My Account Career Portal Forms Portal Learning Portal Mobility Magazine
Cart Cart

Worldwide ERC® Advocates on Paycheck Protection Program

Apr 21 2020
Published in: Public Policy
| Updated Apr 27 2023
Worldwide ERC® sent letters to congressional leaders requesting upcoming economic stimulus packages include three provisions related to the Paycheck Protection Program to help Worldwide ERC® members address the impact of the coronavirus.

Yesterday, Worldwide ERC® sent letters to U.S. congressional leaders requesting changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help mitigate losses due to global travel restrictions that are necessary to contain the coronavirus. On 16 April, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that the initial funding allocated to the program had run out. The U.S. Congress and Administration are currently negotiating the details of another legislative package to add more funding to the program.

The Paycheck Protection Program has been extremely popular with businesses seeking relief from the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown. Loans under the program have an extremely low interest rate of 1% with payments on principal and interest deferred for the first six months. Most importantly, an employer can have the loan, or a portion of it, forgiven depending on the percentage of employees retained. The program is for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

In the letters to congressional leaders, Worldwide ERC® makes three specific requests of lawmakers on the Paycheck Protection Program. The requests are as follows:

  • Appropriate additional funding for the PPP of no less than $250 billion. Worldwide ERC® will advocate for more funding to the program in the future as necessary to ensure that all eligible members have access to funds.
  • Allow businesses that secure a loan under PPP that is forgiven to also continue to defer payments of payroll taxes. Currently, a business cannot continue to defer payroll tax payments if their loan is forgiven.
  • Provide household goods moving businesses with fewer than 500 employees but affiliated with a company with more than 500 employees to be eligible for the PPP.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled a vote on the legislative package for later today depending on when negotiations conclude. If the Senate vote occurs as planned, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will move forward with a vote in the House but it’s uncertain how that will play out, as the House is in recess and at least one member has said they will not support unanimous consent.

The Congress continues to work on another more comprehensive stimulus package.

How This Impacts Mobility

The travel and related restrictions being put into place by governments, which are necessary to help the containment of the coronavirus, are severely impacting the ability to relocate employees. While not making Worldwide ERC® members whole, the association is pushing to provide relief to an industry which is being directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.