The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) is the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill, which the President signed into law March 11, 2021.  The ARPA expands on some of the critical provisions in the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act and is aimed to aid individuals, businesses as well as state and local governments.  A summary of the ARPA is provided below.  The APRA provides funding for: agriculture and nutrition programs, including [...]

On March 12, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed a new law that allows employees in New York to take up to four hours of paid leave time, per vaccination, to get vaccinated for COVID-19, which takes effect immediately and will expire on December 31, 2022 The law adds Section 159-c to the New York Civil Service Law and Section 196-c to the New York Labor Law (NYLL) This new leave entitlement affects both private and public employers and employees Employees shall be provided a sufficient period of [...]

On March 3, 2021, the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) FAQs were updated to reflect changes made by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act enacted on December 27, 2020.  The latest version of the PPP FAQs can be located here: Paycheck-Protection-Program-Frequently-Asked-Questions.pdf (treasury.gov) An Interim Final Rule on Revisions to Loan Amount Calculation and Eligibility was posted by the Small Business Administration [...]

The Deadline for Most New York Property Owners to Contest Their Assessment is May 25, 2021 By Nicholas J. Scarantino, Esq. Grievance Day falls on the 4th Tuesday in May every year, and in most New York Counties, that has not changed for 2021. Once again this year, we expect many changes to the real property tax grievance process as a result of COVID-19 policies and procedures. If municipal offices continue to offer limited public access this May, it is likely that most assessors will not allow [...]

On February 22, 2021, the Biden administration announced several changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) recognizing that the initial round of the PPP left several very small businesses out while larger, well-connected businesses received funds quickly.  In an effort to reach smaller, minority-owned businesses and sole proprietors, and to ensure that these entities are not crowded out by larger borrowers, only businesses with fewer than 20 employees have an exclusive [...]