EXECUTIVE BRANCH
FPLG COVID-19 RESPONSE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
[UPDATE: May 3, 2020]
The Executive Branch lacks a coherent or consistent message or policy concerning the COVID-19 crisis. The White House’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America: 30 Days To Stop the Spread (March 31, 2020) has expired; they were not mandatory in any event. In addition, much of the decision-making has been taken up by the states.
The emergency federal legislation enacted over a series of weeks since March leaves a great deal of interpretation and operational discretion to the federal administrative agencies including the Treasury Department, the Small Business Administration, and others. There were difficult roll-outs for many of the programs including most notably the Payroll Protection Program (PPP); funds were distributed unevenly and they ran out quickly.
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[April 1, 2020]
The President and the federal executive departments and agencies issue regulations, rules, and guidelines either to carry out the Administration’s policies or to implement laws enacted by Congress.
In Coronavirus Guidelines for America (March 31, 2020), the White House issued its most recent “guidelines”: – 30 Days to Stop the Spread. These are not mandatory; the states and local governments have the authority to determine restrictions and limitations on activities. “Listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities.” They are also less restrictive than the stay-at-home orders of the California governor and of many other states. For instance, the White House guideline advises: “Avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.”
There are almost 100 executive departments and agencies that have some responsibility for aspects of the effort to combat the coronavirus. See Federal Agencies Responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19). The references listed here are just a few of the staggering number: already in existence, updated recently to cover COVID-19, or what will be a deluge of regulations, rules, and guidance on the major legislation just passed by Congress.
In some cases, they also overlap rules and guidance from state or local health agencies, labor departments, or other regulatory bodies.
[We’ll include some of these and other references in specific topic areas at other parts of this micro-site.]
The Labor Department issued late-night guidance to the states (UIPL 18-20) that can only be described as breathtakingly cruel in its impact on charitable nonprofits, their current employees, and the communities they serve. DOL guidance issued late on April 27 instructs states to bill certain tax-exempt employers immediately for 100 percent of the costs of unemployment benefits paid to employees laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— National Council of Nonprofits (4/28/20)
This guidance is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. It contains recommendations as well as descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards. The recommendations are advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist employers in providing a safe and healthful workplace.
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
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DOL Issues Breathtakingly Cruel Guidance Inflicting Billions in Immediate Costs onto Charitable Organizations Struggling to Serve Their Communities (April 28, 2020) National Council of Nonprofits
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CARES Act Design Reinforces Systemic Inequality (April 28, 2020) Erin Rubin, The Nonprofit Quarterly
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Advocates Worry Nonprofits Won’t Qualify for New Lending Program (April 16, 2020) Dan Parks, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
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Government Response to Coronavirus, COVID-19, usa.gov/coronavirus, (March 2020)
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Federal Agencies Responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19), usa.gov/coronavirus, (March 2020)
- Occupational Safety & Health Agency, Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, Document No. 3990-03-2020 (March 2020)
- CDC, Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (updated March 21, 2020)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS IN THE WORKPLACE AND THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT UPDATED IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19, Document No. EEOC-NVTA-2009-3 (updated March 21, 2020)
- U.S. Office of Management and Budget MEMORANDUM TO THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES Document No. M-20-17 (March 19, 2020)
- U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), Document No. M-20-11 (March 9, 2020)
Remote-Work Costs: Must Nonprofit Reimburse?
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Filing Deadlines Extended for Nonprofit Organizations
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UPDATE: The CARES Act and Nonprofits
[March 27, 2020] The third prong of the Congressional response to the COVID-19 pandemic - the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (S. 747) - is now before the House of Representatives, having passed the Senate on Wednesday. The House is expected to approve it today with overwhelming support; voting is expected to begin shortly. It could be signed at the White House and in effect before the end of this weekend. [...]
Some Good News: Funders are Stepping Up
Ten days ago, we posted Funders Must Step Up - Right Now! (March 16, 2020). That same morning, influential blogger Vu Le had posted Funders, this is the rainy day you have been saving up for. Mr. Le has long been a vocal critic of many foundations’ viewing the five percent payout figure in the tax code as a ceiling instead of what it is: a floor. During that week, as most of us were [...]
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The devastating pandemic has brought sudden and profound challenges for all of us. In What Nonprofit Board Members Should Be Doing Right Now to Address the COVID-19 Situation, (March 16, 2020), the experts from BoardSource write: “As the world responds to the threats of COVID-19, many nonprofits and their boards are wrestling with difficult questions and decisions.” A rewrite of that sentence may be in order; every nonprofit and its board is flying blind in [...]
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Coronavirus and Nonprofits: Challenges & Resources
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Funders Must Step Up – Right Now!
“Funders,” writes nonprofit blogger Vu Le, “this is the rainy day you have been saving up for.” Recently, we wrote about Mr. Le’s earlier plea for America’s foundations to step up their payouts beyond the “five percent rule” in the federal tax code. In an article last summer, he characterized it as a moral imperative: The ethical argument for foundations to increase their annual payout rate beyond 5% (August 4, 2019). This morning, it’s a [...]
Small Business Association Disaster Loan Guidance and Resources
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