WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
Click the image below take the COVID-19 Business Impact Survey. Help Taney County Partnership and the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce advocate on your behalf to advise community leaders and policy makers on how the effects of the coronavirus are impacting your business and day-to-day operations.
CITY OF BRANSON - ESSENTIAL BUSINESS AND GATHERING FAQ
On March 23, 2020, the City of Branson passed an essential business and social gathering ordinance to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. That law is now in effect. FAQs on this law are available on the City's website . The City also maintains a Coronavirus Response Page that provides information, maps and resources.

The goal of the ordinance is to make sure that only essential businesses in the city are operating, people are practicing proper social distancing, people are not gathering in groups of more than ten people, and those essential businesses that are operating are operating in a manner consistent with the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control. This is to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

WHAT IS AN ESSENTIAL BUSINESS?
An essential business is a business critical to the well-being of the citizens’ infrastructure of the city and is defined specifically as follows: day care facilities which serve employees of essential businesses, health care facilities, grocery stores, convenience food stores, service stations, drug stores, pharmacies, public service or telecommunication facilities, financial institutions, law firms, accounting firms, government offices and facilities, lodging establishments, and restaurants.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORDINANCE?
The Emergency Management Director or the City Administrator have the authority to make a determination as to the classification of other businesses. For questions about a specific business, please call (417) 243-2780 .
COVID-19 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
On March 25, the Senate unanimously passed the Phase 3 Coronavirus Relief Package, the CARES Act, in a vote 96-0. The Senate will now be in recess until April 20. The House will take up this bill on March 27.

The final bill also included legislation to address medical equipment supply vulnerability. View the final (for now) updated summaries and legislation and opportunities for small businesses. And check out details regarding The Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act that would provide $377 billion to help prevent workers from losing
their jobs and small businesses from going under due to economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Joelle Cannon of Senator Blunt's office provided a good article on how the deal came together and a rundown from The Hill.

Details on The Cares Act:
  • Provides direct assistance to individuals and families that need it most. Under the bill, a typical middle-class family of four would get $3,400 to help them meet their daily expenses;
  • Includes emergency funds for food and nutrition programs so families can continue to get that help if they need it;
  • Provides immediate assistance to child care providers to prevent them from going out of business and supports child care for families, including for healthcare workers, first responders, and others playing critical roles during this crisis;
  • Provides cash-flow assistance to small businesses through federally-guaranteed loans, with certain expenses eligible for forgiveness if employers maintain their payrolls through this emergency;
  • Creates a temporary pandemic unemployment assistance program to give assistance to workers who aren’t normally eligible for unemployment benefits, such as the self-employed or independent contractors;
  • Ensures that testing and the eventual vaccine for coronavirus patients will be covered by private insurance;
  • Includes $100 billion in support for hospitals and health care providers, and provides flexibility for them to receive both prospective payments and reimbursement for costs associated with coronavirus, including lost revenues;
  • Gives health care providers more capabilities to offer telehealth services;
  • Provides an additional $16 billion to procure personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other medical supplies for federal and state response efforts;
  • Allows the Secretary of Education to defer student loan payments, enables students who were forced to drop out of school due to coronavirus to keep Pell Grants, and gives colleges and universities the flexibility to continue work-study payments to students who cannot work due to coronavirus closures;
  • Provides funding for elementary and secondary schools that can be released quickly to states to help schools respond to coronavirus and related school closures, including immediate needs of students and teachers, improving use of education technology, supporting distance education, and making up for lost learning time; and
  • Stabilizes major sectors of the economy without putting taxpayers on the hook for giant bailouts.

Several bills have been introduced regarding COVID-19. You can see the progress here .
DEPT OF LABOR IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE
On March 24, DOL released initial guidance for paid and sick leave as well as wage and hour requirements. This guidance addresses the following employment questions:
  • How does an employer count its number of employees to determine coverage?
  • How can small businesses obtain an exemption?
  • How does an employer count hours for part-time employees?
  • How does an employer calculate wages employees are entitled to under the FFCRA?

The initial WHD guidance is available in three-parts:
HELP AND RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
Chrystal Irons, director of the Missouri Small Business Development Center at Missouri State University, says in response to Covid-19 , they have created a landing page of resources for small businesses. The website is updated daily and also allows business owners to consult about SBA disaster loan applications, including an FAQs page .

COVID-19 AND THE IMPACT TO SMALL BUSINESSES
On March 13, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) hosted a webinar to discuss COVID-19 and the impact to small businesses. They provided government updates on how to take precautions and handle presumptive cases in the workplace.  Watch here .

SUPPORTING YOUR WORKERS WITH EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE FUNDS
The U.S. Chamber Foundation partnered with America’s Charities to offer an  Employee Assistance Fund (EAF) program  to provide management services for employers looking to support their employees during times of hardship.
EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH CHANGE AMIDST COVID-19
SBJ shared a great video with Richard Ollis, CEO of Ollis/Akers/Arney . Richard says there are analogies between being deployed in the military and current events. Ollis says he learned some tricks of the trade during his three, seven-month deployments onboard the USS John F. Kennedy. Dial in your attitude and get ready to operate.