AGC gets clarification on SBA loans for construction firms >>
Although the roll-out of the new paycheck-protection loans has had major problems, AGC of America announced some good news in that the Trump administration released new guidance that clarifies that construction firms with 500 or fewer employees can qualify for the loans. Association officials noted that the administration released the new guidance after the association raised concerns over the weekend that many construction firms that employ 500 or fewer employees appeared to be excluded from the program.
“Administration officials have done the right thing and revised their guidance to allow, as Congress intended, for firms that employ 500 or fewer people to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program loans,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the Association’s chief executive officer. “This change means the program is now more likely to help smaller firms continue to operate and retain staff.”
On April 2, the Small Business Administration issued an “interim final rule” to the effect that a business must have 500 or fewer employees and fall below the agency’s small business size standards—which for construction businesses are generally determined by an average annual income threshold, not number of employees threshold—in order to qualify for the new Paycheck Protection Program. Congress, however, declared that the program shall be open to all businesses that have 500 or fewer employees or fall below those size standards.
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