SAG AFTRA Forwards Resource Information to Its Franchised Agents Suffering Because of COVID-19 Pandemic

Dear SAG-AFTRA Franchised Agents,

We have heard from many of you who are, understandably, quite anxious about the unprecedented financial impact the Coronavirus outbreak has had on your businesses. We appreciate how concerned you all are because this health crisis has affected a lot of production, and could have a long-term, detrimental impact on all of our lives. As I am sure you are already aware, SAG-AFTRA has provided all of our communities with an extraordinary State-by-State listing of general supplemental assistance programs, which we encourage you to review if you have not already done so. That information is located here: sagaftra.org/news-events/news/covid-19/local-resources.

We wanted to also provide some additional information to you in the hopes that it might be of assistance in weathering the challenges caused by this pandemic. This email buttresses the larger SAG-AFTRA efforts, listed above, and located on our website. Please review all of the information SAG-AFTRA makes available to you and reach out with any questions that you may have, or if we can offer further assistance.

We welcome the news that the Federal government has passed a stimulus bill which provides for direct payments and jobless benefits for individuals, money for States, and a large bail-out fund for businesses. We have attached to this email crucial information about this legislation, and you can read more about potential relief to your businesses here: sagaftra.org/covid-19. In addition to these on-going legislative efforts, we wanted to alert you to some other sources of information which may be helpful to you, at the Federal/State/Local level. These are, by no means, exhaustive lists, but we wanted to bring your attention to the following:

First, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers businesses guidance and loan resources directly related to the impact of the Coronavirus. That information can be obtained here: sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources#section-header-4 and here: disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Account/Register1

Second, for more information about what action all 50 State Governors are taking to assist small businesses, we urge you to reach out to them directly here: nga.org/governors/addresses/

Third, here is a list of banks offering relief to customers affected by the Coronavirus: forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/03/12/list-of-banks-offering-relief-to-customers-affected-by-coronavirus/#ce71943ee3d1. If you have a different bank not located on that original list, you will likely find it here: aba.com/about-us/press-room/industry-response-coronavirus

Fourth, if you were not already aware, the filing deadline for your taxes has also been extended to July 15, 2020, thereby allowing individuals and businesses to hold onto their cash longer as they deal with the fallout from the outbreak of the virus: irs.gov/newsroom/payment-deadline-extended-to-july-15-2020. And here is where you can find additional information about the filing of your State taxes: taxadmin.org/state-tax-agencies

Fifth, relief is also available for small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program, if you are a company that employs fewer than 500 employees. The amount any small business is eligible to borrow is 250 percent of their average monthly payroll expenses, up to a total of $10 million. This amount is intended to cover 8 weeks of payroll expenses and any additional amounts for making payments towards debt obligations. The amount of principal that may be forgiven is equal to the sum of expenses for payroll, and existing interest payments on mortgages, rent payments, leases, and utility service agreements. More information is located here: rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/ac3081f6-14ae-4e6f-9197-172ede28badd/71AB6CB05A08E369E0D488A80B3874A5.faqs---paycheck-protection-program-faqs-for-small-businesses.pdf

In addition to the above, we urge you to take a look at the following State-by-State resources which may also offer some information/assistance:

Arizona: encourages small businesses to apply for a SBA loan, above. bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2020/03/19/2m-loans-available-to-arizona-small-businesses.html?ana=knxv

California:

• If you are in Los Angeles, in addition to the SBA information above, you may be interested in City of Los Angeles Small Business Emergency Microloan Program.
  • Businesses and microenterprises in Los Angeles that are responsible for providing low-income jobs can get anemergency microloansof $5,000 to $20,000. You can apply here: ewddlacity.com/index.php/microloan-program. Additionally, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (Ibank) offers loan programs for businesses affected by disaster: ibank.ca.gov/small-business-finance-center. And, the County of Los Angeles Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS) offers Layoff Aversion and Business Technical Assistance, which is confidential, free assistance for businesses that may be experiencing financial distress. Businesses experiencing significant economic harm can also contact the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation’s Layoff Aversion team for strategic assistance, all done confidentially and at no cost. Email them at:covid19response@laedc.org. The Layoff Aversion team is working with the County’s Rapid Response team (edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de8714rrb.pdf) to serve businesses at risk of closure and job loss as well as those businesses where job losses are not avoidable. For more info, visitworkforce.lacounty.gov/ For information on California’s work sharing program, please consult: edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Work_Sharing_Program.htm.
  • In addition to the resource information SAG-AFTRA has already provided you, we wanted to also keep you apprised of new developments coming out of Mayor Garcetti’s office in the past day or so.  Mayor Garcetti has signed an emergency order to halt new rent increases on residential units that are subject to the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO).  There are approximately 624,000 rent stabilized units in 118,000 properties across the City of Los Angeles. Now, under the new order, tenants occupying these units will not be subject to any new rent increase through 60 days after the expiration of the local emergency period.
  • Mayor Garcetti also announced he will sign an ordinance passed by the Los Angeles City Council codifying the City’s emergency eviction moratorium for all residential and commercial tenants. The new measure gives eligible residential tenants 12 months following the expiration of the local emergency period to repay any missed rent. Commercial tenants still have three months to pay back their rent.
  • The links for these new orders can be found here: lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-orders-new-restrictions-evictions-announces-indefinite-moratorium-water-and-power and here: lamayor.org/COVID19Orders. 
• If you are in San Francisco, you may also be interested in this Coronavirus aid fund to help small businesses in the Bay Area, located here: sfchronicle.com/business/article/SF-starts-coronavirus-aid-fund-with-1-5-million-15130406.php and here: give2sf.org/disaster-emergency-response-recovery-fund If some of you are tenants, there may also be relief here: sfmayor.org/article/mayor-london-breed-announces-moratorium-commercial-evictions-small-and-medium-size. See the City’s special page to deal with this crisis and how it affects individual/small businesses, including grants and loans for which you may qualify: oewd.org/resources-businesses-and-employees-impacted-covid-19
• If you are in San Diego, in addition to the resources listed above, you may also want to look at these options for assistance: sandiegobusiness.org/coronavirus/

Colorado: In addition to the SBA information above, you may be able to access the Denver Small Business Emergency Relief. This program offers cash grants of up to $7,500 to businesses in industries particularly hard-hit by the Coronavirus. Read more information/apply here: denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/environmental-health/news/coronavirus-info/support-services/small-business-emergency-relief-program-form.html. See also additional resources here: choosecolorado.com/covid19/

Florida: In addition to the SBA information above, you may be interested in the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program which offers loans of up to $50,000 — $100,000 in certain special cases for Coronavirus-affected small businesses. The loans are meant to serve as short-term funding that can be repaid once businesses can access alternative funding. Loans are interest-free for one year. You can find more information here: floridadisaster.biz/

Georgia: In addition to the SBA information above, the Atlanta City Council has recently approvedMayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s call for a $7 million Coronavirus emergency fund that will allocate $1.5 million to small businesses: cbs46.com/news/atlanta-mayor-announces-million-fund-to-assist-residents-impacted-by/article_d5a80a14-687d-11ea-a1c7-a7711e886ac5.html. You can also visit here for assistance: disasterloan.sba.gov

Hawai’i: In addition to the SBA information above, you may also be interested in the efforts of the Hawai’i Community Foundation: hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/home- as well as viewing some helpful reference material here: labor.hawaii.gov/get-the-latest-covid-19-workplace-updates/

Illinois: In addition to the SBA information above, you may also want to look at the Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund, which allows small businesses to apply for low-interest loans with repayment of up to five years. Read more information/apply here: surveymonkey.com/r/COVID19Chicago . See also: illinois.gov/sites/coronavirus/Pages/default.aspx

Massachusetts: In addition to the SBA information above, Governor Charlie Baker recently announced a$10 million relief fund for Massachusetts businesses affected by the Coronavirus. Funds up to $75,000 are immediately available for companies with fewer than 50 full- and part-time employees. For additional information, see here: mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-announces-10-million-small-business-recovery-loan-fund

Michigan: In addition to the SBA information above, you may be interested in theMichigan Small Business Relief Program which will allocate $10 million in small business grants and $10 million in small business loans to local business owners. You can find out more information here: michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98158-522285--,00.html and here: michiganbusiness.org/covid19/

Minnesota: In addition to the SBA information above, emergency relief efforts have been signed to help small business owners: twincities.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-immediate-relief-available-for-small-businesses-in-minnesota/ You can get more information/apply, here: mn.gov/deed/

Missouri Valley: In addition to the SBA information above, Missouri has created a COVID-19 resource page which offers information and assistance: stlouis-mo.gov/covid-19/

Nevada: encourages small businesses to apply for a SBA loan, above.

New Mexico: In addition to the SBA information above, the New Mexico Economic Development Department team created theCOVID-19 Business Loan Guarantee Program to aid small businessesseeking emergency loans or lines of credit. The program can guarantee a portion of a loan or line of credit up to 80% of principal or $50,000. For additional information, go here: gonm.biz/about-us/covid-19-response

New York: In addition to the SBA information above, New York City Employee Retention Grant Program offers small businesses with one to four employees a grant of up to $27,000 that covers 40% of payroll costs over the course of two months. You must show that you lost 25% of your revenue due to the Coronavirus. Apply through the New York City Department of Small Business Services website, here: nyc.gov/nycbusiness/article/nyc-employee-retention-grant-program. Also, you may want to look at New York City Small Business Continuity Fund, if your business has fewer than 100 employees, you can get up to $75,000 in interest-free loans from the city to cover revenue losses. For more information, go here: surveymonkey.com/r/N336ZYB. Refer to New York City’scoronavirus resource pagefor small businesses for more information and also: nyc.gov/site/sbs/businesses/covid19-business-outreach.page

Ohio/Pennsylvania: encourage small businesses to apply for a SBA loan, above. In addition, Ohio has set up an economic support page here: coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/resources-for-economic-support as has Pennsylvania, here: pachamber.org/coronavirus/. In addition, Philadelphia has set up a ‘small business relief fund’ to provide small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with immediate relief through a mix of grants and loans, here: phila.gov/programs/philadelphia-covid-19-small-business-relief-fund/?mc_cid=e610c84755&mc_eid=0e0c66297c

Oregon: In addition to the SBA information above, a variety of resources are available to small businesses detrimentally impacted in the State. See: oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/nearly-200000-in-grants-could-reach-portland-small-businesses-hurt-by-coronavirus-next-week.html and eastoregonian.com/coronavirus/oregon-programs-available-for-small-businesses-hit-hard-by-the/article_893768c8-d2cc-534d-8939-eeb007c18bbc.html

Tennessee: encourages small businesses to apply for a SBA loan, above.

Texas: encourages small businesses to apply for a SBA loan, above. The State has set up a resource page for all of its citizens, which many small businesses may find useful: gov.texas.gov/business/page/coronavirus. Houston has also set up its own resource page to deal with the outbreak: houston.org/coronavirus

Washington (State): In addition to the SBA information above, relief measures for businesses suffering because of the outbreak can be found in this very comprehensive list of resources: docs.google.com/document/d/1TtrYEeyGF52atCUB5zxt-CjYR7cDakGSdXs0sVfHF3U/edit?fbclid=IwAR1FleAMtYlnjwqB55avfQfk9TITLRHIG0nzPXoi2zMSabTR81L4m5EEvjw Here is some assistance from the office of the Mayor: durkan.seattle.gov/2020/03/following-outreach-to-small-business-owners-mayor-durkan-announces-initial-recovery-package-to-ease-financial-impacts-of-covid-19-outbreak/. Incidentally, Amazon has also established a Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund, for which you may be eligible: amazonsmallbusinessrelief.force.com/SelfRegisterPage

Washington D.C.-Mid Atlantic: In addition to the SBA information above, Virginia has announced new measures to help small businesses. You can read about them here: governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/leading-virginia-forward---week-in-review/ Information/resources for Maryland small business owners can also be found here: govstatus.egov.com/md-coronavirus-business

In addition to all of the information above, we also encourage you to look into the many private businesses/corporations/individuals that are stepping up to the plate to offer assistance to small businesses, such as Facebook: facebook.com/business/boost/grant, or Amazon: amazonsmallbusinessrelief.force.com/SelfRegisterPage. We urge you to research all possible options, some of which may not have been widely publicized. We intend to post this information in our Agency Portal as well and we will update it if/when new helpful sources become available. We hope these options may provide some economic (or other) assistance to you and your businesses, as well as some peace of mind. As always, we wish you all good health and share a desire that this outbreak will be contained quickly.**

** SAG-AFTRA does not in any manner, directly or indirectly, constitute a guarantee, warranty or representation as to the quality, effectiveness or accuracy of any information/programs/benefits offered by these sources.