On Jan. 13, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a Declaration of Emergency Notice providing relief from regulations pertaining to hours of service of motor carriers and drivers of commercial motor vehicles. This exemption is exclusive to those commercial drivers transporting and delivering fuels necessary for the continued heating of homes, businesses and other structures.

The exemption remains in effect through Feb. 6, 2022 unless rescinded sooner by appropriate order. It applies only to 49 CFR Part 395 and no other sections of the FMCSRs.

The full text of the declaration is available online, and a PDF is available for download.

A press release from the American Trucking Association.

Suit Filed in Fifth Circuit, Which Has Preliminarily Stayed Mandate

Arlington, Virginia – Today, the American Trucking Associations, along with the Louisiana Motor Truck Association, the Mississippi Trucking Association and the Texas Trucking Association led a number of groups representing various facets of the supply chain in suing the Biden Administration over its employer-based COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

“To be very clear, ATA and its member companies support efforts to encourage all Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 – our trucks and drivers have been on the front line in fighting this pandemic since the beginning, moving personal protective equipment, test kits, the vaccine itself and much more as the country locked down, but we believe that the Biden Administration has overstepped its statutory authority in issuing this Emergency Temporary Standard,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “This standard arbitrarily picks winners and losers, and puts employers in an untenable position of forcing workers to choose between working and their private medical decisions, which is something that cannot be allowed.

“We told the administration that this mandate, given the nature of our industry and makeup of our workforce, could have devastating impacts on the supply chain and the economy and they have, unfortunately, chosen to move forward despite those warnings,” he said. “So we are now, regrettably, forced to seek to have this mandate overturned in court.”

ATA and its state partners filed their challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and they were joined in the suit by the Food Marketing Institute, the International Warehouse Logistics Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Retail Federation, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and the National Federation of Independent Business.

“We are asking the court to stay implementation of the mandate because we believe the Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not satisfy the statutory requirements for issuing this Emergency Temporary Standard instead of going through the proper rulemaking process,” said Nicholas Geale, ATA vice president of workforce policy. “A stay pending full review is essential to ensure our members can continue to keep the supply chain moving without the enormous disruptions this unlawful ETS will cause the trucking industry and our nation’s consumers – including the 80% percent of American communities that depend exclusively on trucks for their needs.”

Certain workers in Massachusetts will be eligible to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments as part of Phase 2, effective this coming Monday, March 22.

For a complete list of worker categories in this eligibility group, visit the Massachusetts government website related to vaccinations. This information is current as of Wednesday, March 17 and is subject to change.

Worker categories include, but are not limited to…

Food, meatpacking, beverage, agriculture, consumer goods, retail, or food service workers – All staff involved in the production, processing, storage, transport, wholesale and retail sale, preparation, and service of food and consumer goods, including farm and other agricultural workers, including farm stand and nurseries.

Medical supply chain workers – Workers directly involved in the manufacturing and production, packaging, transport, quality control, and sale of materials critical to the delivery of medical care.

Vaccine development workers – Workers directly involved in research, development, manufacturing and production, packaging, transport, quality control, and sale of vaccines (COVID-19 and others).

Transit/transportation workers – Drivers/operators, attendants, sales, administrators, maintenance staff, public and private bus, train/subway, passenger boat/ferries, passenger air, and automobile (including rental car, car service/limousine, taxi, and ride apps) transportation, bridge and road construction and maintenance workers, shipping port and terminal workers, commercial transportation.

Public works, water, wastewater, or utility workers – Utility: Electrical generation and supply system, natural gas delivery, nuclear power plant, water supply, telephone, cable/fiber optical/broadband/cellular service workers Public works including street repair, street lighting, public park, beach, and trail maintenance workers.

Sanitation workers – Drivers, solid waste handlers, recycling staff, street cleaners, sewer and storm water system workers

How to Schedule

Register in advance…

• Preregister at VaccineSignUp.mass.gov to be notified when it’s your turn to schedule an appointment at one of 7 mass vaccination locations: Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, Reggie Lewis Center, DoubleTree Hotel in Danvers, Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Natick Mall and former Circuit City in Dartmouth.

or

• Use VaxFinder.mass.gov to search for appointments at pharmacies, health care providers, and other community locations

FMCSA issued another extension to the previous CDL/CLP and Medical Examination waivers that were set to expire the end of this month. This waiver becomes effective on March 1, 2021 and expires on May 31, 2021. Please read the specific provisions below, as the dates and applicability vary. As with the previous extensions, state drivers licensing agencies (SDLAs) have the authority to exercise discretion in extending these dates, consistent with the outline below. Carriers and drivers should check with the SDLA to confirm their state’s expiration periods.

For CDL/CLP Drivers, the waiver will:

• Waive until May 31, 2021, the maximum period of CDL validity for CDLs due for renewal on or after March 1, 2020;
• Waive until May 31, 2021, the maximum period of CLP validity for CLPs that are due for renewal on or after March 1, 2020, without requiring the CLP holders to retake the general and endorsement knowledge tests;
• Waive until May 31, 2021, the requirement that CLP holders wait 14 days to take the CDL skills test;

Medical Requirements for CDL/CLP and non-CDL drivers:

• This notice will waive, until May 31, 2021, the requirement that CDL holders, CLP holders, and non-CDL drivers have a medical examination and certification, provided that they have proof of a valid medical certification and any required medical variance that were issued for a period of 90 days or longer and that expired on or after December 1, 2020.
• This notice will also waive, until May 31, 2021, the requirement that, in order to maintain the medical certification status of “certified,” CDL or CLP holders provide the SDLA with an original or copy of a subsequently issued medical examiner’s certificate and any required medical variance, provided that they have proof of a valid medical certification or medical variance that expired on or after December 1, 2020.

For State Driver License Agencies (SDLA):

• This notice waives, until May 31, 2021, the requirement that the SDLA change the CDL or CLP holder’s medical certification status to “not certified” upon the expiration of the medical examiner’s certificate or medical variance, provided that they have proof of a valid medical certification or medical variance that expired on or after December 1, 2020. Additionally, the notice waives certain requirements with regards to SDLAs downgrading a driver’s CDL or CLP upon expiration of the medical examiner’s certificate or medical variance, provided the SDLAs have proof of a valid medical certification or medical variance that expired on or after December 1, 2020.

NOTE—in the notice, FMCSA reiterates that the extension “permits, but does not require” states to extend the validity periods and processes referenced above. This ultimately means that a SDLA may choose not to extend the validity periods, based on the operational status within their state. The full waiver notice can be found here. Carriers and drivers should review this waiver, and confirm with the SDLA, to ensure all terms, conditions, and restrictions are met.

Additionally, FMCSA also announced extension of waivers related to CLP holders operating with a CDL driver in the front seat, out of state CDL applicant testing, and third-party knowledge testing.

The US House of Representatives is set to pass a second COVID-19 relief package – totaling about $900 billion – on Monday night [Dec. 21]. The coronavirus relief is wrapped into a $2.4 trillion spending package. From Forbes.

This proposed bill is being enacted to correct a number of problems that PPP borrowers have had, and also opens the door to new opportunities for borrowers who were not treated as well under the previous program.

The broad parameters concerning the business side of the legislation are generally not surprising, though there are important details still outstanding:

• PPP first and second draw loans are included . It appears there will be a $284 billion pot for all PPP loans. The maximum loan size for any PPP loan will be $2 million. Additional qualifying expenses for PPP loan forgiveness include computing software to enable remote work for employees, property damage from the public unrest earlier this year, supplier costs of essential goods or services in effect at the time the PPP loan was applied for, and costs related to PPE and adaptive investments made to comply with local governmental mandates. Authority for the SBA to issue PPP first and second loans expires March 31, 2020. PPP loans that are under $150,000 shall have a simplified loan forgiveness application.
• In order to qualify for a second draw PPP loan, a business may not have more than 300 employees, have spent or will spend their first PPP loan, and demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts against same 2019 quarter.
• The bill allows businesses to deduct expenses associated with their forgiven PPP loans- though we are not sure if there’s a cap on the size of the loan that you can be permitted to deduct (I saw one report of a $150k cap, which wouldn’t be great for us)
• PPP eligibility expanded to 501(c)(6) entities with some restrictions. A 501c6 is eligible for a PPP loan if it does not receive more than 15% (up from 10% in “908” of its receipts from lobbying. Lobbying activities cannot compromise more than 15% of the activities of the entity, and the cost of lobbying activities of the organization did not total more than $ 1 million during the most recent tax year that ended Feb. 15, 2020. Finally, to be eligible for a PPP loan, a 501(c)(6) cannot have more than 300 employees.
• Business meals will be fully deductible for the next two years (2021-2022). Currently there is only a 50% deduction for such expenses.
• The Employee Retention Credit is extended to June 30, 2021. Beginning in January 2021, the new credit rate rises from 50% to 70% of qualified wages. The legislation also expands eligibility for the credit by reducing the required year-over-year gross receipts decline from 50% to a 20% decline.
• The agreement would also temporarily allow people receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit to use their 2019 incomes when applying for the payments. Because the credits are linked to how much people earn, that would help those who’ve seen their incomes fall in the wake of the pandemic.
• Direct payments: Individuals making up to $75,000 a year will receive a payment of $600, while couples making up to $150,000 will receive $1,200, in addition to $600 per child. The deal also makes the stimulus checks more accessible to immigrant families.
• Employers who receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans may still qualify for the ERTC with respect to wages that are not paid for with forgiven PPP proceeds . This is retroactive to enactment of the CARES Act.