At 4 p.m. today, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (who himself has tested positive for COVID) and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine issued new, “limited-time”, targeted COVID mitigation orders. The orders hit the franchise industry hard. About the only silver-lining is that, unlike the indefinite restrictions imposed last spring, these new restrictions have a specific time
FPRs in the Time of COVID-19
As if the global pandemic was not enough to cause franchisors and their attorneys heartburn, the North American Securities Administrators Association released a commentary titled “Disclosing Financial Performance Representations in the Time of COVID-19” to add another spice to the stomach turning situation. While it provides franchisors with recommendations on evaluating existing FPRs,
Are COVID Immunity Laws Good for Franchising? (Part 2: The Counterpoint)
My vote is YES! In fact, I think they are essential! I thus respectfully disagree with my partner and colleague John Gotaskie.
John appropriately focuses on three stakeholders in discussing immunity legislation: business operators, employees and consumers. In my opinion, COVID immunity laws are critical to franchisors, franchisees, franchise employees, and consumers.
COVID has
HEROES + HEALS = ?????: COVID Relief 3.0 is a Mystery
This is like watching sausage being made – it isn’t pretty. The House passed its $3 Trillion COVID rescue package (the HEROES Act) about a month ago. But the Senate’s HEALS Act is still a work in progress with an unpredictable future. And of course the internally split Senate must negotiate final legislation with
A Summer Potpourri (Part 1): Congress Legislates and the Fed Weighs In
Amidst the continuing pandemic, summer brings faint hope that someday things might return to business as usual. For the franchise industry, recent events offer a hint of normality. In Part 1 of this early summer round-up, we take a look at the actions taken by Congress to legislate some flexibility into Payroll Protection Plan loans
What the Heck Does Yellow Phase Re-Opening Mean (Pennsylvania)? (Updated 5/31/20)
Let’s posit you have operations in Pennsylvania, where I live, and those operations are in located in one of the Northcentral or Northwestern Counties (including Erie) that went to Yellow Phase on May 8th, one of the Southwestern Counties
ACT NOW!!! New PPP and EIDL funds will disappear FAST
Yesterday, legislation adding an additional $310 Billion to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and $50 Billion to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds passed the Senate, and passage in the House is imminent. But the new funds will disappear quickly!
The original massive PPP and EIDL appropriations evaporated in less than two weeks. Although
CARES ACT – A LIQUIDITY LIFELINE (With tough choices for franchising)
Let’s face it—COVID-19 has decimated the franchise industry, along with the rest of the economy. The food service, hospitality, travel and the service sectors had very tough decisions to make almost instantly, with very little guidance. Questions persist: Can or should franchise businesses continue to operate? How can workers be protected? How can business be supported and bills paid? How long will it last, and how quickly can the industry get back on its feet?
We still don’t know the answer to the last two questions. But the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed on March 27, 2020 should help staunch the financial bleeding. CARES offers franchise businesses a liquidity lifeline in the form of loans (which can become grants), deferred payments, and tax relief. CARES is targeted to small businesses (fewer than 500 employees) but in a coup for franchising, franchises, specifically “any organization operating as a franchise that is assigned a franchise identifier code by the SBA,” are exempted from the size eligibility requirements. This is especially significant for multi-unit franchisees, whose multiple locations when combined would have exceeded the 500 employee limit. In an earlier parallel move, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFRCA) to protect liquidity for individuals and families. The overarching intent of these massive spending bills, unprecedented in our nation’s history, is to help businesses and individuals weather the challenge of COVID-19. Neither law is intended to be a stimulus.
CARES poses tough choices to businesses that are already in shock, the result of an abrupt closure or dramatic sudden catastrophic decline in income. Should employees be laid off or retained? Is it better to off-load employee expense, normally a business’ greatest expense, or keep them employed and bear the potential burden of the increased sick pay and family medical leave payments mandated by FFRCA? If a business opts to maintain employees, will it be able to survive financially? If employees are laid off, how quickly will they return to the workplace in light of the greatly expanded and very generous unemployment benefits mandated by CARES? When the virus struck, the workforce was fully employed; there was no excess of workers. Thus, workers who are financially dissuaded from returning to work when the virus emergency ends may dampen or delay the economic recovery that is the goal of CARES.
Continue Reading CARES ACT – A LIQUIDITY LIFELINE (With tough choices for franchising)
The CARES Act and Small Business Administration Loans
There’s a big insurance company that uses the tag line: Life Comes at You Fast. I sure feel that life is coming at me very fast in this Brave New World of COVID-19. Congress seems to agree, as it worked in record time to enact the $2 Trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or
(UPDATED) Are State Registration Deadlines Changing under COVID-19? Yes and No (a survey)
This was updated on April 15, 2020, to reflect changes issued by Illinois and Indiana.
This was updated on April 6, 2020, to reflect changes issued by Virginia.
This has been updated to reflect changes issued by Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, and Washington.
Good things come to those who wait … except when