News

Attorney Amie K. Alexander has been recognized as one of the Outstanding Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year. The honor is given each year by the Legal Aid of Arkansas on Law Day to honor those attorneys who have dedicated their time to those in need.

As you have probably heard, student loan debt is a big issue. According to federal statistics, 69 percent of college students in the Class of 2019 took out student loans, and they graduated with an average debt of $29,900 per student. Additionally, approximately 14 percent of these students’ parents took out loans to assist their children attend college. Overall, there is more than $1.71 trillion in student loan debt in the United States, and this is spread out over approximately 44.7 million borrowers. So, what are some methods an employer can use to assist its employees and attract new employees related to student loan debt? This article will discuss two options that the IRS allows employers to use to assist with and encourage the repayment of student loan debt.

Attorney Lindsey Emerson Raines serves as the firm’s team captain in the 2021 Central Arkansas Heart Walk. The fundraiser, an annual event for benefiting the American Heart Association, has raised more than $181,000 so far this year. Fundraising efforts began in February and continue through Saturday, April 24 at the actual Heart Walk that will take place at Chenal Promenade.

COVD-19 cases are trending in a positive direction. Cases are down, and all adults may now receive a COVID-19 vaccine. While legislative efforts have been made to curtail an employer’s ability to mandate the COVID-19 vaccination onto their employees, as of today, those efforts have been unsuccessful. The question that seems to be on every employer’s mind is not whether they can mandate these vaccines, but whether they should.

On April 13, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Liberty Tax Service of Lynn, Massachusetts for prohibiting its employees and customers from wearing masks, failing to ensure employees and customers practiced social distancing and refusing to implement other safeguards against the coronavirus. The Massachusetts-based business now faces $136,532 in penalties.

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law a comprehensive stimulus package titled the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) that includes assistance in the form of a 100 percent COBRA premium subsidy to “assistance eligible individuals” for a period of up to six months. Although ARPA went into effect on April 1, 2021, employer implementation of the new law has been delayed pending the release of the model notices by the Department of Labor (DOL). However, on April 7, 2021, the DOL issued the model notices to be used by employers to satisfy the notice obligations imposed by ARPA along with a set of FAQ’s that provide some clarifying guidance. Now that the model notices have been released, employers should begin taking steps toward satisfying its obligations under ARPA.

The PPP Extension Act, signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, extends the deadline for PPP applications to May 31, 2021. The Act also provides that the SBA will have until June 30, 2021 to process applications. While applicants now have an additional two months to apply for a first or second draw PPP loan, the Act does not provide any additional funding for the current round of PPP. As of March 28, 2021 the SBA has disbursed around $734 billion of the $806 billion appropriated by Congress to the program.