On May 8, 2020, Tiffany Gourley Carter, Policy Counsel at the National Council of Nonprofits (NCON), called for more unemployment clams relief for nonprofit unemployment reimbursing employers in a post with Nonprofit Quarterly. NCON has maybe been the tip of the spear for self-insured nonprofits fight for more than the 50% assistance provided for them in the CARES Act.
In her NPQ piece Carter wrote, “The simplest, most straight-forward fix would be for Congress to hold self-insured nonprofits harmless for 100 percent of the costs that would be charged of their COVID-19 related unemployment insurance claims. Otherwise even more nonprofits that communities rely on will close.”
As we have written, anything less than 90% relief will put many nonprofits in a situation that will cost them more than the Great Recession, while also eliminating their revenue. (And if the furloughs extend beyond 3 months, the math gets even worse.)
Carter also called for more clarity on the handling of these claims payments through several intermediary steps which include:
- Conform State Statutes to Accept and Use Federal Funding. Some states may need to amend their laws before they can accept the new federal unemployment benefits under the CARES Act.
- Hold Harmless. Experience ratings determine the amount most employers pay into state unemployment tax accounts; thus, when many employees are laid off at once, costs could skyrocket. Some states recently prohibited the experience rating of an employer from being affected by any benefits paid to an individual dislocated or temporarily laid off as a result of the pandemic. Lawmakers should provided this “hold harmless” protection for employers, including nonprofits, in all states.
- Delay Payment Deadlines. States vary on payment deadlines, which can be monthly, quarterly, annually, or some other time-frame. States need to issue orders and guidelines immediately to provide a grace period (without penalties or interest), allowing nonprofits to focus on their missions and keep their doors open.
You can read the complete Nonprofit Quarterly article here: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/dont-let-senseless-unemployment-policies-sink-nonprofits-act-now/
