The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) goes into effect tomorrow, April 1, 2020.  Employers with less than 500 employees are covered by this Act.  It provides guidelines and financial assistance for employers who need to allow employees to be absent from work to care for children home from school, to care for sick family members, who are ill themselves, etc. due to the impacts of COVID-19.    

 

Please go to www.ifca.com where we have posted several guidance documents and FAQs that explain the FFCRA provisions.  There is also a FFCRA Notice that you must post in your workplace starting tomorrow, April 1, 2020.    The Notice and a FAQ on how to post the notice is available on the IFCA website. 

 

Most importantly, the Small Business Administration is making significant financial assistance available to employers, and therefore to their affected employees, who cannot work due to COVID-19.  The Illinois Bankers Association has posted a great resource guide on how businesses can work with your financial institutions to access these funds.  We have posted the Banker's resource guide on the IFCA COVID-19 resource page.  We recommend you talk to your banker and the businesses that help you with your accounting and tax services for more assistance on these programs; these institutions will be the main ones helping to deliver this financial aid to affected businesses, including ag retail businesses.