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• $50 million to establish the Maryland Nonprofit Recovery Initiative, which will help organizations address the revenue reductions and expense increases that are due to the economic and safety impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the initiative, which will be operated by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), is to help stabilize and sustain a range of nonprofit operations, including affordable housing and disability nonprofits.

• Of this $50 million, up to $8 million will be allocated to nonprofit applicants that have already applied for relief through the Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Fund.

• Of this $50 million, $3 million will be awarded through the Maryland State Arts Council’s (MSAC) Emergency Grant Program. In response to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, MSAC has created special grant opportunities that provide emergency funding to arts organizations and artists for losses sustained because of programming, operations, and events that have been modified or cancelled. 

Labor's Division of Unemployment Insurance requires employers to report the following information within 15 days of when they offer work and it is refused by the employee: 

• Employee's full name and social security number
• The date the employee was offered work 
• The date the employee refused the offer of work 

Employers who have a valid Maryland account number and FEIN may easily report job refusals and update return to work dates by utilizing the Division's new online application available at https://secure-2.dllr.state.md.us/net207/welcome.aspx.  The application will accept an updated return to work date up to 30 days in the past and up to 12 months in the future.
Employers without a valid Maryland account number, such as federal employers and those who are out-of-state, may report job refusals and update return to work dates by emailing ui.bulkclaim@maryland.gov.
 However, please note there are circumstances where a claimant has "good cause" to refuse an offer of work, including:

• Being sick or still isolated as the result of COVID-19
• An unreasonable risk of exposure at place of employment
• Caring for a family member who is sick or isolated as the result of COVID-19
• Caring for a child who is unable to attend school or a childcare facility
• The work is not "suitable." In the context of an individual returning to work with the same employer in which the individual had been laid off or furloughed as a direct result of COVID-19, suitable employment means employment that the claimant is qualified for based on their customary occupation, experience, education level, and/or training. 

Upon receipt of this information from the employer, Labor will schedule a telephone fact-finding appointment with the claimant where the claimant will be able to address the failure to return-to-work/job refusal issue. The employer will also be contacted to provide the circumstances of the job offer. After the Division has collected the available facts surrounding the job offer, a determination will be made.

$500 one time grants provided in order to support workforce expenses incurred by small Worcester County Maryland businesses as they comply with guidelines in Maryland’s Roadmap to Recovery and the Maryland Strong Back to Business pledge to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.  These grants are specifically intended for smaller Worcester County businesses that do not have resources to assist them in accessing larger federal and state assistance programs. Please click the link below for more information. 
http://chooseworcester.org/workforcegrant

Wednesday, June 10th at 12pm 
Presented by John Hickman. Registration is available at, https://mdsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/16244

Friday, June 5th at 12pm
Presented by Johnny Gilman and Steven Brown. Registration is available: https://mdsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/16245

Reopening your business may require a radical change to how--and when--you work. --Inc.

​Why Fear Is the Greatest Obstacle to Returning to Work  - Click here for article from SHRM.org
 

Q & A from Inc. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
National Small Business Town Hall, 12 p.m. EDT, Friday, May 15. RSVP: https://events.inc.com/nationaltownhallevents-8