Laserfiche WebLink
9 <br /> <br />the public health emergency. Expenses related to developing a long-term plan to reposition a recipient’s <br />convention and tourism industry and infrastructure would not be incurred due to the public health <br />emergency and therefore may not be covered using payments from the Fund. <br /> <br />May a State provide assistance to farmers and meat processors to expand capacity, such to cover <br />overtime for USDA meat inspectors? <br />If a State determines that expanding meat processing capacity, including by paying overtime to USDA <br />meat inspectors, is a necessary expense incurred due to the public health emergency, such as if increased <br />capacity is necessary to allow farmers and processors to donate meat to food banks, then such expenses <br />are eligible expenses, provided that the expenses satisfy the other requirements set forth in section 601(d) <br />of the Social Security Act outlined in the Guidance. <br />The guidance provides that funding may be used to meet payroll expenses for public safety, public <br />health, health care, human services, and similar employees whose services are substantially dedicated <br />to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. May Fund payments be used to <br />cover such an employee’s entire payroll cost or just the portion of time spent on mitigating or <br />responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency? <br />As a matter of administrative convenience, the entire payroll cost of an employee whose time is <br />substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency is eligible, <br />provided that such payroll costs are incurred by December 30, 2020. An employer may also track time <br />spent by employees related to COVID-19 and apply Fund payments on that basis but would need to do so <br />consistently within the relevant agency or department. <br />May Fund payments be used to cover increased administrative leave costs of public employees <br />who could not telework in the event of a stay at home order or a case of COVID-19 in the <br />workplace? <br />The statute requires that payments be used only to cover costs that were not accounted for in the <br />budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. As stated in the Guidance, a cost meets <br />this requirement if either (a) the cost cannot lawfully be funded using a line item, allotment, or <br />allocation within that budget or (b) the cost is for a substantially different use from any expected <br />use of funds in such a line item, allotment, or allocation. If the cost of an employee was <br />allocated to administrative leave to a greater extent than was expected, the cost of such <br />administrative leave may be covered using payments from the Fund. <br /> <br />Questions Related to Administration of Fund Payments <br />Do governments have to return unspent funds to Treasury? <br />Yes. Section 601(f)(2) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 5001(a) of the CARES Act, <br />provides for recoupment by the Department of the Treasury of amounts received from the Fund that have <br />not been used in a manner consistent with section 601(d) of the Social Security Act. If a government has <br />not used funds it has received to cover costs that were incurred by December 30, 2020, as required by the <br />statute, those funds must be returned to the Department of the Treasury. <br />What records must be kept by governments receiving payment?