The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association has been communicating directly with manufacturers across Illinois as the situation changes and will continue posting resources online at the IMA’s dedicated page
www.ima-net.org/covid-19/
.
The IMA continues to focus on the safety and protection of our members and their employees during this time. That is why it is important for all manufactures to continue to adhere to facility cleaning and sanitizing guidelines set forth by the CDC. To learn more, please visit the
CDC website for businesses and employers
.
Daily COVID-19 Results
Governor JB Pritzker held his daily press conference and announced:
- There are 1,453 new cases of coronavirus in Illinois.
- There are a total of 243 deaths related to coronavirus in Illinois, including 33 additional announced today.
- A total of 10,357 cases have been confirmed in at least 68 of the 102 counties.
- 53,585 people tested statewide.
Press Conference Key Updates
New or critical items of note that were discussed today by the Governor and local leaders:
- IDPH Director Dr. Ezike stressed importance of staying home and maintaining social distancing. Illinois is seeing clusters of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, mental health and developmental disability facilities, and prisons, where separation is difficult to implement.
- State workers are on the job, attempting to mitigate coronavirus spread, especially Departments of Public Health, Veteran's Affairs, and Human Services.
Employer Resources & Programs
Yesterday, lenders began processing loan applications for the new Paycheck Protection Program, established under CARES, that provides
$350 billion for small business loans administered by the Small Business Administration. These loans can provide as much as $10 million per business and those loan funds may be forgivable. To learn more,
click here
.
The IMA published
a guide
yesterday to Federal and State Grants, Unemployment Insurance, and Leave.
On Tuesday, April 7, from 9:00am to 11:30am CST, the IMA is partnering IMA member Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. for a webinar to discuss the new Department of Labor regulations regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and other best practices employers need to know now as they try to navigate through these challenging times. To register for this webinar,
please click here
.
Question & Answer Section
Earlier this week, the IMA partnered with the law firm Smith Amundsen for a webinar on the topic of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and how employers can take advantage. The webinar,
found here
, concluded with a very informative Q&A that included questions on reduced working schedules and wages, such as:
Q. Can salaried employees get pay deducted to 2/3 for one day a week or do they need their full salary if they worked 4 full days?
A. Yes, you are able to reduce an exempt employee's salary for a reduced work week so long as you pay them at least the minimum weekly salary under federal law which is $684 per week.
Q. Can we change an exempt employee’s payroll amount with a reduced salary?
A. Yes, so long as you do not reduce an exempt employee's weekly salary below the federal minimum which is $684 per week.
