Did the Biden administration just open the door for the state to give businesses and nonprofits a break from those shockingly high unemployment insurance bills?

 

Let's hope so.

 

Treasury officials on Monday outlined a list of ways that state and local governments can use American Rescue Plan Act funds. The list includes replenishing unemployment trust funds to pre-pandemic levels.

 

Hopefully that's exactly the news the Baker administration was waiting to hear when it delayed the Q1UI due date from April 30 to June 1 after employers were stunned by bills that were 16 times more per worker than one year ago.

 

Other allowed uses for the funds includes loans or grants to help small businesses and nonprofits, premium pay for essential workers and a wide variety of health, mental health and infrastructure investments.

 

 

 

Also yesterday, President Biden announced that workers cannot turn down a "suitable" job they are offered and continue to take federal unemployment benefits, the Hill reports.

 

Biden's comments comes as some employers worry that a $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit encourages some workers to stay home and collect rather than reenter the job market.

 

Workers also may not turn down a job due to a general, non-specific concern about COVID-19 and continue to receive benefits, the White House said. But they are exempt from the policy if they're unable to take a job due to child care responsibilities.

 

 

While British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on the verge allowing hugging, Gov. Charlie Baker once again stressed that he may allow the state’s economy to reopen prior to the announced Aug. 1 date, if heath conditions and the vaccination rate continue their favorable.

 

“I think we could be in a really good place in a fairly reasonable period of time,” Baker said yesterday.

 

He also suggested for the first time that he may lift the COVID-19 state of emergency at the same time (CommonWealth).

 

The emergency order allowed the governor to impose a number of business restrictions. But it also removed red tape that made it easier to approve outdoor dining and allowed to-go alcohol, among other measures, that should be made permanent by the Legislature.

 

 

 

Baker also loosened some capacity and sector restrictions effective yesterday. And the state revised sector-specific guidance for the retail, restaurant and other industries.

 

Singing and playing of brass or wind instruments (with specific distancing requirements) is now allowed in restaurants.

 

Salt and pepper shakers, Sriracha at tables, reusable menus and valet parking are once again allowed. Tables can once again be preset with utensils and place settings. Pagers and other devices that tell you when your order/table is ready are permitted again too.

 

Frequent disinfecting of heavy transit areas and high-touch surfaces (e.g., doorknobs, elevator buttons, staircases) is no longer required. Read the full list of restaurant guidance changes here.

 

There's also retail guidance changes. No longer required: Senior hours for pharmacies and grocery stores, requirements to quarantine/steam clean clothing tried on by a customer or cleaning logs.

 

Here’s other sector guidance: 

 

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has posted added updates here. As always, the chamber is interested in your feedback on how COVID protocols or these changes impact your operation.

 

 

 

Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller will present her fiscal 2022 budget to the city council tomorrow (Weds.) at 7 p.m.

 

Among those who will be watching closely is the Newton Coalition of Black Residents who have asked the mayor to create and fund a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position at City Hall.

 

The proposal has been endorsed by the League of Women Voters Newton.

 
 

 

Idling your car in Wellesley may now result in a $15 fine. Wellesley Police Chief Jack Pilecki explains that the town's anti-idling traffic regulation isn’t “about the money, it’s about saving the planet and clean air.”

 

 

 

If the MBTA’s fiscal management board gets its way, the T would have the lowest fare evasion fines in the nation.

 

The current fare evasion fine is $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $600 for the third or subsequent offenses.

 

The T staff is recommending reducing the first offence to $50 but the fiscal management board favors a $10 fine, reports Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth.

 

The board also supports a sliding scale fine system based on income, Mohl writes. It's not clear how that would be enforced.

 

The discussion comes as the T is ramping up to introduce a $1 billion cashless fare collection system for above ground Green Line stops and all buses, leaving the transit agency worried about increased fare evasion.

 

 

 

Are you looking forward to having your PPP loans quickly forgiven and off your books as a liability?

 

Don't hold your breath.

 

Some experts tell Andy Medici for the BBJ that it could take three to four years for the SBA to process millions of forgiveness applications. Others think it may take as much as six to eight years for all loans and appeals to be resolved.

 

Small business owners have 10 months after their covered period ends to apply for forgiveness. Lenders have another 30 days to review the business’ PPP loan application. Then the SBA has 90 days to agree or reject the loan, followed by appeals and legal challenges, potentially leaving “some PPP loans in limbo for the better part of a decade,” reports Medici.

 

 

 

Did you have a flight cancelled during the pandemic and receive a voucher rather than a refund?

 

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut want your airline to give you your money back.

 

The request comes after the four biggest U.S. airlines, closed out 2020 with $10 billion in unused travel credits on their books.

 

Some airline vouchers expire as soon as this spring, even though the CDC still discourages non-essential travel for anyone not fully vaccinated.

 

Not sure you want to wait for Congress to come to your rescue? Consumer Reports has some tips here.

 

That's what you need to know today. Don't forget income taxes are due next Monday (written by someone who forgot). See you tomorrow.

 

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P.S. Looking for something that appeared in an earlier edition of this e-newsletter? We’ve archived them all here.