She got two forgivable coronavirus loans. Her employees hate her for it.

CNBC ^ | April 22, 2020 | Greg Iacurci

[BurgessKoch]

Jamie Black-Lewis felt like she won the lottery after getting two forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

Black-Lewis saw the $177,000 and $43,800 loans, one for each of the spas she owns in Washington state, as a lifeline she could use for payroll and other business expenses.

She’d halted pay for the 35 employees — including herself — at Oasis Medspa & Salon, in Woodinville, and Amai Day Spa, in Bothell, in mid-March, when nonessential businesses in Washington closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

When Black-Lewis convened a virtual employee meeting to explain her good fortune, she expected jubilation and relief that paychecks would resume in full even though the staff — primarily hourly employees — couldn’t work.

She got a different reaction.

“It was a firestorm of hatred about the situation,” Black-Lewis said.

The animosity is an unintended consequence of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted last month.

The law, the CARES Act, offered $349 billion in loans for small businesses struggling as a result of Covid-19. Banks, backstopped by the federal government, can fully forgive the loans under certain conditions.

Among them, the bulk of funds must go toward payroll, salaries must remain intact and employee head count must not decrease. Businesses have until June 30 to rehire laid-off or furloughed workers.

Black-Lewis was trying to meet these rules, especially after her bank reiterated she must continue to pay workers for loan forgiveness.

The anger came from employees who’d determined they’d make more money by collecting unemployment benefits than their normal paychecks.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

The employees were not working....they were laid off.

The head of the Maine Department of Labor said if laid-off employees were offered their jobs back, and they refused to return, at that point they would lose their unemployment benefits.