Employer Resources
How To Talk To Your Landlord : Rent Abatement Conversations & Negotiation tactics from Michele Reeves
Negotiating your lease and asking for a break in rent is hard. Luckily, we have amazing people like Michele Reeves who has worked both in real estate and city planning who has put together an informative and useful resource guide on how to get it done.
safety first: serving food and protecting people during covid-19
This is a wonderful guide created by industry leaders World Central Kitchen, James Beard Foundation, Off Their Plate, and The Aspen Institute of Food and Society. It can be used in any professional kitchen and the guidelines provided can be used to develop workplace safety policies during the COVID-19 crisis.
Oyster Sunday : COVID-19 Resource Articles
Oyster Sunday is a group of hospitality consultants based out of New Orleans and New York who are working to help restaurants survive this crisis. They have written many articles that outline best practices and guidelines for reopening — and offer free tools that will help businesses get back up and running. These tools include HR checklists, labor model analysis, and business proforma templates. This group of consultants are also offering a free 30 minute phone call to business owners to discuss strategies.
PACT PNW : Paycheck Protection Program Worksheets and Sample Application
PIRA has been working with PACT PNW, a local business consulting company + tax specialist firm, to analyze and understand the Paycheck Protection Program application process and provisions. It is a complicated and competitive forgivable loan that has the ability to infuse businesses with cash so that they can rehire their teams. There are many issues with the PPP loan structure and we are not sure how sustainable the money will ultimately be, but for right now it is one of the only lifelines our small businesses have.
If you need to apply for this loan or are currently in a queue with your lender, take a look at these extremely helpful worksheets and documents. Remember, applying fast and early will give you a major upper hand here. Also, having a good relationship with your banker will prove to be very helpful. It is the lender that is going to regulate the the forgivable aspects of the funds, not the SBA.
World Central Kitchen : COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines
World Central Kitchen, led by Chef José Andrés, is paving the road to helping many restaurants re-open their doors and also feed those in need. They are doing a lot of legwork in trying to figure out how we will all safely function while living in a COVID-19 world. Follow this link for a downloadable version of these very helpful Health & Safety guidelines in both English and Spanish.
Business Interruption Group
This is a recently formed non-profit that insists insurers pay owed businesses losses caused by the Coronavirus. This group is headed by Thomas Keller and other leaders in our industry. They are pursuing legal action against insurers nationally and they may win. You can join the cause on the site.
US Small Business Administration: SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus
The U.S. Small Business Administration is now offering small businesses and non-profits suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19 low-interest and forgivable federal disaster loans for working capital. The requirements for qualification for these loans were just majorly expanded by the CARES Act that just passed. You can probably work with your bank as a lender for this program. Take a look at the Portland SBA Lending & Contact list and reach out to your representative ASAP.
The slideshow is a wonderful point of reference from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help clarify qualification. The CARES Act also expanded the application pool to the self-employed, independent contractors, and freelancers.
There are some caveats to forgiveness such as spending parameters and timelines; so ask detailed questions and plan accordingly. This money is meant to encourage you to open up your business back up, re-hire staff, and maintain a payroll. And they want us to do it fast. We are hearing that funds will only be forgivable if used prior to June 30th. We also do not know the tax implications of this new program; so it would not be a bad idea to talk to your tax preparer as well as your banker. Once language is solidified in the Bill, we will post an update here.
OLCC Licensing + Policy Updates
The OLCC is showing a little mercy in light of the crisis and changing some major policies in favor of helping restaurants maintain beer + wine sales. They are expediting off-premise and same day delivery licenses for the City of Portland.
They also just announced that – Effective immediately, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission will allow the return of unused, unopened malt beverages, wine, cider and distilled liquor purchased for events that are canceled or will pass their sell-by date on or before April 17 due to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). You can find the news release here.
Business Interruption & Contingent Business Interruption Coverage
Many of us are very aware of the business loss that we are experiencing. Does insurance cover this? When would it go into affect and what is my policy? Give this article a read and call your insurance agent to discuss claim details and coverage.
COVID-19 Related Business Layoffs, Closures, and Unemployment Insurance Benefits
The state outlines their current policies and benefits that they are offering businesses and their employees. There are some great documents on this page that offer clarity on unemployment eligibility and process.
Who you need to call to advocate for you and your community : State Legislator Lookup
Find out who represents you and call them. Let them know your experience with the disaster and how it has effected your business. Demand that they advocate for financial support in the forms of state and federal grants for independent small businesses. Here is also a list of state representatives on the Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus Response — shoot them and email and give them a ring. Remember, these people technically work for us.