By: Alex Rahn, Wanner Associates
On December 21st, the United States Senate and House of Representatives approved a $900 billion Coronavirus Relief Package.  President Donald Trump has indicated he will approve the legislation and has until December 28th to sign it.  
 
The package contains $600 stimulus checks for those who make under a certain income and $300-per-week for federal unemployment stopped at 11 weeks.
​
The legislation also assigns $284 billion of the funds to a new round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). PPP eligibility is expanded for nonprofits, including 501C6 organizations which was a large push from the Chamber community.  

Update Provided By: Susie Cirilli at Paisner Litvin LLP

​As we near the beginning of the end (of 2019), it is crucial that employers account (literally and figuratively) for changes in the law. The Department of Labor announced earlier this year that effective January 1, 2020, the minimum salary for exempt employees will increase to $684 per week ($35,568 annually). This is an $11,908 jump from the current minimum salary of $455 per week ($23,660 annually).

The Federal Regulations afford employers some relief in that up to 10% of the exempt employee’s salary may be paid in the form of a bonus, incentive or commission on a quarterly or annual basis.
​
It is important to remember that salary alone is insufficient for an employee to be exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (“FLSA”) The Act provides that employees classified as Professional, Administrative or Executive are exempt, provided that (1) the primary duty of the employee’s work is exempt, and (2) the employee meets the minimum salary amount. The following is a general overview of the primary duties for each exempt employee classification:

​Although many political pundits predicted a Trump-inspired “blue wave” of Democrats overwhelming Congress and state legislators across the country, the actual results nationwide were not as dramatic as expected on November 6. The Democrats did indeed regain control of the US House of Representatives, but not by the margins that have been customarily seen in “mid-term” elections after a new president is elected. The parties of Clinton, Bush and Obama all lost more seats than the Republicans did this year, and they actually ADDED to their majority in the US Senate, giving President Trump even more of an advantage should another Supreme Court seat come open.