan disbursement.
- Since non-payroll expenses cannot exceed 25% of the forgivable portion of the loan, recipients should separate and record payments to payroll versus non-payroll expenses.
- Recipients should consider implementing a system whereby any use of PPP funds includes date, time, amount, and forgivable purpose.
- Additionally, recipients should maintain records of COVID-19’s overall impact on the ongoing operations of the business, which will support claims of the indispensability of the loan.
If you would like to discuss the any of the information above, or how COVID-19 is impacting your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Brian Rickert, Construction Practice Group Chair
BrownWinick Law Firm
Brownwinick.com
515-242-2457
brian.rickert@brownwinick.com
Your Mental Health Is Just As Important As Your Physical Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us in individual ways. And as the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) advises, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Isolation, social distancing and limited interactions can all impact you or your employees’ mental health. It’s important to keep an eye out for those that might appear to be struggling and let them know there are resources and help available.
IDPH has put together this document titled, “How to Cope with Anxiety about Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)”
Some additional resources for your use:
Employees & Families:
Employers:
