Coronavirus Assistance for Businesses Affected by the Pandemic

If you are a business owner or employee of a business that has been affected by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), here are some new resources that can help with your next steps.

*For additional public health information, please visit the webpages for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department  Santa Clara County Public Health Department and the CDC for up to date reliable information regarding this ongoing situation.
The City of Gilroy, with its partners, has compiled a comprehensive list of local, state and government resources and benefits for businesses and employees affected by the emerging situation. Resources listed below include potentially available funding for working capital for small businesses, workforce resources, and how to help employees affected by Coronavirus.

Read more about COVID-19 Employer-Employee Resources in Spanish and Vietnamese: Recursos Para Empleadores y Empleados, Dành Cho Chủ Doanh Nghiệp

Local Partners

California Rebuilding Fund

November 20, 2020 — The State announced the opening of the California Rebuilding Fund, a loan program to help small businesses rebuild from the current economic crisis. The program is accepting applications and loans of up to $100,000 are available. Interested small business owners can apply for a loan at www.CALoanFund.org. To qualify, businesses must have 50 or fewer full-time employees, annual revenues of $2.5M or below in 2019, and revenues must have declined since January 2020. The City of San José will be hosting a webinar on December 1st at 3 pm for businesses to provide more information about this program.

CARES Act

Payroll Protection Program

The program would provide cash-flow assistance through 100 % federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans would be forgiven, which would help workers remain employed, as well as help affected small businesses and our economy snap-back quicker after the crisis. PPP has a host of attractive features, such as forgiveness of up to 8 weeks of payroll based on employee retention and salary levels, no SBA fees, and at least six months of deferral with maximum deferrals of up to a year. Small businesses and other eligible entities will be able to apply if they were harmed by COVID-19 between February 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020. This program would be retroactive to February 15, 2020, in order to help bring workers who may have already been laid off back onto payrolls. Loans are available through June 30, 2020.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Emergency Economic Injury Grants

These grants provide an emergency advance of up to $10,000 to small businesses and private non-profits harmed by COVID-19 within three days of applying for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). To access the advance, you first apply for an EIDL and then request the advance. The advance does not need to be repaid under any circumstance, and may be used to keep employees on payroll, to pay for sick leave, meet increased production costs due to supply chain disruptions, or pay business obligations, including debts, rent and mortgage payments.

Small Business Debt Relief

This program will provide immediate relief to small businesses with non-disaster SBA loans, in particular 7(a), 504, and microloans. Under it, SBA will cover all loan payments on these SBA loans, including principal, interest, and fees, for six months. This relief will also be available to new borrowers who take out loans within six months of the President signing the bill into law.

State Tax Extension

California State Tax Deadline has been extended. This relief includes moving the various tax filing and payment deadlines that occur on March 15, 2020 through June, 15 2020 to June 15, 2020. This includes: Partnerships and LLCs who are taxed as partnerships whose tax returns are due on March 15 now have a 90-day extension to file and pay by June 15.

Financing for Small Businesses

  • The U.S. Small Business Administration has just announced the availability of low-interest federal disaster loans (up to $2 Million) for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus. These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact.  
  • California IBank has low-interest and state-guaranteed business loans and microloans for small business borrowers who have been impacted by regional disasters and who need term loans or lines of credit for working capital.
  • The California Capital Access Program (CalCAP) for Small Business encourages banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small businesses that have difficulty obtaining financing. If you own a small business and need a loan for start-up, expansion or working capital, you may eligible for this program. CalCAP is a loan loss reserve program that may provide up to 100% coverage on losses as a result of certain loan defaults. Loans are available up to $5 million.
  • The California Department of Insurance has issued a Notice requesting all insurance companies to provide their policyholders with at least a 60-day grace period to pay their premiums. Consumers should contact their insurance company if they need additional time to pay their premiums.
  • Two important deadlines in the rules relating to investments in qualified opportunity zones have been extended. First, the 31-month deadline for spending cash or other financial assets held by a qualified opportunity zone business under a working capital safe harbor plan can be extended by as much as 24 additional months. Second, where an opportunity fund receives capital or proceeds from the sale of qualified property, it has 12 months to reinvest the funds before they will be counted in the fund’s 90% asset test. The fund can get an additional 12 months to reinvest the funds if the fund’s ability to reinvest is delayed by a federally declared disaster.

Grants for Small Businesses

  • Businesses can begin applying for FEMA Disaster Assistance while we await a disaster declaration to release these funds.
  • Facebook is offering $100M in cash grants and advertisement credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses through the Facebook Small Business Grant Program
  • James Beard Foundation started a Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund to provide micro-grants to independent food and beverage small businesses in need. 
  • JPMorgan pledged $50 million in aid to small businesses and nonprofits. 
  • Opportunity Fund, which specializes in money lending to small businesses owned by women, immigrants, and people of color, is collaborating with investors and nonprofits to put together a coronavirus relief fund that will provide grants and low-interest rate loans to business owners in need. 
  • Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced the company is providing $25 million in coronavirus relief for independent restaurant and nightlife businesses in the form of waived advertising fees, and free advertising, products, and services. 
  • Hello Alice is offering $10,000 Business for All Emergency Grants being distributed immediately to small business owners impacted by Coronavirus, as part of their broader mission to ensure Business for All. In addition to funding, grant recipients will receive ongoing support from the Hello Alice community.

Workforce Resources

  • The Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) wants to keep workers, employers, co-workers, and families safe. What employees are entitled to may be confusing. The LWDA is trying to make it easier and spread awareness through a centralized source of information with regards to topics such as: paid sick leave, disability and unemployment insurance, workplace health and safety guidance and employer assistance. Use the guidance on their website to determine what is best for you, your family and your workplace. 
  • The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has listed basic information with relation to employee leave options, compensation, and salary. 
  • For information about job protection and employment discrimination, visit the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing website. 
  • The Employment Development Department (EDD) provides a variety of resources for employers who anticipate a reduction of work hours or potential closure or layoffs as a result of Coronavirus. Employers experiencing hardship as a result of Coronavirus may also request up to a 60-day extension of time from the EDD to file their state payroll reports and/or deposit state payroll taxes without penalty or interest. For questions, employers may call the EDD Taxpayer Assistance Center at (888) 745-3886.
  • To allow businesses to continue working, many providers of telework applications including local companies Cisco and Zoom are offering free or discounted access to their products which can be accessed through Open For Business or an internet search. State and Federal human resources websites and searching for best practices.

Business Consulting

  • BusinessOwnerSpace.com is a local collaborative partnership of over 30 public and non-profit business assistance entities that help businesses at every stage of their life cycle from starting, to expanding, hiring, to downsizing. These partners can help you connect to capital, hiring, process improvements, business consultations, training, and layoff services all at no cost to you.

Tourism Industries

  • California Travel Association is committed to keeping members informed, providing resources, and advocating for effective strategies to assist in the recovery. Use their website to view research, toolkits, industry developments, best practices, and other resources. 
  • Visit California 's global agency network, alongside the Sacramento team, is working with industry partners and Gov. Newsom’s senior administration officials to gather and distribute the most accurate and timely information. Updated industry resources will be posted to their website. Talking points are revised and updated by 10 a.m. Pacific Time. 
  • California Hotel & Lodging Association's webpage will be updated daily at 9:30am and 4pm with the most recent industry updates and COVID-19 information available. 
  • Relief Funds for Restaurants, Bars, and Food Service Workers Provided by Eater
  • Food and Wine has a list of local and nationwide resources that we hope can provide some relief for laid-off restaurant workers.  
  • USBG National Charity Foundation offers a Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.
  • Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation is offering resources for restaurants and workers coping with the COVID-19 emergency.
  • One Fair Wage is providing cash assistance for restaurant workers, delivery drivers, or Uber/Lyft drivers who have been affected by COVID-19 and the economic downturn.

Employees of Affected Businesses

Unemployment Claims
The Employment Development Department provides a variety of support services to individuals affected by the Coronavirus in California:
  • Sick or Quarantined: If you’re unable to work due to having or being exposed to Coronavirus, you can file a Disability Insurance (DI) claim. DI provides short-term benefit payments to eligible works who have full or partial loss of wages due to non-work-related illnesses. 
  • Caregiving: If you’re unable to work because you are caring for ill or quarantined family members with Coronavirus, you can file a Paid Family Leave (PFL) claim. PFL provides up to six weeks of benefit payments to eligible workers who have a full or partial loss of wages because they need time off work to care for a seriously ill family member.
  • Reduced Work Hours: If your employer has reduced your hours or shut down operations due to Coronavirus, you can file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim. UI provides partial wage replacement benefit payments to workers who lose their job or have their hours reduced, through no fault of their own. 
  • Layoff Alternatives: Partial claims for employees whose employers want to keep them when there is a lack of work. A partial Unemployment Insurance claim can be used for any claimant who works less than their normal full-time hours, and whose employers want to keep them
Loss of Medical Coverage
Financial Relief
  • California State Tax Deadline has been extended. Individual filers whose tax returns are due on April 15 now have a 60-day extension to file and pay by June 15.
  • The California Restaurant Association Foundation has grants available from their Restaurants Care program for eligible restaurant employees affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.
  • The Restaurant Employee Relief Fund was created to help restaurant industry employees experiencing hardship in the wake of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Through this Fund, grants will be made to restaurant industry employees who have demonstrated being financially impacted by COVID-19, whether through a decrease in wages or loss of employment.