Gig economy companies classifying their workers as independent contractors continue to face lawsuits, state action, and federal agency enforcement.

For much of the last decade, a legal and regulatory storm at the state and federal level has surrounded classification of workers as “independent contractors” or “employees.” The dramatic growth of the gig economy, especially app-based service such as Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, Instacart, etc. has contributed to the upheaval. Uber and Lyft have faced lawsuits across the country contending they misclassified their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and similar, state wage and hour laws.

President Biden said January 19 that he was willing to break up his Build Back Better (BBB) plan into manageable "chunks" to see what could pass now, and return later in the year in hope of passing what remains. He also acknowledged that the enhanced Child Tax Credit, free community college, paid leave, and other BBB provisions would likely have to be jettisoned.

"It's clear to me we'll have to probably break it up," Biden said of the nearly $1.7 trillion bill. "I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now, come back, and fight for the rest later."

The Small Business Administration (SBA) advised lenders on July 23 that the PPP Forgiveness Platform will not begin accepting Forgiveness Applications until August 10, 2020, and this date will be subject to extension if any new legislative amendments to the forgiveness process necessitate changes to the system. Final Treasury guidance concerning PPP Forgiveness Applications (which was expected in early July) is now not expected until after related federal legislation is resolved. Banks, accountants and others are being advised not to process PPP Forgiveness Applications until this legislation is enacted and related Treasury and SBA guidance is finalized.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) (P.L. 116-136), signed into law March 27, features several different relief programs to help businesses stay afloat, but some of them are mutually exclusive, meaning business owners need to understand each one.

Like you, our firm is monitoring the situation and awaiting guidance from the IRS to implement many of these provisions. In addition, our firm needs to await software companies to make coding changes to allow us to process some of these provisions for our clients.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) (P.L. 116-136), signed into law March 27, features several different relief programs to help businesses stay afloat, but some of them are mutually exclusive, meaning business owners need to understand each one.

Like you, our firm is monitoring the situation and awaiting guidance from the IRS to implement many of these provisions. In addition, our firm needs to await software companies to make coding changes to allow us to process some of these provisions for our clients.