CARES Act Offers Employers Aid With Some Strings Attached

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is now law, having been enacted the same day Congress passed the bill. The Act is unprecedented in many ways, including the protections it affords various nonemployee segments of the workforce, such as gig-economy workers, sole proprietors, independent contractors and the self-employed, who have never had many of the protections afforded employees. Equally significant is the relief immediately available to employers to incentivize employee retention, but they must act quickly and decisively. For larger employers, the employee-retention incentives are welcomed relief, but they should be aware of the onerous obligations and stringent restrictions attached.