RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is directing significant funds to Alaska. There may be an opportunity for your nonprofit to apply for federal funds. You can contact Zoe Olson directly at zoe.olson@forakergroup.org for specific questions on ARPA funds. We also encourage you to sign up for the Alaska ARPA email alerts and updates to stay in the know.
Supreme Court rules on vaccine mandates. In November, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a standard requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19. The U.S. Supreme Court stayed that requirement on January 13. This means that the court hasn’t struck down the standard but only put it on hold pending further action in lower courts. In other action, the court lifted injunctions against CDC rules that require vaccinations for all applicable staff of employers receiving payments under Medicaid and Medicare programs. Litigation in this case also continues, but the vaccination mandate is no longer blocked.
CARES funds encumbered by December 31, 2021, can be expensed through September 30, 2022. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has revised its guidance for the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), which was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES). Under the revision, CRF funds may be used for costs incurred by December 31, 2021, and expensed by September 30, 2022. Text of the revised guidance is available here. Information on the Coronavirus Relief Fund is found here.
Vaccine Mandates and Your Nonprofit
On November 4, 2021 OSHA released the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) regarding vaccine mandates for employers with 100 or more employees. Since last week’s release, the ETS has been challenged. Although a federal appeals court issued an order to stop the ETS, we encourage nonprofits with 100 or more employees to prepare to implement the ETS by its first deadline on January 4, 2022. The National Council of Nonprofits prepared a summary intended to answer most nonprofit questions and provide assistance to nonprofit employers seeking to determine whether their organization is covered by the mandate and if so, to comply with the standard.
Employer Tax Credits
Many businesses that have been severely impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) will qualify for two new employer tax credits – the Credit for Sick and Family Leave and the Employee Retention Credit. Learn more here.
Paid Leave Credit for Vaccines — The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) allows small and midsize employers, and certain governmental employers, to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave to their employees due to COVID-19, including leave taken by employees to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccinations. The ARP tax credits are available to eligible employers that paid sick and family leave for leave from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. For more Information see our fact sheet.
Employee Retention Credit — New law extends coronavirus tax credit for employers who keep workers on payroll: New law extends the coronavirus tax credit for employers who keep workers on the payroll. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020, amended and extended the employee retention credit (and the availability of certain advance payments of the tax credits) under section 2301 of the CARES Act.
Sick and Family Leave Credits — COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses: COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses. The COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020, amended and extended the tax credits for paid sick and family leave under sections 7001-7005 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.