HVAC

09.01.20

PHCC now offers a multi-employer 401(k) program as a member benefit! PHCC members can choose among several program options that provide cost-effective retirement programs to employees.  Some chapters have already set up calls with the certified financial planner and Lincoln Financial Group representative to find out more about the program.

09.01.20

As we head into the latter part of 2020, many businesses are still trying to come to grips with whether they will be returning to offices or working remotely permanently.  They are trying to figure out the negative impacts, if any, of not being together in one location.  Members of the PHCC do not have that luxury.  As essential businesses, the pandemic did not allow for the luxury of working remotely.

08.27.20

I recently read an article by Derek Thompson (2020) with The Atlantic, The Workforce Is About to Change Dramatically, in which he shares what economist David Autor and MIT’s Elisabeth Reynolds assert about the impact of “the rise of remote work—or what they call ‘telepresence’—[leading] to a more homebound life that creates less work for others.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration has issued additional guidance concerning the ownership percentage that triggers the applicability of the owner compensation rule for forgiveness purposes and limitations on the eligibility of certain non-payroll costs for forgiveness.

08.26.20

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was recently served with a 60-day letter notifying the Department of a party's intent to litigate. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a group of state attorneys general have separately filed letters regarding the DOE’s failure to meet mandatory deadlines for reviewing and amending product efficiency standards pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) in some 26 rulemakings.

08.26.20

In August, PHCC reported that mid-recess legislative activity in both the House and Senate was sending a signal that negotiations may restart on a COVID relief package that could result in a bill being passed around Labor Day. Since then, White House negotiators including the President’s chief of staff Mark Meadows have indicated that a deal may not come until “after September.”

08.26.20

Considering the current impasse over funding another COVID relief bill and the U.S. Postal Service in the midst of election season, there is much uncertainty over how Congress will fund the government after September 30. Upon its return to Washington, the Senate will have approximately three weeks to pass 12 appropriations bills, which will then require reconciliation with the House bill before it goes to President Trump for his signature before adjourning for the month of October to campaign.

08.03.20

With the introduction of the HEALS Act on July 27, the Republicans have presented a $1.5 trillion counter-offer to House Democrats’ $3 trillion HEROES Act.

07.29.20

Sometimes, policy proposals relevant to PHCC members can pop up in legislation that doesn’t exactly seem relevant. Such was the case with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislation that authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.

07.29.20

Congress is in the midst of negotiating the next comprehensive COVID-19 economic relief package. Trump administration officials have been lobbying Congress on several key administration priorities, the top two being a payroll tax cut and automatic forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under $150,000.