The past two weeks have been….a lot. It has been a shake-up for all of us personally and is certainly impacting the nonprofit community. We want to support our community in these difficult times and will send out periodic updates. As a start:

  • Our team remains available to assist as your organization pivots in the wake of this COVID-19 crisis. While our office is temporarily closed, all members of our team are available to you by email, mobile phone or teleconference. See contact information below.
  • We are monitoring emerging laws affecting the nonprofit community and will share resources that may be helpful.

Paid Leave Mandates and Employer Reimbursement. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed by the President on March 19. For more information on how this affects all employers with less than 500 employees, including nonprofits, please read this. We will send updates with more details as they become available. Review the FFCRA now so that your organization is ready to implement these paid leave mandates by April 1.

Transitioning staff to remote employees. Transitioning to remote workplaces is challenging and calls for a remote work policy. It is important to establish equity among staff (especially those with disabilities), safeguard confidential data, and comply with FLSA wage and hour rules. We are available to help you create a remote workplace policy that addresses your organization’s needs. For a list of issues, please email Sarah.

Economic impact to organization. Organizations’ revenues will likely diminish during this crisis, Boards and lead staff must assess the best path forward, including staff reduction. As you consider options, such as reduction in pay or work hours, mandating use of PTO, furloughs, and reductions in force, we recommend this comprehensive article as a resource.

We will plan to stay on top of other legal updates. Let us know if there are particular issues of concern. We will post updates to LinkedIn as well, so please follow us there as well to stay tuned in.

In the words of the inimitable Mr. Rogers, in scary times, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” We are honored to help all of you Helpers.

Stay well, keep yourselves safe, and THANK YOU.

Sarah Kissel, on behalf of the Scholz Nonprofit Law Team

Also see: Client Update: COVID-19 Wisconsin’s Safer at Home Order