Join us for a FREE members-only virtual happy hour on Monday, March 23 at 4:30 pm EDT. All employees of ACRA member firms, from field technicians to owners, are welcome to grab a drink of their choice and join ACRA President Nathan Boyless and Executive Director Amanda Stratton online. We can talk about the industry response to COVID-19, get ideas from your peers, or even simply vent about the current climate. Simply sign up here (it's free!) and we will send you a link to join.

In light of the recent events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, ACRA has made the decision to cancel our upcoming CRM Day on the Hill, originally scheduled for May 5, 2020. 

Please continued to stay tuned to the ACRAsphere for news and resources that can help member firms during this time.

The requirements laid out in the coronavirus relief packages stand to directly affected ACRA member firms - particularly those that are small businesses. The office of Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA) has shared a helpful summary of key information for small businesses and employees affected by coronavirus-related closures. Much of this information has already been shared on other ACRAsphere posts, but the Congressman's office has helpfully compiled the information in an easily digestible format in one place:

Requirements for Small Businesses

Qualified Sick Leave Wages

• Businesses with fewer than 500 employees must pay up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave to full-time employees (pro-rata rules apply to part-time employees) who are home sick from coronavirus, complying with a quarantine, or taking care of an individual who has been infected. This leave also applies to working families who may be forced home due to school closures.
• • Federal government will provide employers with a refundable payroll tax credit of 100 percent of the required wages.
  • Employees are capped at $200 per day ($511 per day in the case of employees that are home sick from coronavirus or complying with a quarantine).

Qualified Family Leave Wages

• Businesses with fewer than 500 employees must provide an additional 12 weeks of paid leave due to caring for a child whose school is closed.
• • The first 2 weeks of the leave, which is covered by the qualified sick leave described above, may be unpaid.
  • During the remaining 10 weeks, the employer will pay 2/3 of the employee’s salary, capped at $200 per day for up to 50 days.
  • Federal government will provide businesses with a refundable payroll tax credit of 100 percent of the required wages.
  • Secretary of Labor may issue rules to exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from these requirements when the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.

Unemployment Insurance for Workers

• Provides $500 million for emergency administrative grants to states to support timely application, processing and payment of unemployment claims.
• Makes an additional $500 million available for 100 percent federally funded Extended Benefits to support states that experience a spike in unemployment of at least 10 percent and eases some federal eligibility requirements to improve access.
• Allows states to access interest-free federal loans to pay unemployment benefits, if needed.

Resources for Small Businesses

Health and Safety in the Workplace

• It is important to note that OSHA has not issued any new regulations or legal obligations with regard to COVID-19, they have simply given best practices to ensure the health and safety of all employees.
• • Businesses should, however, existing OSHA standards due to the fact that these standards may apply to protecting workers against COVID-19. For the most recent OSHA guidance on COVID-19, please see https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf.

Access to Capital

• According to Secretary Mnuchin, the Administration is in the process of working on a regulation to allow some businesses who have large amounts of their workforce out to take the tax credit in advance. This is to ensure that businesses have enough payroll cash on hand to meet the leave requirements.
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program - The SBA will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
• • For more information please visit https://www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19.
  • SBA provides a number of loan resources for small businesses to utilize when operating their business. For more information on loans or how to connect with a lender, visit: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans.
  • How to get access to lending partners? SBA has developed Lender Match, a free online referral tool that connects small businesses with participating SBA-approved lenders within 48 hours.
• 7(a) program offers loan amounts up to $5,000,000 and is an all-inclusive loan program deployed by lending partners for eligible small businesses within the U.S. States and its territories. The uses of proceeds include: working capital; expansion/renovation; new construction; purchase of land or buildings; purchase of equipment, fixtures; lease-hold improvements; refinancing debt for compelling reasons; seasonal line of credit; inventory; or starting a business.
• Express loan program provides loans up to $350,000 for no more than 7 years with an option to revolve. There is a turnaround time of 36 hours for approval or denial of a completed application. The uses of proceeds are the same as the standard 7(a) loan.
• Community Advantage loan pilot program allows mission-based lenders to assist small businesses in underserved markets with a maximum loan size of $250,000. The uses of proceeds are the same as the standard 7(a) loan.
• 504 loan program is designed to foster economic development and job creation and/or retention. The eligible use of proceeds is limited to the acquisition or eligible refinance of fixed assets.
• Microloan program involves making loans through nonprofit lending organizations to underserved markets. Authorized use of loan proceeds includes working capital, supplies, machinery & equipment, and fixtures (does not include real estate). The maximum loan amount is $50,000 with the average loan size of $14,000.

Thank you to Congressman Wittman and his staff for providing this information to constituents. This information is also available here, and stay tuned to the ACRAsphere for further updates.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Senate passed a a multibillion-dollar aid package aimed at helping those impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis. President Trump is expected to sign the bill, which provides paid sick leave for some workers in addition to other forms of aid such as free diagnostic testing.

How to best support small businesses amid mandates for paid leave continues to be a point of contention in negotiations. From Business Insider:

"Through increases in programs like unemployment insurance and food stamps, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act would provide aid to those affected by the respiratory illness COVID-19 and efforts to contain it. The fast-tracked bill also expands paid sick leave for some workers, though the number of those who would be covered has been significantly reduced since its passage in the Democratic-controlled House early Saturday."

The bill offers two weeks of paid and family leave at 100% of their normal salary to many American workers who are in quarantine, helping a family member with COVID-19, or who have children whose schools have closed. The bill also includes a provision allowing for 12 weeks of paid leave at 67% of their normal salary to workers with children whose schools have closed. Offsets for the increased costs to businesses are provided in the form of tax credits, which has been criticized as not coming quickly enough to pay employees.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) committed to keeping the Senate in session to begin working on another stimulus package with the House of Representatives and the White House.

Read the full Business Insider article here, and more information on both the package passed by the Senate and what is expected in future legislation is available in this piece by Roll Call. ACRA will continue to provide updates on how this could affect CRM businesses as the situation evolves.

As the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, ACRA is committed to supporting its member firms through our programs and information distribution. Please continue to visit the ACRAsphere and ACRA on Facebook and LinkedIn for the latest on the industry and resources for your firm.

While many ACRA member firms are continuing to conduct fieldwork and other operations right now, preparing their businesses for any potential negative effects is on the minds of many in the industry right now. Two recent announcements from the federal government - extension of the tax payment deadline and the availability of disaster relief loans for small businesses - can help both business owners and employees preserve cash at this time. More information on both of these announcements is below.

The US Department of Treasury has announced an extension on the April 15 tax payment deadlines. Individuals can defer tax payments of up to $1 million for 90 days, which extends the April 15 deadline to July 14, 2020. This is intended to cover individuals and small businesses, including partnerships and S corporations. Corporations can defer tax payments of up to $10 million for 90 days. 

There are no special forms that need to be filed in order to take advantage of these extensions. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin remarked:

"If you owe a payment to the IRS, you can defer up to $1 million as an individual — and the reason why we are doing $1 million is because that covers lots of pass-throughs and small businesses — and $10 million to corporations, interest-free and penalty-free for 90 days. All you have to do is file your taxes, you'll automatically not get charged interest and penalties.

While the payment deadline has been extended, the filing deadline has NOT - it is still April 15. More information on the tax payment extension can be found here.

The Small Business Administration is offering low-interest loans of up to $2 million as a part of their Disaster Relief Lending. The process of applying for an SBA loan is a bit more complicated than for conventional loans, but the advantage lies in higher amounts, lower interest rates, and longer repayment terms - and it is partially guaranteed by the government. Qualifying businesses can submit their applications online directly to the SBA.

SBA disaster relief loans have been used to help small businesses stay afloat after natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. You can read more about how businesses have used SBA disaster relief funds in this piece from Business News Daily that compares SBA and conventional loans.

To qualify, a business must prove it has been negatively economically affected by COVID-19, can show that financing is not available elsewhere and meets the small business threshold criteria. More information and directions for applying are available on the SBA Disaster Relief website.

Your Congress in Action is a new series that highlights the Capitol Hill news that affects CRM firms the most. This information is sourced from the Coalition for American Heritage, news articles, and more. Be sure to subscribe to the ACRAsphere to ensure you don't miss an update.

We recognize that many of you may have been busy preparing your firm for coming uncertainty, and we want to ensure you have ample time to send us your ideas for conference sessions. We have extended the deadline for 2020 conference session proposals by one week - proposals are now due March 23, 2020 by 5:00 pm Eastern.

Consider submitting a proposal for an individual speaker, a duo, or a panel on a subject that will interest fellow attendees. Whether the topic is insurance, evaluating significance of a resource, or details on consulting party communication, our roster of sessions is often vast and reflective of the multifaceted nature of our work and our companies. Our conference theme is CRM: Bridging Agencies, Industries, and the Community; perhaps this theme can spur an incredible idea.

Our best sessions are developed by you—our attendees! Details can be found here.

Congress is currently working on relief package to combat the economic and public health effects of COVID-19. This is likely to be the first package of many, and a large portion of the discussions have been devoted to protecting American workers in the event of having to take unexpected leave. 

The House of Representatives passed their version of a relief package on Saturday morning, but some small businesses have expressed their concerns about provisions requiring them to offer up to 12 weeks of paid leave to their workers, citing the additional financial burden this would place on their businesses.  From Roll Call:

"Republicans thought they'd settled on a formula to alleviate concerns: Provide generous tax credits for businesses with 500 or fewer employees subject to the new requirements, who under current law don't have to pay workers who take up to 12 weeks off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. There's also a hardship waiver for firms with 50 workers or less, subject to Labor Department approval.

Small businesses voiced concerns that the tax relief wouldn't come quickly enough for them to make payroll, however, because the tax credits wouldn't come until after the end of each quarter. President Donald Trump said he'd agreed to have Mnuchin provide flexibility so that businesses could get the cash upfront. House Ways and Means ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, announced his support for the bill after personal assurances from Trump."

Read the full article at Roll Call for more in-depth analysis. Because the majority of CRM firms are qualify as small businesses under federal size standards, ACRA will continue to monitor and provide updates on the relief packages being discussed in Washington.

Are you worried about how COVID-19 may impact your CRM firm and its operation? You aren't alone - firms across the nation are facing new challenges as they plan for this continued public health issue.

Please use the comments section at the bottom of this post to connect with others in the CRM industry on how they are preparing for COVID-19. You can share your firm's plan for preparing, ask questions about challenges you are facing, and hear about innovative ways other firms are handling operations.

We have also included general guidance and resources on preparing your CRM firm for the COVID-19 response below.

ACRA encourages its members to prepare for the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak in your communities and across the nation and around world where you work.  There are many agencies providing guidance on the best measures to reduce the spread of the virus (see links below).  In addition to concern about personal health, ACRA is aware the COVID-19 outbreak may have a significant effect on businesses in our industry. 

Things to consider and plan for to keep your business running:

Useful Links

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Fact Sheet: What you need to know about coronavirus disease 2019

Fact Sheet: What to do if you are sick with coronavirus disease 2019

Resources for Business and Employers

Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Communities

Preparing Communities for Potential Spread of COVID-19

Communication Resources

Travelers' Health

Interim US Guidance for Risk Assessment and Public Health Management of Persons with Potential Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Exposures

Small Business International Travel Resource Travel Planner

Pandemic Preparedness Resources

OSHA

Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

In 2017, the Society for Historical Archaeology's Collections and Curation Committee (CCC) set out to gather repository fee data and other pertinent information for the primary archaeological repositories across the country. This information was compiled into an abbreviated report and story map, released in 2019. While the information gathered during this initial survey was useful and is being widely utilized, the CCC felt that a more detailed questionnaire and wider audience was needed to accurately capture repositories that are accepting collections, that have collections available for research, curation fee costs etc.

To meet this goal, the CCC joined forces with the Archaeological Collections Consortium (ACC), of which ACRA is a partner, to conduct a second survey. This phase has a more technological approach to the survey which automatically inserts the data from the survey questionnaire into a GIS map and dashboard. It is also targeting a wider audience than the previous survey.

Since the formal release of the survey in January, nearly 70 repositories have participated in the study. Please spread the word and ask anyone who holds collections to please fill out the survey. If you have any questions, please contact Kerry Gonzalez.

Take the Repository Survey Now