To Our St. Mary's County Business Community,
Today, Governor Hogan announced new programs to assist small businesses. These new efforts are
aimed at providing relief and helping you stay in business during these challenging times
If you are a Maryland-based business impacted by the Coronavirus with under 50 full- and part-time
employees, or a Maryland manufacturer, check out the programs below to see if you qualify for
assistance.
o Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Loan Fund - This $75 million loan fund
(for-profit businesses only) offers no interest or principal payments due for the first 12 months,
then converts to a 36-month term loan of principal and interest payments, with an interest rate at
2% per annum.
o Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Fund - This $50 million grant program
for businesses and non-profits offers grant amounts up to $10,000, not to exceed 3 months of
demonstrated cash operating expenses for the first quarter of 2020. .
o Maryland COVID-19 Emergency Relief Manufacturing Fund - This $5 million incentive program
helps Maryland manufacturers to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) that is urgently needed
by hospitals and health-care workers across the country. More details are expected to be announced
by Friday, March 27, 2020.
o The Maryland Department of Labor is now accepting grant applications for the COVID-19 Layoff
Aversion Fund, which can provide funds to help businesses with 500 or fewer employees purchasing
remote access equipment and software to allow employees to work from home, provide on-site cleaning
and sanitation services or other creative strategies to mitigate potential layoffs or closures. The
award (up to $50,000 per applicant), will be a quick deployable benefit and customizable to the
specific needs of your business to minimize the need for layoffs. To see details or apply please
visit this website. If you have any questions, please
Examples of how aversion fund can be used:
• Providing funds to cover the cost of purchasing remote access (ex. computers, printers, etc.)
equipment to allow employees to work remotely from home versus being laid off;
• Providing funds to cover the cost of purchasing software or programs that an employee would
need to use from home;
• Supporting businesses that take advantage of the Unemployment Insurance Work
Sharing Program by supplementing the employee's income and benefits;
• Providing funds to cover the costs of cleaning/sanitization services so that small businesses
are able to keep employees at work on site, but only if a frequent deep cleaning to prevent
exposure occurred;
• Paying for liability insurance for restaurants that convert to delivery while under
emergency circumstances;
• Providing funds for training or professional development opportunities for employees to
avoid layoffs; and
• Adopting other creative approaches and strategies to reduce or eliminate the need for layoffs
in the small business community.
Examples of how a business may demonstrate the need for layoff aversion funds:
• I run a call center where employees usually work in an office setting. To support social
distancing, I'd like my employees to work remotely, which will require equipment such as reliable
headphones and laptops for each em ployee. If they do not have this equipment, I will need to
layoff my staff
• I could ask employees to use their personal phones and work remotely, but I do not
have the funds to support the cell phone packages. If provided funds to reimburse employees for
the increased data usage, my business could avoid layoffs.
• My employees could work remotely if they had a specific software or computer application,
but I cannot afford to purchase. Without this software, I will need to layoff my workforce until
we can go back to the office.
• I need my 8 employees to continue to work on site, but I am concerned about their
potential exposure to COVID-19 and cannot afford frequent deep cleaning to help limit potential ex
posure . If I had funds to support the deep cleaning, it would allow my workers to continue to work
and would foster a safer work environment.
• Due to the impacts of COVID-19, my employees have more down time than usual. If I were
able to offer the opportunity for them to take project management training online during this down
time, they will increase their skillsets, making them a valuable asset to our company and less
likely a candidate for layoff
Remember! As of March 19th, the entire state of Maryland received the official designation for
Small Business Administration (SBA) assistance. Individual businesses can now apply directly to the
SBA for low-interest loans through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Visit SBA's website
to apply.
Regarding employees who are laid off: Laid off employees will qualify for unemployment benefits
if the coronavirus {COVID-19) causes an employer to shut down operations or cut back on operations.
Maryland unemployment benefits are available to individuals who are unemployed through no fault of
their own if they meet the monetary criteria and the weekly eligibility criteria. See link below:
Maryland Department of Labor FAQ about COVID-19 and Maryland's Unemployment for Businesses and
Employees: http:/ / labor.maryland.gov/employment/uicovidfaqs.shtml
Also remember that the County has set up a hotline for citizen information:
COVID-19 Community Hotline call 301-475-4911 Monday-Saturday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for
information relating to COVID-19 or visit the following websites for more information and updates:
St . Mary's County Government www.stmarysmd.com
St. Mary's County Health Department www.smchd.org/ coronvirus
