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NJSA's Staffing News Online is a monthly e-newsletter that is available to the staffing industry.  The content for Staffing News Online comes directly from our industry partners.  If you are an NJSA industry partner and would like to submit content for Staffing News Online, please email office@njsa.com with your article.

  • Monday, April 27, 2020 3:32 PM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Assurance

    Insurance is a significant expense for most staffing firms and managing costs and cash flows associated with premium payments can make a significant difference in your ability to effectively manage your business, now more than ever.  There are ways to mitigate your insurance costs and/or defer premiums until your business is in better financial health. It’s also important to be mindful of other insurance implications and how to protect your business from COVID-19 related liability claims or uncovered losses.

    The Assurance Staffing Team is implementing a broad array of strategies to help our clients survive and thrive. Below are 10 recommendations to help your business do the same.

    1. Request a monthly reporting payment plan. If you are on a pay-as-you-go Workers’ Compensation program, your monthly premium payments will be calculated based on your actual payrolls for that month. If you are on a fixed premium payment plan, ask your insurance carrier to convert you to monthly pay-as-you-go in order to preserve cash flow. Not all carriers are equipped to offer a pay-go program, but it never hurts to ask.
    2. Free up cash where available in your work comp program. If you are on a loss sensitive program and funding collateral via cash payments, see if your carrier will consider a letter of credit to cover a portion of the requirement and alleviate the next few upcoming cash payments.
    3. Ask for a premium payment grace period. Many insurance carriers are allowing customers to defer premium payments until a future date with no risk of cancellation for non-payment of premium. If they are not able to do so, ask for them to restructure your payments to stretch them further into the policy term. For example, if your policy renews in six months and you have three installments remaining, ask the insurance carrier to allow you to make six installments, rather than three. As COVID-19 unfolds, many state jurisdictions are requiring that carrier make these adjustments.
    4. Seek alternative opportunities. Be creative and look for staffing opportunities outside of the nature of your historical placements. Many industries, especially in the essential goods manufacturing and supply chain, medical and construction industries desperately need more people. Check with your insurance carriers to see if these industries fall within their program appetite. If not, ask for exceptions to their established guidelines so you are able to make those placements.
    5. Review your coverage & policy language. Review your property insurance policies for Business Interruption or Dependent Property/Contingent Business Interruption coverage. Most property policies have ‘Virus’ exclusions which will likely preclude coverage, but some do not have those exclusions (albeit very rare). However, keep an eye on state legislation. At least one state is considering voiding the Virus exclusion and forcing insurance carriers to pay Virus-related Business Income claims.
    6. File a business Interruption Claim. We recommend filing Business Interruption claims regardless of the existence of the Virus exclusions. As mentioned above, at least one state may force insurance carriers to cover the losses, and some courts may interpret coverage more broadly. Claim denials for ‘Virus’ losses will be challenged in court, and you should be on record as having filed a claim with your insurance carrier.
    7. Credit Insurance. Immediately consider purchasing credit insurance to insure your receivables. The entire supply chain is being disrupted and normally good paying customers will start to default on their receivables as you are an uncollateralized creditor. Credit Insurance may help protect you from those losses.
    8. Compliance and Education. Stay current on compliance issues to avoid Employment Practices Liability losses and other fines/penalties that may not be covered. For example, be familiar with the screening do’s and don’ts during a pandemic to avoid claims surrounding invasion of privacy, discrimination, failure to hire, etc. Are you communicating with your employees what to do if they are exposed to the virus? Is proper training/PPE being utilized for potential exposures? The American Staffing Associations’ COVID-19 webinars and resource page should be visited frequently as it contains valuable information on these topics.
    9. Cyber Liability. Review your Cyber Liability policy to make sure coverages and limits are adequate to cover the increased exposure of a remote workforce. Seek a quote for coverage if you do not currently carry a cyber policy.
    10. Check out our resources. You can review Assurance’s COVID-19 Resource page for continuous updates on insurance, compliance and virus safety-related matters, including links to key CDC resources.

    Written by:

    Kurt Murray

    Kurt Murray is a Principal at Assurance who focuses on mid-sized companies in the staffing industry. With over 20 years of experience, his primary responsibility is to provide cost-effective solutions and develop insurance programs that are individualized to a company’s specific needs. Kurt graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. He’s been a presenter at numerous staffing industry events and conferences, including TempNet, American Staffing Association, New Jersey Staffing Association and Staffing Services Association of Illinois.

    Rachael Rodakowski

    Rachael Rodakowski is a Vice President at Assurance who focuses on the staffing industry. Her main responsibility is to be a client’s resource and trusted partner. She accomplishes this by staying up-to-date on industry trends and providing cost-effective coverage recommendations. With over 10 years of experience, Rachael educates clients on everything from workers’ compensation class codes to loss trends. Rachael graduated with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree from Arizona State University. She currently holds her Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Claims (AIC), Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU) and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations.

    Click here to download the article in PDF format.

  • Monday, April 27, 2020 3:06 PM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Avionte

    A few months ago, we wrote a post on 7 Productive, Unique and Fun Places to Work Remotely that was filled with ideas to help business professionals spice up their remote work-life but unfortunately, most of the ideas were before COVID-19. No longer is working from a brewery or coffee shop a viable option.

    Instead, pretty much everyone is stuck working from their home, which can feel like the movie Groundhog Day, where every day seems the same.

    To break this dull routine, we’ve assembled seven of our most productive, unique and fun ideas to spice up your work from home routine with COVID-19 in mind.

    Have Themes for Every Weekday

    Don’t make the weekdays seem like weak days. This is a perfect time to make each (and every) day special. Assigning “themes” to every weekday can help distinguish them so they don’t blend together. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking. We hope you try a few out for yourself!

    Monday

    Group Lunch and Travel Talk Day – Schedule a recurring meeting every Monday where your team eats lunch together and one designated person gives a 20-minute slideshow of pictures and stories from a vacation. Not only is this a great way to connect on a personal level, but it also helps your team learn more about each other outside of work. Additionally, it gives everyone something to look forward to on what would have just been an ordinary Monday.

    Tuesday

    Weekly Challenge Day – Come up with a communal challenge for your team. Whether it’s who can place the most candidates, who can take the most steps that day or who has the best lunch – anything really to spark a fun competition.

    Wednesday

    Trivia – Each Wednesday host a digital trivia and keep track of the winners. At the end of the pandemic or at least the day your office opens back up, whoever has the most trivia points wins and gets a special prize.

    Thursday

    Takeout Thursday – You’ve almost made it through the week! Treat yourself with takeout from one of your favorite locally-owned spots. Most of us are food-motivated, or at least to some extent. Having a special meal one day of the week not only gives us something to work towards, but it also supports local businesses – a win-win!

    Friday

    Team Happy Hour – Ending a little early with a team happy hour is always a great way to boost spirits (literally) and end the week on a good note. Cheers.

    Power Hour

    What time of the day are you most productive? An hour after your first cup of coffee? After lunch? Mid-afternoon? Once you identify the conditions and time period that makes you the most productive, use that hour of distraction-free work-time. Create a list of tasks you’d like to accomplish and see how you do within the hour timeframe. It’s like one of those cooking shows where the contestants have only an hour to make something spectacular. You just might find that the time crunch boosts your productivity and creativity.

    Take Frequent, Short “Productive” Breaks

    Taking breaks may seem counter-intuitive to a productive work environment but it’s honestly one of the best things you can do for your job. It’s clinically proven that taking breaks helps refresh the mind, replenishes your mental resources and helps you become more creative. Now pair short breaks with something productive and you’re cooking with fire. Being in quarantine is a perfect time to learn a new skill, practice an existing skill or embrace a new habit/hobby.

    Here are some ideas of productive things to do during breaks:

    • Stretch or work out
    • Meditating
    • Learning a few phrases in a different language
    • Trying a delicious recipe to try out
    • Calling a friend
    • Listen to a podcast
    • Tidy up your workspace or organize a drawer

    20-20 Method

    The average attention span of an American adult has considerably dropped throughout the years, especially with the invention of smartphones. It’s estimated that adults can only stay focused between 10 to 20 minutes, and that’s just an estimate. To maximize your attention span, try focusing on a specific task for just 20 minutes and then move on to another task. This method works phenomenally well when you’re juggling multiple tasks and helps dedicate your full attention to every task.

    Please note: For these next three tips, keep in mind this totally depends on your location, the situation of COVID-19 and your general comfort level. These last three tips are by no means meant to risk your health and safety, they’re simply ideas for if or when you’re comfortable/able to leave the house. With that, here they are:

    Find a Secret Spot Outside the House

    Discover a new or old “secret” spot to change up your work environment. This could be in the woods, a park or even in your own backyard – anywhere outside your home where you can effortlessly maintain social distancing guidelines.

    Bike Ride/Hammock Hang

    In the good old days (a few months back), you could take a stroll through any popular park and almost certainly find a number of people hanging out in hammocks relaxing. While this is still true today, biking to a secluded spot and then hanging up your hammock is surprisingly comfy and fun!

    Switch up the Location

    Being quarantined at home can get boring quickly, especially for your work environment. To spice it up, change up your environment completely with a unique getaway on Airbnb. There’s still a surprising number of listings available. With just a quick search, we found an affordable tree house listing with a hot tub just an hour away with immediate availability. If you have a cabin or another property elsewhere, this is also a perfect time to pay it a visit.

    We’re living in some truly unusual times and it’s no doubt easy to lose motivation working from home. Hopefully this post genuinely helps you spice up your work routine.


    About Avionté

    Avionté is a leader in enterprise staffing and recruiting software solutions, offering innovative end-to-end staffing solutions to over 900 customers and 25,000 users throughout the U.S. and Canada. Avionté delivers a robust platform for clerical, light industrial, IT and professional staffing firms to maximize profits and boost productivity.


  • Tuesday, March 31, 2020 11:45 AM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    The programs and initiatives in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was just passed by Congress are intended to assist business owners with whatever needs they have right now. When implemented, there will be many new resources available for small businesses, as well as certain nonprofits and other employers. This guide provides information about the major programs and initiatives that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to address these needs, as well as some additional tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA.

    Click here to download the guide.


  • Monday, March 30, 2020 11:02 AM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Yes, both state and federal governments are trying to issue new laws and regulations (sometimes daily events) that provide additional financial assistance to both employees and staffing firms.

    Obviously, the issues and new laws are complex and sometimes confusing and conflicting. NJSA recommends that you and your firm’s staff initially categorize the state and federal programs (or portions of the laws) into one of the following two categories:

    • Businesses
    • Employees

    Based on the laws and programs determine if your firm qualifies and, if so, research these laws and programs. This way you don’t waste time on programs for which you are not eligible for. For instance, if your staffing firm’s total daily employment (including temporary staff) exceeds 500, the new FFCRA leave programs are not available to your employees.

    The new federal laws are the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The state programs you need to stay current on are Unemployment Insurance (impacted by new federal laws), Earned Sick Leave, Temporary Disability Insurance, and Family Leave Insurance.

    We recommend your firm maximize the value of your legal and financial advisors who are spending a huge amount of time understanding these new laws and programs for their clients as well as other vendors’ information. Take advantage of online briefings/seminars held by various entities, especially those affiliated with the staffing industry such as NJSA’s Industry Partners. If your firm has financial and/or human resource professionals on staff, they can be delegated this responsibility.

    For now, NJSA is forwarding you two resources that may be of value to you:

    NJSA will continue to distribute relevant information to its membership as it is received.


  • Friday, March 27, 2020 12:53 PM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Haley Marketing

    It’s amazing how dramatically some things change – and how other things stay the same.

    When I wrote this advice post back in 2008, the staffing industry was facing similar economic challenges – for very different reasons. And while it’s more than a decade old, this post contains invaluable lessons for surviving an economic downturn that are as relevant as ever.

    The biggest takeaway?

    Firms that sell strategically and market aggressively during a recession will come out on top during the recovery.

    Here’s the original copy from my 2008 post, with a few updates made for accuracy:

    Q: David, you work with staffing firms across the country, what marketing is working best right now?

    A: Yes, we work with roughly 1,400 staffing firms throughout the U.S. and Canada. With all these clients, we get to see a lot of what is – and is not – working in selling staffing services.

    So, what’s the magic solution for selling staffing right now?

    Well, as you might guess, there is no magic, one-size-fits-all, works-in-every-case, silver bullet sales or marketing solution. The economy is in rough shape. Business is down. And there is less overall demand for staffing services.

    But don’t get me wrong. Some things ARE working, and I’ll share a few ideas in just a minute. However, before I get to what is working, let’s consider what’s NOT working:

    • Order taking is not working. You can’t sell staffing by being transaction oriented. You have to sell solutions.
    • Increasing call quotas is not working. While boosting quotas can temporarily increase sales, it’s nearly impossible to sustain.
    • Price cutting is not working. You may get more orders, but you may wipe out your profits – and you’ll attract the worst clients. Even worse, you can’t easily raise your prices when business improves.

    Doing the same old things is not working.

    The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result. The economy has changed. Staffng has changed. And if you want to continue to be successful, your business has to change too.

    Learn more: Watch our free on-demand webinar, “Strategies for a Changed World.” In it, we share best practices to plan for, recover faster from, and even thrive in these turbulent economic times.

    So what does work?

    While no one solution will be right for every business, here are three strategies that can help you generate more job orders in the coming months:

    1. Sell more strategically.

    Your clients are facing the same business challenges as you. They don’t need temp help, but they do need ways to reduce costs and drive revenue. And that’s exactly what you sell!

    Teach your sales team to sell solutions that improve efficiency, drive productivity, eliminate capacity constraints, and reduce labor and associated personnel expenses. Change your business from providing staffing services to offering workforce efficiency consulting.

    2. Be more visible.

    In your market, there are prospects that don’t know your firm. And there are clients you don’t have time to call.

    If you’ll pardon the semi-self-promotion, now is the time for more marketing. Your sales reps can only contact so many people per day. Marketing allows you to reach more people, more often, for less cost than cold calling. By investing more aggressively in marketing, you will not only attract more business in the short term, you will also recover significantly faster as business improves.

    Aggressive marketing makes more people aware of your firm. It signals to buyers that you’re successful and you must be doing something right. And it reminds people of the value you can provide. During a downturn, the only way to grow is to take business away from the competition, and you do that by being more aggressive.

    Ideal marketing tools you should consider right now include: e-mail (e-mail newsletters, e-cards, personal e-mails, etc.), PPC, content marketing (e-newsletters, blogging, video), social marketing, public relations, SEO and simply spending more time on the phone with your existing clients. Once people return to their workplaces, direct mail (personal letters, greeting and note cards, and postcards) and in-person visits will be great options, too.

    You can even combine strategies 1 and 2 to maximize your impact.

    By educating your local community on strategic uses of staffing (via content marketing, PR, etc.), you make more companies aware of your firm, you position yourself as an expert with more knowledge than other staffing firms, and you create new opportunities to sell staffing.

    3. Focus on hard-to-find talent.

    Most recruiters already know this, but even in a down market, some jobs remain hard to fill. In today’s market, that may include transportation/logistics, IT and healthcare (clinical, allied and administration).

    Become a consumer of local job postings. Study the trends and see what positions remain in high demand. Then either train your recruiters, or hire recruiters with the right experience, to make your firm the top local expert at finding those kinds of people. No matter how weak the economy becomes, staffing firms that can recruit hard to find people will always have a market for their services.

    The bottom line is that the best marketing we are seeing right now is marketing that is both aggressive and focused. Marketing that has a specific goal, is being measured, and is integrated with sales and the operations of the staffing firm. Companies that are making those kinds of marketing investments are having far fewer struggles than those who are simply continuing to do business as usual or trying to downsize their way to success.

    Click here to download the article in PDF format.

  • Friday, March 27, 2020 10:58 AM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by TempWorks Software

    Although the pandemic has forced a dramatic shift into many of our workspaces, we are fortunate to live in an era equipped with endless opportunities for communicating via technology. Phones, email, instant messaging, and video conferencing allow us to stay in continuous contact without leaving our homes, making a remote work setup—while not without its hiccups—a very feasible reality.

    Despite our advances in communication technology, true collaboration can be difficult when we’re unable to share a space with our team members. We lose out on reading one another’s nonverbal cues, which are often just as important as spoken conversation. The inevitable technology glitches, such as temporarily disabled WiFi or audio that refuses to work no matter how many times you restart your machine, can bring critical discussions between teams to a complete halt. Navigating through these setbacks is often a frustrating task, but there are steps you can take to minimize them as much as possible.

    Test Your Video Beforehand

    If you have an upcoming essential meeting, schedule a test meeting with your team the day before. This may take a few minutes out of the workday, but it’s beneficial to troubleshoot glitches and iron out any issues before they happen so you can have your real discussion without big (and often avoidable) interruptions.

    Match the Technology with the Communication

    Your chosen mode of communication should vary depending on your needs. Do you have an item that needs to be addressed immediately, or can it wait a day? Are you sharing any documents? Do you need to have an in-depth discussion? Instant messaging is great for urgent requests and quick conversation, while email often works better for long-term agenda items. If you need to have a lengthy conversation or group discussion, a phone call or video chat will usually be more efficient than an endless chain of emails. It’s likely that productivity levels have (understandably) fallen slightly due to current events, so efficiency is paramount when choosing your method of communication.

    Use Video

    None of us want to reveal that we’re still in pajamas and have a raging bedhead, but consider putting on a nice shirt in preparation for a discussion that includes video as well as audio. While never a true replacement for in-person discussion, video gives coworkers an opportunity to read one another’s nonverbal cues, a critical component to successful team communication.

    Be Economical

    Communication tech is great—but be careful how you use it. The daily constant barrage of notifications and texts we all contend with was a productivity-killer before the pandemic. Now that many of us are working remotely and are thus reliant on those notifications, emails and messaging are going to claw away at our time more than ever. If you have work requiring deep focus, schedule a time when you can be away from your phone and inbox. This will give you the opportunity to cross some items off your to-do list.

    Working from home for several weeks will be a challenge for everyone. By properly leveraging the extensive technology available to us, we will weather through this crisis—and stay engaged with our teammates and coworkers at the same time.


  • Friday, March 27, 2020 10:54 AM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Kieran Cleary, TAC Benefits Group, LLC

    The COVID-19 virus came as a shock to everyone. With its fast spread and deadly symptoms, the government at the state and federal level was quick to enact a plan of action, requiring certain businesses to shut down indefinitely. This caused business owners and their employees to scramble. The virus has fundamentally changed both the economic and political landscapes in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. To stop the bleeding, two legislative packages have already been enacted by Congress, with a third “economic stimulus” package approved by the Senate. The economic stimulus bill is scheduled for a vote in the house first thing Friday morning. It is expected to pass and be signed by the President in fast order. You should consult with your tax attorney or economic advisors to determine for what benefits or loans of the economic stimulus your business and your employees will be eligible. This article will explain the emergency legislation and the affect it will have on group benefits and FMLA.

    H.R. 6201, The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, was passed by Congress on March 18, 2020. The relief package contains several provisions that affect employers, including staffing companies. First and foremost, the FFCRA requires health insurance companies to waive cost-sharing charges for FDA-approved COVID-19 testing. Cost-sharing includes copayments, co-insurance and deductibles. So, if you feel symptoms, get tested. The package also requires cost sharing to be waived for telemedicine, doctor visits, urgent care visits, and visits to the ER, so long as these are related to COVID-19. If you are self-funded you should consider adding a telemedicine program to your plan. If fully insured, you should confirm that your carrier plan has telemedicine.

    New Jersey has expanded on this law by ordering health insurers to make sure their telemedicine networks are adequate. Insurers should cover out-of-network telemedicine visits if in-network options aren’t available. Also, health insurers can’t impose pre-authorization requirements on medically necessary treatment that is delivered via telemedicine. Telemedicine is especially important in this uncertain time because you can use this service by phone or video and the health provider can make a diagnosis, when possible, and prescribe medicine and tests, allowing you to stay home as often as possible.

    The Families First Coronavirus Response Act also includes two complementary but distinct emergency paid leave provisions, generally applicable to employers with fewer than 500 employees and financed through refundable tax credits. To determine if you are 500 employees or more you should use the ACA formula and look back 12 months. These provisions will become effective no later than April 1, 2020 and will expire at the end of the year. The first of the provisions, The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act requires employers to provide public health emergency leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). This applies when an employee is unable to work due to the need to care for a child under the age of 18, because of school or childcare provider closings. Here’s what the provision includes…

    • First 10 days of leave may be unpaid, unless employee elects to substitute paid leave (including emergency paid sick leave), and remainder of 12-week leave must be paid
    • Paid leave must be at least two-thirds of regular rate of pay, up to $200/day and $10,000 in the aggregate
    • Entitlement extends to employees who have been employed for at least 30 days eligible for leave, in contrast to FMLA’s 12-month/1,250-hour rules
    • Note that this new leave entitlement is not available on account of actual COVID-19 infection

    The second of the two paid leave provisions, The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act requires certain employers to provide up to two weeks of paid emergency “sick” and “caring for” leave. This applies when employee is unable to work due to the following COVID-19-related reasons…

    • Employee is subject to –or is caring for someone subject to –Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order
    • Employee has been advised by –or is caring for someone advised by –health care provider to self-quarantine
    • Employee is experiencing symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis
    • Employee is caring for son or daughter whose school or place of care has been closed, or childcare provider unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions
    • Employee is experiencing substantially similar condition specified by Health and Human Services in consultation with Treasury and Labor

    The entitlement is based on 80 hours for full-time employees and two-week average for part-time and hourly employees, and special rules for employees with varying schedules based on 6-month look back or reasonable expectation at time of hire. This has a direct impact on the staffing industry due to short-term, contingent nature of temporary workers’ jobs. We believe that for temporary workers, hours should be based on the hours employees are scheduled to work over the course of their assignment. Only if the assignment does not have a defined end date or the hours are not specified, would the calculation of hours worked be based on an employee’s reasonable expectation at the time of hire. Conditions of the EPSLA provision are as follows…

    • Paid “sick” leave capped at $511/day and $5,110 in the aggregate
    • Paid “caring for” leave must be at least two-thirds of regular rate of pay, up to $200/day and $2,000 in the aggregate, complementing new FMLA entitlement
    • Leave must be provided immediately, no waiting period
    • Act restricts carryover of leave from one year to the next, and unused leave need not be paid out after termination of employment

    The Department of Labor can provide an exception for employers with fewer than 50 employees based on the assumption that the provisions in H.R. 6201 could jeopardize ongoing business viability. This exception could potentially become problematic for the staffing industry due to the large numbers of temporary employees who work on short-term assignments versus the number of permanent staff that operate the business. The American Staffing Association is advocating for the use of the SBA revenue-based test ($30 million annual revenue) for defining small business. Additional guidance from the DOL on this matter is forthcoming.

    Additionally, the American Staffing Association is seeking guidance on issues that as written are not clear, or that would become an ongoing issue for the staffing industry. For additional information on the impact of COVID-19 on your employee benefits program or FMLA, please visit our website at www.tacbenefitsgroup.com.

    Remember to wash your hands, avoid large gatherings, disinfect, and to enjoy the extra time with family. To all our friends in the NJSA, please stay safe!


  • Thursday, March 26, 2020 1:18 PM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Michael Yarrow with Withum

    The coronavirus (COVID-19) is negatively impacting the physical and mental health of a large number of people, here and abroad.

    The daily lives of everyone have changed as virtually all schools, businesses and many public places have been forced to close. Individuals who were accustomed to going to their business every day are working from home and limiting their exposure to others.

    As a result of these changes, many businesses are in the midst of a severe cash crunch. Revenue is not being generated at previous levels, while a great many expenses still need to be paid. One avenue available to companies is the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is offering Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2.0 million for every affected small business and not for profit organization.

    On March 20, 2020, the SBA approved New Jersey’s disaster declaration. As a result, New Jersey businesses and not for profit organizations can now accept online applications for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The link to access the loan application is: DisasterLoan.sba.gov.

    The loans may be used to pay fixed expenses, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid as a result of the pandemic. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for non-profit organizations. Payment can be made for a period of up to ten years.

    Applicants will be required to provide:

    1. The last three year’s financial statements and tax returns.
    2. The last three year’s personal financial statements and tax returns of any entity in which an individual has or had an interest of greater than 20%.
    3. Accounts receivable and accounts payable aging schedules as of the loan application date.
    4. Form 4506-T which allows the IRS to share your tax data with the SBA.

    In addition to the above, there is a proposal afoot which, if approved by the United States Senate, would provide $300 billion for small businesses to meet immediate financial obligations. The proposal would further allow for the loans to be converted to grants as long as they are used solely for payroll and regular operating expenses. Another proposal under consideration would waive what is known as the 7(a) upfront guarantee fee and any annual borrower fees, while the loans are outstanding. In addition the SBA would guarantee up to 90% of the loan balance instead of the typical 75%, in order to entice banks to loan the necessary funds.

    Currently, the SBA website is experiencing heavy traffic, so it may be best to access the website on off-hours. Withum is experienced in the SBA market and regularly helps clients prepare SBA loan applications and performs business valuations for banks that offer SBA loans. We will keep you apprised of any future developments as they arise. Please feel free to reach out to either Tom Reck or Brian McIntyre should you have any questions.

    In addition to SBA loans, there are discussions regarding whether losses as a result of COVID-19 are covered by insurance. The New Jersey Legislature has discussed a bill that would force insurers to pay COVID-19 business interruption claims specifically disallowed by a virus exclusion. Our colleague, Jessica Hollobaugh, wrote about this in detail at: COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses and COVID-19: Recovering Business Interruption Losses. Please feel free to peruse these pieces.

    Finally, it appears that bankruptcy may be the best remedy, please see the article written by Ken DeGraw, Considering a Bankruptcy Filing?. Ken is well versed in bankruptcy matters, so please feel to reach out to him with any questions.

    Click here to read the article online.

  • Thursday, March 26, 2020 10:54 AM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Assurance

    The World Health Organization has reported that Coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 individuals worldwide, with deaths over 3,000. Currently, in the United States, there are 86 confirmed cases of COVID-19*. Fear of a potential pandemic has led many countries to cancel flights from highly effected countries, institute quarantine procedures, and close borders. Many organizations have taken steps to eliminate any unnecessary business travel overseas. In light of these unusual circumstances, Assurance advises companies to review their insurance policies, specifically those with Business Interruption and Commercial General Liability coverage.

    You may not realize that standard un-endorsed Business Interruption policies will not extend to business interruption caused by a bacteria or virus. More recently, in response to the SARS and other outbreaks, many insurers added specific exclusions for bacterial or viral outbreaks in standard business-interruption policies. As an example, AIG paid out $16 million alone to one of its insureds, Mandarin Oriental International, who claimed business interruption from the SARS epidemic. In response, insurers learned a costly lesson from the SARS outbreak and viewed economic losses from epidemics as infeasible to the industry and began to exclude coverage.

    However, there may be endorsements available that do include specific language that extends coverage to “infectious disease”. This clause is referred to as the ID Extension. This ID extension may be triggered in the case of a loss related to the closure of your business due to an “order of a competent public authority as the direct and sole result of any infectious or human contagious disease.” To clarify, a competent public authority is a government entity that has ordered the interruption of one’s business operations.

    In order to submit a claim as part of this the insurance process, know that you will need government documentation of such an order. In addition, even in the case of an order, some policies will only respond to the claim IF the virus is present at the business. This means that simply closing your business as a precautionary measure (without the virus being present) may not be covered by your insurance policy. This does not take into account any losses related to supply chain or contingent business interruption.

    Should a pandemic outbreak occur, the Commercial General and some Professional Liability policies may provide a legal defense in case of a claim. It is important for the employer/company to clearly demonstrate that reasonable safeguards (duty to protect) have been taken. If the insurance company does accept responsibility for the claim, the insurer will be responsible for “bodily injury”, “personal injury”, and/or “property damage”. Should an organization fail to protect people from infectious disease through negligence or is found liable, insurance may not cover the claim.

    If you happen to have a claim that may be related or caused by the coronavirus, please contact your claims advocate at Assurance for assistance with policy review and coverage questions.

    Click here to read the article online.

  • Thursday, March 26, 2020 10:51 AM | Denise Downing (Administrator)

    Submitted by Avionte

    We’re sure by now you’ve seen no less than 20 or so emails, hundreds of news articles and perhaps thousands of social posts regarding COVID-19 and how businesses plan to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

    While no doubt, many of these commutations are extremely important, lifesaving in some cases, this post is different.

    Listed below is a collection of learnings and advice that we’ve gathered as a company over the last few weeks that can genuinely help your business embrace the “new normal” and continue doing what we as an industry do best, putting the nation to work.

    Getting the Most out of Video

    Do you remember how magical it was in the past decade once FaceTime came out? It really turned science fiction into science fact and allowed people to communicate in a whole new, personable way. Fast forward to 2020 and video has advanced significantly. There’s something more meaningful about seeing someone’s face vs. just their voice in a remote office setting.

    At Avionté, using video chat vs. phone conversation is not enforced but it is heavily encouraged. Why? It creates a sense of team.

    Being able to video chat someone instantly is similar to life back in the office when you could just walk up to a co-worker and ask them a question. Additionally, it adds a sense of professionalism. If you know you might have to be “camera-ready” while working from home, it adds a layer of purpose to your day and comes in handy when a client or boss calls.

    Frequent Communication

    Our executive team has been fully transparent with what the company is doing and what they are planning on doing with the evolving situation. This helps tremendously keep employees, clients, prospects and partners at ease knowing what’s next. Here’s four communication methods that have been working well:

    • Opened up an internal chat group – This digital chat group provides the perfect environment for employees to ask questions, seek answers and offer daily doses of encouragement.
    • Daily email updates – Every weekday, an email is sent out from the executive team, sometimes just the CEO, Karl Florida, with updates, encouragements and a touch of humor to keep employees motivated and informed.
    • Open digital door policy – While the entire company is working remote, there’s an open digital door policy where employees can easily ask the executive team questions.
    • Email blast to all clients, prospects, employees and partners – Even though many companies are actively doing this, it’s still important to communication to the broader community what your business is doing about the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out Avionte’s email blast.

    Tips for Working from Remote

    Working from home is definitely a “new normal” for many people, especially at our office where only a handful of folks BC (Before Coronavirus) worked remotely. To help ease others into the remote work lifestyle, we had our full-time remote employees send in their top tips for working productively from home. Here’s a small collection of their ideas:

    • Make your home office cozier by adding a plant, candle or placing it near a window with lots of sunshine
    • Workout before you start your remote day
    • Get dressed the way you would as if you’re going to the office
    • Stock up on delicious coffee (any coffee that’s better than the free stuff in the office)
    • Get into a morning routine
    • Take frequent short breaks to keep the blood flowing

    Humor

    In these perilous and uncertain times, humor still remains one of the best medicines when used appropriately. Whether that be memes, light-hearted dad jokes or even poking fun of the situation you’re in, humor is an excellent tool to keep moral high.

    Here’s a few family-friendly jokes about the staffing industry for your enjoyment!

    I once placed a firefighter for a job order only to find out they got fired a week later.

    I hear staffing is really good in the garbage industry. Business is always picking up.

    3 unwritten rules of staffing

    1.

    2.

    3.

    Did you know that 3.14% of recruiters prefer pie charts?

    In closing,

    We sincerely hope you find some nuggets of use out of this post. We’re living in some hectic times and it’s no doubt easy to feel disheartened. Just remember that we are resilient as an industry and we will get through this together.


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