2020 has certainly been an interesting year.  Thankfully, it is ending with a new federal act aimed at relieving businesses, industries, and individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  It is known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

This Act consists of more than just a stimulus package. It also contains funding for the government through most of 2021.  My previous post, Finally, More Money! – The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, covered a broad overview of the stimulus package.  This post will discuss the third round of the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

While this is the third round of funding for the PPP, it is only the second time a single business may apply for that funding. The second round of PPP funding went to qualifying businesses that missed out on money the first time.
Continue Reading Paycheck Protection Program Take Three? – Part 1

On October 8, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) announced that they were making applying for forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program loans (the “PPP”) easier for some borrowers.  The PPP program itself had two rounds of funding, including $310 billion added at the end of April. Now, borrowers who borrowed $50,000 or less in PPP funds can fill out a simplified loan forgiveness application known as the SBA Form 3508S.

This simpler forgiveness option consists of only one page, with an optional second page requesting demographic information.  It does not require you to provide detailed documentation or fill out numerous brackets in order to calculate the proper forgiveness amounts.  Instead, you must merely self-certify how you used the PPP funds.

You Must Agree to 6 Statements

On the new simplified forgiveness application, you do need to certify that the following six statements are true:

1. The dollar amount for the forgiveness requested does not exceed the principal amount of the PPP Loan and:
   • You used the loan to pay costs that are eligible for forgiveness (payroll costs to retain employees, business mortgage interest payments, business rent or lease payments, or business utility payments);
   • You used at least 60% of the PPP funds to pay payroll costs;
   • If a 24-week Covered Period applies, the PPP forgiveness does not exceed 2.5 months’ worth of 2019 compensation for any owner-employee or self-employed individual/general partner, capped at $20,833 per individual; and
   • If an 8-week Covered Period applies, the PPP forgiveness does not exceed 8 weeks of 2019 compensation for any owner-employee or self-employed individual or self-employed individual/general partner, capped at $15,385.

2. You understand that if you knowingly used the funds for unauthorized purposes, the federal government may seek recovery of the loan amounts and/or seek civil or criminal fraud charges.
3. You have accurately verified the payments for the eligible payroll and nonpayroll costs for which you are requesting forgiveness and have accurately calculated the forgiveness amount requested.
4. You have submitted to your lender the required documentation verifying payroll costs, the existence of obligations and service prior to February 15, 2020, and eligible business mortgage interest payments, business rent or lease payments, and business utility payments.
5. The information you have provided in the application and the information provided in all supporting documents and forms is true and correct in all material respects. You understand that knowingly making a false statement to obtain forgiveness of an SBA guaranteed loan is punishable under the law.
6. The tax documents you have submitted to your lender are consistent with those you have submitted or will submit to the IRS. You also understand, acknowledge, and agree that the lender can share the tax information with the SBA’s authorized representatives.

Other Important Details

In conjunction with this simplified forgiveness application, the U.S. Treasury Department and the SBA issued a new interim final rule that says that borrowers who took out $50,000 or less in PPP funds will have no reductions in their forgiveness based on either

1.  reductions in full-time equivalent (“FTE”) employees or
2.  reductions in employee salary or wages.

I want to caution borrowers that while the SBA is now permitting self-certification for loans at or under $50,000, you should keep all documents providing your availability for forgiveness for at least four years.  You should also only provide honest answers when answering the self-certifications.

Also, using this simplified application does not prohibit the SBA from auditing applications.  It also does not prohibit the SBA from prosecuting anyone who is not truthful in their application or supporting documents.

The SBA started accepting forgiveness applications on October 2, 2020, and lenders will soon be receiving the first forgiveness payments.  Check with your lender to see if they are accepting forgiveness applications.

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas, including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.

COVID-19-related laws and regulations continue to remain a moving target.  The President signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the “Act”) on June 5, 2020, and we posted the highlights on June 9, 2020.  A mere ten days after the passage of that Act, things have already changed, largely due to the U.S. Treasury issuing regulations on June 11^th.

Here is a summary of some of the Paycheck Protection Program changes as of June 18, 2020, with the caveat that things will likely change again.

Extension to Apply?  Not so Fast

The Act appeared to extend the application deadline for PPP loans from June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020.  However, in a joint statement issued on June 8, 2020 by the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) Administrator Jovita Carranza and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, June 30, 2020 will remain the last date the SBA will approve a PPP loan application.

The Use Period is Not Optional

The Act also changed the time period for borrowers to use PPP loan funds from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks.  Experts initially interpreted the Act as permitting borrowers to elect either the eight-week period or the twenty-four-week period.  This understanding has since changed.

Borrowers who received their loans prior to June 5, 2020 are permitted to use either the eight-week or twenty-four-week period. However, borrowers who received their loans after June 5, 2020 are required to use the twenty-four week period.  This restriction is perhaps an error that will be later corrected as it seems contrary to Congressional intent to provide more flexibility to borrowers (not to mention entirely arbitrary).

Additionally, the requirement that the borrowers use the funds by December 31, 2020 remains.  Some borrowers will then have a use period of longer than eight weeks but shorter than twenty-four weeks, depending on when their loan funds.

The New 60% Use Rule is Apparently Not a Cliff

of the funds for payroll-related expenses to qualify for full forgiveness of their loan.  The forgiveness was reduced, but not eliminated, if the borrower utilized less than 75% of funds for said payroll costs.  The Act changed that requirement to 60%, but early interpretations of the Act concluded that it was now a cliff (meaning that there was no availability of partial forgiveness).

This is apparently not the case.  Instead, the First Interim Final Rule provides that a borrower will still qualify for partial forgiveness if they use less than 60% of their loan funds for payroll-related expenses.

Spin the Wheel, Get a Maturity Date!

In another turn of events, also hopefully in error, there are now two minimum maturity dates for PPP loans.  The Act extended the minimum maturity from two years to five years,  apparently for all borrowers.  Unfortunately, this appears to not be the case anymore.

The First Interim Final Rule issued guidance to lenders that loans approved

• before June 5, 2020 will have a two-year maturity
• on or after June 5, 2020 will have a five-year maturity.
• Note: The approval is based on the date SBA assigns a loan number to the loan.

For borrowers who do not qualify for the new five-year minimum maturity date, banks and borrowers can agree to extend the maturity date on the loans to a period longer than two years.  However, it is counterintuitive to permit two different maturity dates for the same loan program and, of course, puts all the power in the hands of the banks who already are anxious to get these loans off their books.

Ex-Felons May Now Apply

Prior to June 12, 2020, individuals who had felony convictions within the past five years did not qualify for a PPP loan.  Now individuals with felony convictions can apply so long as the conviction was not within the past year.

However, the five-year restriction remains for those individuals who were charged for certain types of financial crimes, including, but not limited to, robbery, embezzlement, fraud, making a false statement on a loan application, or making a false statement on an application for federal financial assistance.  If the borrower is an entity, the prohibition applies if an ex-felon owns more than 20% of the entity.

Although these may not be the last of the Paycheck Protection Program changes, rest assured that we will continue updating you with what you need to know.

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas, including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.

The popular Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) created by the CARES Act is coming to an end.  Time is running out to take advantage of this program. The upcoming deadline to apply for a PPP loan is June 30, 2020. However, many banks are requiring applicants to submit their application prior to the June 30^th deadline.

• Citizens Bank is requiring applications for the PPP to be submitted by 4 p.m. on June 17^th.
• Bank of America, N.A. told customers to submit PPP applications by 5 p.m. on June 15^th.
• Ephrata National Bank has not set a deadline but is suggesting that customers submit applications by June 23^rd to allow sufficient time for processing.
• According to PNC Bank’s website, they are no longer taking any additional applications.

Around $130 billion remains available for PPP loans.  Congress has had some limited discussion on what will occur if there are funds still available when the program ends.  Congress may even extend the program until the funds are depleted.  As of the date of this blog post, though, nothing has been determined.

If you have not already applied for a PPP loan and still wish to do so, contact your local bank as soon as possible. Search the Lancaster Law Blog for more information about the Paycheck Protection Program to see if it can help your business.

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas, including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.

On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the “Act”).  President Trump then signed it into law 2 days later.  The Act makes significant changes and updates to the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”).

Such changes include, but are not limited to:

• Increased Time to Use Funds: The Act has modified the time allowed by borrowers to use PPP loan funds from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks. Borrowers can still elect to use the eight-week period.  [June 16, 2020 Updated – based on new guidance from the U.S. Treasury only borrowers who received funds prior to June 5, 2020 may elect between the two use periods. Borrowers who receive funds on or after June 5, 2020 must use the twenty-four week period].
• Lowered Payroll Funds Amount – Prior to the Act, PPP borrowers had to use at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the funds for payroll-related expenses as discussed prior (to qualify for forgiveness). The Act changed that to sixty percent (60%).
  • There is a catch here. The prior law permitted partial forgiveness if a borrower used than 75% of funds for payroll costs. Now under the Act, forgiveness is eliminated entirely if less than 60% of funds are used for payroll-related expenses. [June 16, 2020 Updated – based on new guidance from the U.S. Treasury, partial forgiveness will be permitted for those who use less than 60% of loan funds for payroll-related expenses].
• Two New Ways to Get Forgiveness – The Act provides two new exceptions for borrowers looking to obtain full forgiveness of their PPP loan aimed specifically at borrowers who have not been able to restore their workforce numbers.  The amount of loan forgiveness under these exceptions will be determined without a reduction in the number of full-time equivalent employees (the “FTE”) if the borrower, in good faith, can document:
  • An inability to rehire individuals who were employees of the borrower on February 14, 2020 and an inability to hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions on or before December 31, 2020; or
  • An inability to return to the same level of business operations at or before February 15, 2020 due to compliance with guidance issued by HHS, CDC, or OSHA between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. This guidance must relate to maintenance of standards for sanitation, social distancing, or any other worker or customer safety requirements because of COVID-19. Please note, this exception does not appear to take into account state restrictions and guidance that reduced business operations.
  • Note: Prior guidance also allowed borrowers to exclude from their forgiveness calculations those FTE who turned down “good faith” offers to be rehired at the same hours and wages as prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• An Extended Repayment Period – The maturity of the PPP loans were extended from two years to five years. The interest rate remains at 1%. [Updated June 16, 2020 – Based on new guidance from the U.S. Treasury, only Borrowers who received funds on or after June 5, 2020 will receive the new maturity term of five years].
• An Extension to the 6-Month Deferral Period – The six-month deferral in payment has been extended as well. Now the deferral period is either (1) until the date on which the amount of forgiveness determined under the CARES Act is remitted to the lender or (2) for borrowers who are not asking for forgiveness, ten months.
• Changed Deadline to Restore Pre-COVID Levels of Labor and Wages – Borrowers can restore their workforce levels and wages to pre-COVID levels over a twenty-four-week period, another component for full forgiveness of the PPP loan. Prior law required borrowers to restore workforce levels and wages by June 30, 2020; it is now December 31, 2020.
• Permitted Delay in Paying Payroll Taxes – Borrowers can use a PPP loan and delay paying their payroll taxes.

Laws and regulations remain a moving target for COVID-19-related relief.  As such, the laws and regulations discussed today may change soon.  Please consult with a legal professional regarding the updates to the Paycheck Protection Program if you have any legal concerns.

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas, including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.

On April 24, 2020, the House of Representatives signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (the “PPP and HCE Act” or “Act”) into law. Here are some highlights regarding this new $484 billion Act.

Paycheck Protection Program Gets More Funding

The PPP and HCE Act includes $310 billion in additional funding for the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”). The House also included provisions to help smaller businesses who may be more likely to seek aid from smaller lenders. Therefore, of this $310 billion, the SBA will direct $60 billion to smaller lenders, credit unions, and community banks:

• $30 billion to lenders with assets valued at less than $10 billion, and 
• $30 billion for lenders with assets between $10 and $50 billion. 

Besides the additional funding to the PPP, there are no changes to the program itself. The eligible loan amounts remain the same as do program requirements. The PPP will stop taking applications on June 30, 2020, although analysts do not anticipate the additional $310 billion to last two weeks. Some commentators believe the funds will dry up in just two days.  

There were a plethora of applications that were still pending when the funding ran out. These older applications in the pipeline will likely be received and funded before any new applications. Demand for this program is high: the SBA already guaranteed 1 million PPP loans, and the overall average loan size was $206,000.  

If you wish to apply for a PPP loan, you must do so now.

A lot of borrowers have asked for guidance on the forgiveness aspect of the PPP, and more direction is coming shortly. Analysts anticipate that the SBA will issue guidance for PPP forgiveness this week.  

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program Gets More Funding

In addition to re-funding the PPP, the PPP and HCE Act adds $60 billion in funds to the depleted SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan and grant program (the “EIDL”). Of these EIDL funds, the SBA will direct $10 billion towards emergency grants of up to $10,000 per borrower and the remaining $50 billion to fund loans through the EIDL.  

If a borrower receives a grant through this program, the SBA will not require them to repay it.  

This Act also permits agricultural enterprises to apply for EIDL funds. Under prior law, they were generally not permitted to apply.  

Hospitals Receive Money for Funding and Testing

While it would be easy to focus on the small business loans that were provided the lion’s share of this Act’s funding, the House also allotted significant financing for healthcare purposes. 

The PPP and HCE Act allocates the sum of $75 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the “HHS”) to reimburse providers for the cost of treating COVID-19 patients, including the diagnosis, testing, and treatment of those inflicted.  

The Act also authorizes an additional $25 billion to develop and implement a national plan regarding testing protocols for COVD-19.  

These testing funds will be provided to states and localities in addition to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. The $25 billion is not only for the testing and contact tracing for COVID-19 but also for the screening for possible immunity.   

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas, including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.

The U.S. Congress, as part of the CARES Act, has created the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) to provide loan funds to small businesses to increase employee payroll retention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program even offers forgiveness for the loan under certain conditions. 

Small businesses under 500 employees (including sole proprietorships, independent contractors, and self-employed persons), private non-profit organizations, or 501(c)(19) veterans’ organizations, and tribal businesses are eligible under this program if they meet certain program requirements.  

The SBA is also waiving affiliation standards for small businesses in the hotel and food industries or franchises in the SBA’s franchise directory. What this means is small businesses in the hospitality and food industry, along with franchises approved by the SBA that have more than one location, will be eligible at the store/location level if that location employs less than 500 workers.  

Where To Use

Applicants can use a PPP loan for 

• payroll costs, including benefits
• interest on non-federal mortgage obligations incurred before February 15, 2020
• rent under a lease agreement in force prior to February 15, 2020, and 
• utilities, with service that began before February 15, 2020.  

Payroll costs and benefits include 

• salary 
• bonuses
• vacation time
• parental or family leave
• medical or sick leave
• allowance for separation or dismissal
• group healthcare
• insurance premiums
• retirement benefits, and 
• state and local taxes.  

Application Process

Starting April 3, 2020, small businesses and sole proprietorships can apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Independent contractors and self-employed individuals can also apply starting on April 10, 2020. 

The SBA is offering PPP loans through June 30, 2020 or until the funds run out, whichever occurs first.  

To apply for a PPP loan, a Borrower must seek out an existing SBA 7(a) lender. If a Borrower is not aware of an SBA 7(a) lender, they should first contact the bank they currently use and see if their bank qualifies. Otherwise, Borrowers can go to http://www.SBA.gov/pa and look at “Loan Volume Report” to see what banks are lending SBA 7(a) loans in Eastern PA (look under heading “From Our Office” of the page).  

Please be aware that not all banks who are SBA 7(a) lenders are offering this loan, so it may take some work to find one.          

The SBA included a sample application form that you can review to know what information the SBA needs. To apply, a business will need at minimum:

1. the average monthly payroll
2. the number of jobs
3. the purpose of the loan 
4. applicant information (EIN/SSN, address, owner name, etc.)
5. the operating agreements/organizational documents
6. payroll documentation (As each lender will require different documentation, we recommend pulling everything for the past year in preparation of what the lender will ask for), and 
7. certifying information on the business and each owner that owns more than 20% of the company, including:
   1. that current economic uncertainty makes the loan necessary
   2. that they will use the funds to retain employees and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments, or utility payments for eight weeks following the loan, and
   3. that they have not and will not receive another loan under the PPP program between February 15, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

Loan Terms

The SBA will defer your loan payments for six months, but interest will continue to accrue. However, they do not require any collateral or personal guaranties from Borrower. Also, neither the government nor the lenders will be able to charge any fees related to this loan.  

The maturity on a PPP loan is two years, and the interest rate is 1%.  

Forgiveness

The SBA will 100% forgive the loans upon certain conditions.  

A borrower will owe money when the loan is due and payable if they use loan funds for anything but payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utility payments during the eight weeks after they receive the loan. 

However, due to the high use of this program, a borrower must use 75% of the loan for payroll costs.  The SBA also caps payroll costs at $100,000.00 on an annualized basis for each employee.  

In addition, the SBA may reduce or eliminate forgiveness for a borrower if they

• do not maintain their staff and payroll
• reduce their full-time employee headcount
• reduce salaries by more than 25%, or
• fail to re-hire their employees  

Borrowers have until June 30, 2020 to restore their fulltime employment and salary levels for any changes made between February 15, 2020 and April 26, 2020.  

Please note that lenders are overwhelmed with applications for this program. Apply early, but be patient on the loan turnaround.  

Additionally, the SBA does not require a Borrower to look for funds elsewhere prior to applying to this program. This is known as the “Credit Elsewhere” requirement, and it has been waived under the CARES act for the SBA PPP and SBA EIDL programs.   

If employers need more assistance than what the Paycheck Protection Program offers, they may apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan directly through SBA.

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.

This blog post will cover a couple of updates to the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) since it launched in April. In the past month, more details have emerged about applying for loan forgiveness as well as the audit risk, disclosure of some PPP recipients, and application deadline.

Extension of Application Deadline

On July 4, 2020, the President signed a new law which extended the application deadline for the PPP from June 30, 2020 to August 8, 2020.  There is approximately $132 Billion left in PPP funds for Borrowers to apply for.

Forgiveness of PPP

How Do I Apply for Loan Forgiveness?

In order to receive loan forgiveness, you must complete and submit the “Loan Forgiveness Application” to the lender servicing the loan.  You must use SBA Form 3508 or 3508EZ or a lender equivalent form.

You may use the EZ form if one of the following is true:

1. Borrower is self-employed and has no employees; or
2. Borrower has employees but did not reduce their salaries or wages during the covered period by more than 25% and did not reduce the number of hours worked by the employees; or
3. Borrower had employees, but did not reduce their salaries or wages during the covered period by more than 25%. AND, due to complying with laws requiring the business to reduce hours or stay closed during the covered period, the Borrower was unable to operate during the covered period at the same level the Borrower was operating its business prior to February 15, 2020.

The lender will review your application for forgiveness and issue its decision within 60 days to the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “SBA”).  After an internal review of the loan and the forgiveness application, the SBA will then remit the forgiveness amount to the lender no more than 90 days after the lender issues its decision to the SBA.

This means from the date of submission of the Loan Forgiveness Application, the Borrower may have to wait up to 150 days for confirmation that their loan is forgiven.  Note: The notification of forgiveness will come from the lender and not from SBA.

When Can I Apply for Loan Forgiveness?

The SBA released an interim final rule on June 22, 2020 which details when a Borrower can apply for forgiveness.  If you have used all the loan proceeds you want forgiven, the rule states: “a borrower may submit a loan forgiveness application any time on or before the maturity date of the loan – including before the end of the covered period [8 weeks or 24 weeks depending on the date you obtained your loan].”

As stated, the rule does permit you to apply for forgiveness early – before the lapse of their respective covered period.  The problem with seeking forgiveness early is the employer forfeits a safe harbor provision that permits them to restore salaries/wages of employees by December 31^st to avoid the reduction in loan forgiveness provided.   If you have not reduced the wages of your employees, you do not have to worry about this provision.

Audit Risks

The SBA has not issued any more information regarding a safe harbor for audits, a serious concern for Borrowers as the application required minimal documentation and multiple certifications.

One audit risk is a Borrower must have had economic uncertainty due to COVD-19.   In prior guidance, the SBA did provide a small safe harbor provision for Borrowers.  If a Borrower received a loan under $2 million, the SBA will consider the loan made in good faith based on economic uncertainty and will not inquire further.

This does not prohibit the SBA from auditing a loan under $2 million for other reasons, such as the credit elsewhere certification.  PPP did not require documentation of a lack of credit elsewhere (which SBA disaster loans typically require). Instead, the Borrowers had to certify that they did not have sufficient access to credit.  However, it is unlikely this will be a huge audit risk for Borrowers as traditional lines of credit were difficult to obtain for many businesses during the pandemic.

Disclosure of PPP Loans

On July 6, 2020, the SBA released some data they maintained regarding the PPP loans issued as of July 6, 2020. However, that release was limited to Borrowers who had received loans of $150,000 or more.  For Borrowers who received more than $150,000, the SBA disclosed the name, address, how many jobs retained, and the lending bank to the public.

Here are some interesting tidbits:

• Approximately 4.9 million loans were issued by the SBA totaling $521 billion dollars.
• Pennsylvania businesses received PPP funding totaling $20.7 billion. 26,095 loans in Pennsylvania were for more than $150,000.
• Approximately 85% of Pennsylvania’s PPP loans were worth less than $150,000.
• Pennsylvania loan recipients reported 1.8 million jobs retained due to the PPP money, data which is self-reported.
• The average loan size for a PPP nationwide was $107,000.
• S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is encouraging private schools with significant endowments to return PPP funds. Three private schools in Lancaster received PPP loans.
• A lawsuit was filed on May 12, 2020 in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to obtain more transparency as less than 15% of all loans issued have been disclosed to the public.
• The U.S. Catholic Church received approximately $1.4 billion in PPP loans. Of that, the Archdiocese of New York received a loan between $5 and $10 million.
• The Any Rand Institute received a loan between $350,000 and $1 million.
• The U.S. Transportation Secretary’s family business (Foremost Maritime) received a loan of between $350,000.00 and $1 million. The U.S. Transportation Secretary is the wife of Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell.
• Restaurant chains P.F. Chang’s and Chopt received aid of between $5 million and $10 million. TGI Fridays received at least $5 million in PPP loans.
• Many news organizations received PPP loans including Forbes Media (about $5 million), the Washington Times (at least $1 million), and the Daily Caller (at least $350,000).
• As of July 6, 2020, over $30 billion in loans were returned partially due to public outcry. However, some loans were returned as businesses weren’t able to meet the original requirements of spending the funds. Those who returned funds include Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain ($20 million), Shake Shack ($10 million), and AutoNation ($77 million).

Laws and regulations remain a moving target for COVID-19-related relief.  As such, the laws and regulations discussed today may change soon.  Please consult with a legal professional regarding the updates to the Paycheck Protection Program if you have any legal concerns.

Nichole Baer is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Stetson University, College of Law and practices in several areas, including Business, Commercial Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration.