You are here

Road Closures This Weekend, PPP Updates

June 12, 2020

As we head into what is likely to be another busy weekend in the region with Virginia entering Stage Two and DC, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County solidly in Stage One, we want to share important updates with you that could impact your operations.

In DC, large scale demonstrations are expected heading into the weekend as people continue to practice their first amendment rights in support of ending systemic racism and inequality in our country. Some events will be static, while others will include marches, and while the exact routes are still to be determined, it is expected that most activity will take place from the Capitol Complex through Downtown and past the White House. On Saturday streets MAY intermittently close to vehicular traffic and on Sunday these listed roads WILL BE closed to vehicular traffic. Click here for more information from MPD, please note that this is all subject to change. 

If you are at work, supporting protesters or demonstrating, we encourage you to wear a face 

mask, and practice good hand hygiene. We continue to be in awe of the generosity of our industry and are inspired by your activism.  

For the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), we want to remind employers of a deadline that could be relevant to you. The Small Business Administration (SBA) implemented an interim final rule effective May 28, 2020 that still allows for loan forgiveness if an employee chooses not to come back to work as long as you have made good faith attempts to hire employees, but the employment offers have been rejected, provided that the employer informs their state's unemployment insurance office within 30 days of an individual rejecting the offer of employment or reemployment. As you are rehiring and reopening, we want to make sure you are aware of this 30-day timeline. The failure to hire or rehire an individual who rejects an offer will not affect loan forgiveness, if the employer takes the following steps:

  • Makes a good faith, written offer to rehire such employee (or, if applicable, restore the reduced hours of such employee) during the covered period or the alternative payroll covered period;
  • Offers employment for the same salary or wages and same number of hours as earned by such employee in the last pay period prior to the separation or reduction in hours, which is rejected;
  • Maintains records documenting the offer and its rejection; and
  • Informs the applicable state unemployment insurance office of such employee's rejected offer of reemployment within 30 days of the employee's rejection of the offer.

To close, as everyone has moved more business online, security experts advise vigilance and extra authentication to prevent cybercriminals from causing data breaches. Click here for easy-to-implement security tips.

And finally, a friendly reminder to please, across all jurisdictions, remember that with each new phase of reopening comes a shared responsibility from you as operators and from your guests to pay attention to the do’s and don’ts of guidelines where you are operating, hold customers to the rules as they may not be aware, and ask questions and seek guidance if you are unsure of what you are or are not able to do.  Our team is here to help and you can send questions to reopening@ramw.org

I hope you are able to have a restful and restorative weekend. 

Be safe. Be kind.

Best, 

Kathy