Important Dutchess County Business Updates For March 26, 2020

Dutchess Business Notification Network

IMPORTANT: We Must Know What Your Organization's Needs Are

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Below are updates and resources for businesses, employers, and employees. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you believe would benefit from this information.

Update for Thursday, March 26, 2020

The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce presents a complimentary webinar to discuss issues that employers have related to COVID-19. Panelists who will cover Human Resources and legal topics will be Ed Kowalski from Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions and David Wise from Mackey Butts and Wise LLP. Questions will be accepted near the end of the presentation, and this webinar will be recorded and archived to watch on demand. You can sign up for this webinar HERE.

The New York Department of Labor has put out a "Fact Sheet" on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This is the act that created the new paid sick leave, and emergency medical leave. If can be found HERE.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has published model notice WH1422 that is required to be posted by all employers with 500 employees or less. The notice outlines the expanded paid sick leave and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The notice must be displayed in a conspicuous place(s) that employees regularly visit. If your workforce is operating remotely at this time, the DOL stipulates that the notice can be electronically posted by emailing it to all current employees or posting it to an internal or external employee website. The model notice can be found HERE.

An updated SBA site for users to use to upload loan documents in applying for a SBA loan has been released. The most important thing is that the user should first clear their cache and history browsing before going to the new site. We are being told this is very important before continuing. After clearing cache/browser history, all users should go to HERE.

"A mental health hotline is available to New Yorkers who need it. We can't underestimate the impact this pandemic is having on mental health. I'm proud that over 6,000 mental health professionals have volunteered their time to help with New York's Coronavirus response. For free emotional support, consultation and referral to a provider, call 1-844-863-9314." -Governor Cuomo.

The USDA has implemented a number of measures to assist rural residents, businesses, and communities affected by COVID-19. All of those measures have been compiled and and can be found HERE.

New York golf courses are allowed to remain open but must implement all CDC and state mandated guidelines, and promote safe, social distancing. There is to be no access to pro shops, locker rooms, indoor facilities and restaurants/bars (unless for take-out purposes only). Due to the unique COVID-19 precautions taking place at golf courses, the USGA has provided guidance on how to use the flexibility provided in the Roles of Golf while protecting public health. They also provided temporary guidance on posting scores to GHIN (begins in upstate New York on April 15), specifically when golfers don't "hole out" for health/safety reasons. Click HERE for more information.

SCORE is offering assistance to those applying for SBA loans. You can learn more HERE.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email [email protected]. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.