COVID-19 General Assistance Guide

Public Health Resources 

These local, state, and federal government resources offer information on how to protect yourself and what to do if you are sick: 

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
• Ohio Department of Health (ODH) 
• Columbus Public Health (CPH) 
• Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) 

Key Business Resources 

• Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI) (Nonprofit) - Statewide SBA lender providing loans, business support and training, and mentorship to small businesses 
• Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC) (State Government) - Offers business support and training for small, minority, and under-resourced businesses  
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC) (State Government) - Offers comprehensive no-cost small business resources and services  
• City of Columbus - Covid-19 Resources (Local Government) - Collected information and resources from the City of Columbus 
• Franklin County Community Equity Fund (FCCEF) (Local Government) - Grant funds for Black-owned for-profit Franklin County businesses that can be used for improving liquidity, stabilizing or re-engineering systems, and retaining employees.
• Franklin County - Quick Strike Initiatives (Local Government) - A new initiative providing targeted funding  for Franklin County small businesses and workforce development for Franklin County employees 
• Small Business Administration (SBA) - Coronavirus Relief Options  (Federal Government) - Funding from the federal government for small businesses, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance (EIDL), and Debt Relief Program.
• Small Business Administration (SBA) - Small Business Guidance (Federal Government) - Additional assistance and guidance for small businesses 
• State of Ohio - Office of Small Business Relief (OSBR) (State Government) - Information on State of Ohio programs for small business relief 
• State of Ohio - Responsible Restart Ohio (State Government) - Information from the State of Ohio on responsibly getting Ohio back to work 
• Community Capital Development Corporation (CCDC) (Nonprofit) - Lender offering financing for small businesses to grow and expand 
• Ohio Statewide Development Corporation (OSDC) (Nonprofit) - Lender providing low-cost, long-term SBA loans to eligible small businesses in Ohio 
• OSU Extension - COVID-19 Hub (Public University) - A knowledge exchange featuring world-class research and information from The Ohio State University 
   

FEDERAL Business Resources 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

• ACTION: The Office of Rural Development’s Business and Industry Loan Guarantees (B&I) and Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Guaranteed lenders may assist borrowers experiencing temporary cash flow issues by deferring payments for a period no longer than 120 days. More details may be found here.  The USDA is offering users of its Telecommunications and Electric Program audit, loan, and fee relief for the coming months.  More information on both items can be found here. 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

• ACTION: A new refundable tax credit is available to almost all employers (including tax-exempt organizations). The credit amounts to 50% of qualifying wages paid up to $10,000 in total paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. More information can be found here. 
• The internal Revenue Service has created a special section to assist taxpayers and businesses affected by the coronavirus. Detailed information may be found here. Additional updateswill be posted as more information becomes available. 

STATE OF OHIO Business Resources

Department of Insurance 

• ACTION: Insurers must permit employers to continue covering employees under group policies even if the employee would become ineligible due to a decrease in hours worked per week.  View the full bulletin released on March 20th here. 

Department of Jobs and Family Services 

• ACTION: SharedWork Ohio is a layoff aversion initiative for businesses aimed at curtailing unemployment during economic downturns. Businesses interested in SharedWork Ohio must submit the names and the hourly schedules of employees to be uniformly reduced. JFS will then compensate these employees with unemployment benefits. Employers can find more information on eligibility here. 
• ACTION: Assist employers with plant closings and mass layoff plans through compliance with the federal WARN act. More information and guides can be found here. 
• Common questions and answers on evolving JFS policies may be found here. 

Department of Taxation 

• ACTION: The Department of tax has extended the deadline to file and/or pay state income tax. The extension applies to those filing the school district income tax, pass-through entity and fiduciary income tax, and also extends to municipal net profit taxpayers that have opted-in to the state’s centralized filing system. More information may be found here. 

Development Services Agency 

• ACTION: This new office within DSA is focused on identifying and providing direct support to the state’s nearly 950,000 small businesses to help during the current public health crisis. Statewide economic relief resources and common questions and answers may be found on their new website. 

Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation 

• ACTION: A special website has been created to match essential businesses with individuals ready and willing to work as essential personnel during the crisis. Employers can post jobs here, and jobs seekers can search for open positions as well. 

• ACTION: Provides reimbursement for business upskilling employees through a select list of verified skill development programs.  Keep employees engaged from home or utilize downtime by growing employee knowledge. More information and how to apply can be found here. 

PROCUREMENT / MANUFACTURING OPPORTUNITIES 

FEDERAL

• FEMA’s National Business Emergency Operations Center is virtual clearing house for two-way information sharing between public and private sector stakeholders to help people before, during, and after disasters. If you are a private company wanting to produce a product relatedto the COVID response, please email [email protected]. 
• If you are interested indoing 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 [email protected]. 

• Those wishing to provide resources for the federal response may also consider engaging the DLA’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program. More information may be found here and here. 

SELECT EMERGENCY TAX PROVISIONS OF CARES ACT 

• 2204: Corporations limited to 25% of taxable income instead of 10%. 

• 2301: A fully refundable credit against the employer’s share of Social Security Taxes (6.2%) for businesses forced to close due to COVID-19 or if gross receipts fell by 50% compared to the same quarter in 2019. Tax credit is 50% of qualified wages for the quarter, up to $10,000 per employee. 

• 2302: Businesses can delay payments on employees’ share of Society Security Tax (6.2%) due in 2020. The first 50% of the deferred payment will be due on December 31, 2020 and the remaining 50% is due by December 31,2022. 

• 2303: Losses from 2018 through 2020 can be carried for up 5 years. The entire measure makes the offset of taxable income 100% instead of the current 80%. 

• 2306: Businesses are able to increase their business interest expense deductions on their tax returns for taxable years 2019 and 2020. 

EMPLOYEE RESOURCES 

FEDERAL 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

• ACTION: The Office of Rural Development has instituted relief measures for individuals taking advantage of the Single and Multi-family Housing programs. Foreclosures and evictions have been halted and repayment programs have been implemented. among other measures. More information can be found here. 

H.R. 748 “CARES Act” 

• ACTION: Expands and supports unemployment benefits and programs to cover independent contracts and gig-workers and extends benefits for an additional 13 weeks for those who need it.  More information can be found here. 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

• ACTION: Deadlines for filing taxes and any payments of due federal income tax have been delayed until July 15th, 2020. 

• ACTION: Medical care services received and items purchased associated with testing for and treatment of COVID-19 that are provided by a health plan without a deductible, or with a deductible below the minimum annual deductible otherwise required under 2 section 223(c)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code for an High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), will be disregarded for purposes of determining the status of the plan as an HDHP for tax purposes. 
• The internal Revenue Service has created a special section to assist taxpayers and businesses affected by the coronavirus. Detailed information may be found here. Additional updates will be posted as more information becomes available. 

STATE OF OHIO

Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation 

• ACTION: A special website has been created to match essential businesses with individuals ready and willing to work as essential personnel during the crisis. Employers can post jobs here, and jobs seekers can search for open positions as well. 

UTILITIES RESOURCES

• ACTION: Suspension of service for nonpayment has been stopped until further notice. More information can be found here.