Full text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act can be found here. 

Information regarding previously passed Coronavirus relief can be found here. 

Resources for Small Businesses: 

The Small Business Owner's Guide to the CARES Act can be found here. 

Paid Sick Leave: 

• Fact Sheet for Employees
• Fact Sheet for Employers
• Questions and Answers

Loans and Grants available: 

• The SBA has several options, including two flagship loan programs. In order to determine their best option, small businesses should speak with their lender.
• The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The SBA approved the entire state of Utah as a disaster area, allowing eligible small businesses and private nonprofits across our state affected by COVID-19 to apply for disaster relief loans. An SBA EIDL loan provides a working capital loan of up to $2 million. More information here. 
• The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was established by Congress in the CARES Act and provides 100% federally-guaranteed loans to eligible small businesses and nonprofits. Loan payments are deferrable for at least six months and up to a year. The maximum loan amount is determined by a business's average payroll costs, up to $10 million. Portions of the loan may be forgiven if an employer maintains its payroll and employees during COVID-19.
• The Emergency EIDL Grant Program was created by Congress in the CARES Act and advances up to $10,000 of an EIDL loan to be available within 3-days from when the SBA receives an application. Grant recipients are not required to repay advance payments, even if subsequently denied for an EIDL loan. If a small business receives an EIDL loan, the grant will reduce the amount of such loan. 
• The Salt Lake City of Economic Development has an Emergency Loan Program for businesses in addition to the SBA loan. Downtown SLC Alliance has also created the Tip Your Server Project to support Salt Lake City food and beverage workers displaced by the coronavirus pandemic. More information here.
• The St. George Area Chamber of Commerce has created the Greater Together Small Business Resilience Fund to provide short-term bridge funding for small businesses in Washington County experiencing economic hardship due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose is to help small businesses stay in operation until they are able to apply for small business loans and/or until state and federal assistance becomes available. More information here.

Payroll Tax Credit:

The CARES Act creates an Employee Retention Credit, which is a refundable payroll tax credit equal to 50 percent of up to $10,000 in wages per employee (including health benefits) paid by certain employers during the coronavirus crisis.

Who is eligible for the Employee Retention Credit?

The credit is available to employers:

• Whose operations were fully or partially shut down by government order limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to coronavirus; or
• Whose quarterly receipts are less than 50% for the same quarter in the prior year.

Wages paid to employees during the period which they are furloughed or otherwise not working (due to reduced hours) as a result of their employer's closure or economic hardship are eligible for the credit. However, for employers with 100 or fewer employees, all employee wages qualify for the credit, regardless of whether they are furloughed or face reduced hours.

The credit is for wages paid by eligible employers from March 13, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Can I receive both the Employee Retention Credit and an SBA-backed Paycheck Protection loan?

No. Employers that receive Paycheck Protection loans are not eligible for the Employee Retention Credit. Additionally, wages that qualify for the required paid leave credit are not eligible for the credit.

Additional Small Business Tax Relief:

Delayed Payroll Tax Payment: The CARES Act authorizes employers to delay the payment of their 2020 payroll taxes until 2021 and 2022, providing businesses with an extra $300 billion in cash flow.

Carry-Back Losses: The CARES Act allows businesses to carry back losses from 2018, 2019, and 2020 to the previous 5 years, which will allow businesses access to immediate tax refunds.

Investment in Improvements: The CARES Act fixes cost recovery for investments in Qualified Improvement Properties, which will allow businesses that made these investments in 2018 and 2019 and receive tax refunds now.

Coronavirus-related Unemployment Resources:

How to apply for Coronavirus-related Unemployment:

File online here or call: 801-526-4400.

Unemployment benefits will cover:

1. Individuals requested by employer to be quarantined as a consequence of COVID-19, even if they're not diagnosed
2. Laid off employees due to loss of production caused by COVID-19
3. In few cases, asymptomatic employees that impose a self-quarantine
4. Those in mandatory quarantine because of suspicion of having COVID-19

Frequently Asked Questions regarding Coronavirus-related unemployment can be found here. 

More information can be found here. 

Ways to Help: 

Looking for ways to donate, volunteer, or have resources available to help produce a product related to COVID-19 response? The Federal government has set up a website through FEMA where organizations and individuals, including private companies, non-profits, and volunteers, can offer resources and other help in the fight against Covid-19. For additional information, please click here to visit FEMA's website.

• To sell medical supplies or equipment to the federal government, please submit a price quote under the COVID-19 PPE and Medical Supplies Request for Quotation. Full details can be found in the solicitation (Notice ID 70FA2020R00000011). 
• This solicitation requires registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be considered for award, pursuant to applicable regulations and guidelines. Registration information can be found at www.sam.gov.  Registration must be ACTIVE at the time of award.
• If you have medical supplies or equipment to donate, please provide us details on what you are offering.
• If you are a private company that wants to produce a product related to the COVID response email nbeoc@max.gov.
• If you are a hospital or healthcare provider in need of medical supplies, please contact your state, local, tribal or territory department of public health and/or emergency management agency.
• If you are interested in doing business with FEMA and supporting the response to COVID- 19 with your company's non-medical goods and/or services, please submit your inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Procurement Action Innovative Response Team (PAIR) team at DHSIndustryLiaison@hq.dhs.gov.

For additional information please visit FEMA's website: https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus/.

Resources for Travelers: 

U.S. Department of State: Travel.State.Gov
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
24 Hour Consular Emergency Line:

• U.S. 1-888-407-4747
• Outside the U.S. 1-202-501-4444

Internal Revenue Service: Coronavirus Tax Relief