Connect with University Students at Fall Career Expos

Bloomsburg University, in collaboration with colleagues at Mansfield and Lock Universities, has announced Fall 2021 Career Connections Expos. Working together, the institutions are excited to be able to expand opportunities for employer partners by inviting students attending all three Universities to take advantage of the opportunity to meet employers virtually and in-person.

The schedule of expos is as follows:

• Accounting and Financial Services Career Connections Expo – September 15 from 11am to 1pm
• Liberal Arts Career Connections Expo – September 30 from 11am to 1pm
• Virtual Business Career Connections Expo – October 5 from 4pm to 6pm
• Business Career Connections Expo – October 6 from 11am to 1pm
• Virtual Health and Science Career Connections Expo – November 2 from 3pm to 5pm
• Health and Science Career Connections Expo – November 3 from 12pm to 3pm

Employers can register on the Handshake platform at bloomu.joinhandshake.com. Once registered, log into Handshake, click on “Fairs” on the employer dashboard and search for Bloomsburg University and select the expo you wish to attend. You will receive a confirmation email once our team approves your registration. 

Investment and Workforce Tax Credit Programs to be Discussed

DRIVE is co-hosting a free PA Tax Credit information session for businesses and potential investors. The event will be  August 25th from 11:30am – 1:00pm at DRIVE’s office (418 Railroad Street, Danville). There will also be a virtual option and free lunch provided for in-person attendees.

The programs to be discussed will be as follows:

• Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ)
• Research and Development (R&D)
• Neighborhood Assistance-Enterprise Zone (NAP-EZP)
• PA Historic Preservation Credits (HPTC)
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
• Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)

Presenters from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), KIZ Resources and MVM Associates. The event will also count for CPE Credits for those in attendance. To register and find out more information, go to https://imcpa.com/event/tax-credits/

Berwick High School Alum Creates New Scholarship Fund

The Community Giving Foundation: Berwick is pleased to announce the creation of a new scholarship fund to benefit Berwick High School graduating seniors. In Honor of the Berwick High School Class of 1959 – Sponsored by Terry Riegel, the fund was established as a way to give back to his high school and support future graduates.

“I was recently watching an awards ceremony provided by a scholarship foundation of which I was a board member for over 30 years. One of the awards was given by a 1960 graduate from his school, and it refreshed my desire to create a similar opportunity,” explains Dr. Riegel.

Originally from Foundryville, the community of Berwick still holds a special place in Dr. Riegel’s heart, and he remains actively involved in several local Berwick nonprofit organizations. After researching online with his wife for a way to carry out his philanthropic goals in the Berwick area, he discovered the Foundation as a perfect partner.

“I remember when the Foundation was created after the Berwick hospital was sold, but I had no idea of the wide-reaching involvement not only in Berwick, but in many surrounding communities as well. I thought it was the perfect place to work with.”

The scholarship fund will provide one annual scholarship to a Berwick High School graduating senior. Consideration will be given to overall good students who are pursuing secondary education to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Preference will be given to students active in school clubs, organizations, and their community, and who have demonstrated leadership and school pride. 

For more information, visit the Community Giving Foundation’s website. 

Individuals who are uninsured or wanting to upgrade to better coverage may qualify for free or low-cost private health insurance through the public marketplace.

A special enrollment period that will end on Aug. 15 allows people to use Pennsylvania’s State Insurance Marketplace (Pennie) to sign up for a plan, which could come with major subsidies to reduce the individual’s cost of coverage. Otherwise, unless there is a qualifying life event — i.e., job loss, birth of a child, etc. — after the current window closes, individuals generally have to wait until open enrollment this fall to sign up.

Most enrollees get financial help. And due to the American Rescue Plan Act, which was signed into law in March by President Joe Biden, the subsidies (technically tax credits) are larger for 2021 & 2022, and will reach a greater number of people. 

The amount that anyone pays in premiums will be limited to 8.5% of their income as calculated by the Pennie exchange.

Additionally, zero-premium health plans that come with minimal or no cost-sharing — i.e., deductibles and copays — are available to individuals that have collected unemployment at any point this year.

Through the ChamberChoice Insurance platform, My Benefit Advisor has a team of certified specialists that are available to make sure customers on the individual market are aware of these savings and to assist those who wish to make the transition and take advantage of this increase in financial assistance. There’s no cost or fee for their services. Please contact Jim Pitts at 610-684-6930 or email him at jim.pitts@mybenefitadvisor.com or visit mybenefitadvisor.com.

From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Earlier this year, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), which included a tax credit for small employers that offered paid time off for receiving and recovering from the COVID-19 vaccine. This tax credit makes it easier for businesses to incentivize their workforce to get vaccinated, as well as give employees the proper time they need to get vaccinated and recover from it if they experience side effects. In July, the program was expanded to provide tax credits for employees who need time to take care of family members. 

The original employer tax credit for COVID-19 vaccine paid time off was announced in April 2021. It allowed eligible businesses and nonprofits to be reimbursed for up to 80 hours of paid sick leave or family leave (10 days or two work weeks) given to any employee to get vaccinated or recover from vaccination side effects. The reimbursement of $511 per day or $5,110 in total is deducted from the employer-portion of Medicare taxes and applies to paid time off taken between April 1 and September 30, 2021.

The July 2021 update to the ARP’s paid sick leave and family tax credits now allows employers to claim tax credits for paid time off given to employees to get vaccinated themselves or to accompany a family or household member to get vaccinated. It also includes paid time off for employees who need to take care of a family or household member that is recovering from vaccine side effects.

Click here for additional information from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Have you ever thought, if I only had more time or more people, I could do X? Need additional hands to get things done for your community? AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) has teams of young adults who can help communities meet their critical needs.

NCCC is a federal, team-based national service program for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Members serve a full-time, ten-month term, serving on projects, typically 6-8 weeks in length, to meet community needs in five main service areas: natural and other disasters, energy conservation, environmental stewardship and conservation, infrastructure improvement, and urban and rural development.

Click here for more information about the program.

NCCC is hosting informational webinars regarding the request for proposal process on August 12 at 3:00-3:45 p.m. EDT and August 27 at 11:00-11:45 a.m. for anyone who would like to learn more about AmeriCorps NCCC as a resource for their community. Click here to register to attend.

Those eligible to apply are nonprofit organizations, government entities (federal, state or local), educational institutions, neighborhood associations, Native American Tribal Councils, and community-based or faith-based organizations.

A new training program is being offered to area residents and employers to help people be better prepared for skilled trades jobs. The Columbia County Commissioners, in coordination with Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School (CMAVTS) and Central Columbia School District, are launching the program in September. Individuals that live and/or work in Columbia County can participate at no cost.

The following courses will be offered twice per school year at CMAVTS or Central Columbia High School:

• Basic Electrical Theory
• Three Phase Motor Controls
• Hydraulic & Pneumatic Systems
• Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)
• Building Trades Maintenance
• Machine Technology
• Basic Welding – Mig/TIG/Stick
• Blue Print Reading/Intro to Auto CAD

Individuals that successfully complete at least 5 out of the 8 courses listed will receive a Maintenance Mechanic Certificate.

This workforce development opportunity is provided by Columbia County Commissioners and funded by the American Rescue Plan Funds. The program is tuition free for: a) current employees referred by Columbia County businesses, b) residents of Columbia County. Other students may be accepted on a tuition basis if seats remain available before the start date of the class.

Individuals may register for a single course or the entire program. For more information and to register for a course, click here or call 570-784-8040, extension 3322.

Does it feel impossible or confusing to get your dream financial future? Whether you’re trying to destroy debt, pay off your home early, or give more, Summerhill Financial Coaching can help you create a plan that sets you up to win with money.

Summerhill Financial Coaching is a Ramsey Preferred Coach, an independent financial coach offering personal finance coaching and education to help empower you to take charge of your money.

For more information, visit https://ramseycoach.com/summerhillfinancialcoaching.

NEPIRC Launches Regional Manufacturer Job Board; Connects Job Seekers to Exciting Careers

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) recently launched the region’s first manufacturer job board to connect job seekers throughout northeastern, central and the northern tier of Pennsylvania with manufacturing firms that are growing and adding to their teams. To date, the job board (www.NEPIRC.com/ManufacturingJobs) represents over 60 manufacturers that are collectively offering more than 1,000 career opportunities.

NEPIRC created the job board in response to manufacturer roundtable suggestions and to simplify the way in which unemployed and underemployed individuals find, evaluate and apply for good-paying advanced manufacturing careers.

“With over 60 companies across seven counties already participating in this effort, and more joining in every day, there’s a manufacturing career opportunity for everyone and every skill level – from first-job applications to experienced professionals with industry certifications,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “NEPIRC’s regional manufacturer job board is free to our area’s industrial firms, convenient for job seekers, and consistent with our mission of maximizing the growth, resiliency and strength of our area’s most significant economic driver – manufacturing,” he added.

According to the organization, NEPIRC’s job board is unique to the region in its design and industry focus and will be continuously updated as new manufacturers and career opportunities are added while other positions are filled with qualified new hires. NEPIRC will also support the job board on an ongoing basis through traditional media, social media platforms and engaging videos that accurately depict the advanced, high-tech nature of today’s manufacturers and industrial careers.

Manufacturers are encouraged to participate in the effort by contacting Chelsey Coslett, NEPIRC’s Manager of Marketing & Stakeholder Engagement at Chelsey@NEPIRC.com.

AGAPE Unveils New Facility in Bloomsburg

Dozens turned out on Saturday, July 31st to celebrate the expansion of a nonprofit, faith based program which helps people in Northeast PA in times of crisis.

It was dream that has certainly come true for AGAPE in Bloomsburg after twelve years of assisting the community.

“Oh its awesome, it was not in our wildest dreams,” said Executive Director, Eileen Chapman.

The 100 thousand square foot building will now help expand services to people in Columbia and Montour Counties.

But the new space wouldn’t have happened without some financial help.

“Clarks Associates Foundation bought the building for us at 1.5 and we had to raise another 1.1 million to match and we did that in a few months in efforts of Kirby Smith Consulting and its just been awesome, I didn’t know we could raise that money in three months and we did, its awesome,” said Chapman.

Pennsylvania Senator John Gordner also participated as an honored speaker. He presented a $200,000 grant on behalf of the Commonwealth to help with updates and meet building code requirements.

“Well they really came to a prominence during the flood back in 2011 they really were the go to community organization to get different things out, and then again when 2020 and the pandemic came around once again they were the go to organization to help so many individuals,” said Gordner.

The non profit says they are excited to fill the empty warehouse with food, clothing, furniture and much more to help serve the community.

“This side of the warehouse is for food and we have fresh express they come every Thursday and pick up food about 40-50 pounds. We do some intellectual classes and how to become self sufficient, we have a financial program other than the food the biggest program we have helping with rent utilities medic prescriptions and other things, but its hard again with the rental problem and we’re going to see more of it because today is the end of the no eviction statute,” explained Chapman.

At the end of the day, AGAPE is always looking for more volunteers.

“We have lots of volunteers that came here because they needed some help and they wanted to give back and they came and did some community service and they find that they enjoy helping people. That’s a big part of AGAPE and showing God’s love to one another,” said Chapman.

The nonprofit hopes to fully move into the building sometime during the late fall.

Celebrate Parks and Trails with a Walk with a Doc

PA Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), in conjunction with the national non-profit Walk with a Doc, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, Montour Area Recreations Commission, Danville Area Community Center, and Geisinger are coming together on Tuesday, August 24th at Hess Field to kick-off a state-wide celebration of our parks and trails in September.

As part of that celebration, physicians across the state are being encouraged to work with the Walk with a Doc organization to establish walking chapters with community members. Hess Field and recreation center is the kick-off location for the state.

Bring your co-worker, your children, your sports team, or your scout troop. Organizers want to ensure a great showing for Danville and the surrounding area. There is no long-term commitment. Please register in case of weather and to estimate the number of t-shirts. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/57py5jup.

Berwick Area United Way holding Celebrate Berwick this Saturday

Celebrate Berwick returns to Market Street this Saturday, August 7th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event includes kid-friendly activities, craft vendors, plenty of food, craft beer from Berwick Brewing, a dunk tank, and live entertainment. Additional details are available on Facebook. 

The event is sponsored by BIDA, First Keystone Community Bank, and the Community Giving Foundation. 

Bloomsburg Town Park holding annual Cake & Ice Cream festival this Thursday

The 64th Annual Ice Cream & Cake Festival with the Catawissa Military Band will take place this Thursday, August 5th from 5:00 p.m.- dusk. Come to the Bloomsburg Town Park and enjoy this traditional community event with food, games, music, entertainment and fun for all.

From McKonly & Asbury

Just when we all thought that the changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were long past us, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced significant changes to how loan forgiveness for loans of $150,000 or less will be handled. On Wednesday, July 28, 2021, the SBA announced three new changes that will impact those with loans of $150,000 or less. In summary, those changes are:

• Launch of a direct borrower forgiveness process
• Introduction of a COVID-19 revenue reduction score
• Deferment extension of loan forgiveness appeals

These new changes in the loan forgiveness process is in response to the numerous concerns raised by PPP lenders concerned with meeting the statutory 60-day requirement for lenders to issue a forgiveness decision to the SBA from receipt of the borrower’s loan forgiveness. It has been reported that many smaller lenders are limiting when they will accept forgiveness applications from borrowers due to the overwhelming amount of documentation, lack of staffing to timely review applications and lack of technology to assist borrowers in submission of documentation and for lenders staff to review. This has left many borrowers uncertain if they will have to start making payments on their PPP loans while they are waiting for their lenders to process their forgiveness applications.

In addition, the SBA said it has heard concerns from PPP lenders that the requirement for borrowers to submit and lenders to review revenue reduction documentation at the time of forgiveness is delaying the forgiveness process for second-draw PPP loans of $150,000 or less.

Over 90% of all PPP loans are $150,000 or less. Of the nearly $800 billion in issued loans, approximately 50% of those funds have been forgiven to date.

Launch of a Direct Borrower Forgiveness Process
The most significant change, as outlined in the Interim Final Rule (IFR) released by the SBA, is the launch of the SBA Direct Borrower Forgiveness Portal. Currently the new portal is still in a pilot phase but is projected to be launched on Wednesday August 4th. The portal has been designed to reflect the exact information, in an electronic format, that would be presented and completed from the forgiveness form 3508S. 3508S is the form used for loan forgiveness for loans $150,000 or less. Upon receipt of notice that a borrower has applied for forgiveness through the platform, lenders will review the loan forgiveness application and issue a forgiveness decision to the SBA inside the platform.

PPP lenders that want to participate in this program must opt in to the direct forgiveness program with the SBA. Currently, over 600 lenders have opted into the program. To see a list of lenders currently who have opted into the program and whether your lender is one, click here.

Borrowers should continue to submit loan forgiveness documentation and applications as previous outlined under the following circumstances:

• The PPP lender does not opt in to use the direct borrower forgiveness process;
• The borrower’s PPP loan amount is greater than $150,000;
• The borrower does not agree with the data as provided by the SBA system of record, or cannot validate their identity in the platform (for example, if there is an unreported change of ownership); or
• For any other reason where the platform rejects the borrower’s submission.

Introduction of a COVID-19 Revenue Reduction Score
The SBA has hired a third party consultant to design a Revenue Reduction Score based on a variety of inputs from industry, geography, business size and current economic data regarding economic recovery and return to business and operations status. Each second-draw PPP loan of $150,000 or less will be assigned this Revenue Reduction Score and will be used in place of information where the borrower did not submit documentation of revenue reduction at the time of the loan application. The score will be maintained in the SBA’s loan forgiveness portal and will be visible to lenders to use as an alternative to document revenue reduction. Additionally, the score will be visible to those borrowers that submit their loan forgiveness applications through the platform using the direct borrower forgiveness process described above.

When the score meets or exceeds the value required for validation of the borrower’s revenue reduction, use of the score will satisfy the requirement for the borrower to document revenue reduction. When the score does not meet the value required for validation of the borrower’s revenue reduction, and if the borrower has not already provided documentation to the lender that validates the borrower’s revenue reduction, the borrower must provide documentation either directly to the lender (for those lenders that do not opt in to the direct borrower forgiveness process) or provide documentation to the lender by uploading it to the portal.

Deferment Extension of Loan Forgiveness Appeals
The SBA also issued revisions to the process of appeals of loan review decisions. Currently, when a borrower has an unforgiven balance of a loan and they appeal this final SBA loan review decisions, the borrower must begin making payments of principal and interest on the remaining balance of its PPP loan. An appeal by a PPP borrower of any final SBA loan review decision does not extend the deferment period of the PPP loan. The IFR guidance issued on Wednesday amends the appeals rule to provide that a borrower’s timely appeal of a final SBA loan review decision will extend the deferment period for the PPP loan until the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) issues a final decision on the appeal. The revised OHA rule will provide that the borrower should notify the lender of the appeal so that the lender can extend the deferment period. Under the revised OHA rule, an appeal petition must be filed with OHA within 30 calendar days after the appellant’s receipt of the final SBA loan review decision.

For additional help, visit McKonly & Asbury’s PPP Loan Forgiveness webpage and submit a request for help or support. They have assisted many businesses nationwide and aided in loan forgiveness of over $10 million dollars to date. 

The post SBA Issues New PPP Loan Forgiveness Guidance Designed To Help Expedite Forgiveness of Loans of $150,000 or Less appeared first on McKonly & Asbury.

From MyBenefitAdvisor

Until recently, self-funding has only been a realistic option for larger groups. Now, however, with the advent of “level funded” programs, small groups can obtain the advantages of traditional self-funding with the benefit of stable monthly costs.

Level funding is worth considering for employers with 25 or more employees if the insured population is generally healthy.

With level funding, the employer pays a fixed monthly cost to cover the amounts necessary for administration of the plan, stop loss coverage and claims funding. A third-party administrator pays the claims. Generally speaking, if at the end of the year, claim costs come in lower than expected, the administrator refunds the difference. If at the end of the year, claims come in higher than expected, the employer will reimburse the administrator for the difference.

Protection for the employer comes in the form of stop-loss insurance. Specific stop-loss limits the employer’s financial exposure when health claims for a particular covered individual exceed a specified dollar level, such as $25,000 or $50,000. Aggregate stop-loss insurance limits the employer’s financial liability when the total claims incurred by their group exceed a specified level, such as 120% or 125% of expected claims.

The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce offers its members access to My Benefit Advisor as a solution for employee benefits, including voluntary offerings. For more information about My Benefit Advisor, visit our website at cmcc.mybenefitadvisor.com or contact Tanya Ruiz at (800) 377-3539.

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced that the department’s partnership with virtual identity verification vendor ID.me has been extended to provide identity verification for all new Unemployment Compensation (UC) claims.

L&I first announced a partnership with ID.me in September after a surge of fraudulent claims were detected in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which is a special program created by the federal government to provide unemployment benefits to individuals who lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are not typically eligible for UC. The fraudulent claims are not caused by a data leak or breach at L&I – they are being filed by fraudsters using identities stolen from data leaks that occurred outside of state government. ID.me adds a layer of security to L&I’s already robust antifraud measures by requiring individuals filing a new claim to verify their identity.

While fraudsters initially targeted the PUA program, recently L&I has noticed an uptick in fraudulent UC claims. The majority of fraudulent UC claims are stopped before payment occurs through other antifraud tactics. ID.me will catch many fraudulent claims when they are first submitted, allowing L&I staff to direct attention to other issues and preventing the individuals whose identities were stolen and their employers from needing to take any action. The use of ID.me also deters fraudsters from attempting to file fraudulent claims, as demonstrated by a reduction in fraud attempts shortly after ID.me was put in place for the PUA program.

The Department is interested in getting feedback from employers on their experiences since ID.me was added to the application process. Feedback can be sent to Fred Gaffney at the Chamber at fgaffney@columbiamontourchamber.com. 

The identity verification step through ID.me has been integrated into the process to file an initial application and takes just a few minutes. As individuals log into benefits.uc.pa.gov for the first time, they will be walked through the steps of verifying their identity through ID.me.

L&I encourages individuals to remain vigilant about guarding their personal and confidential information and to monitor for signs that their information is being used fraudulently. Signs of fraud include:

• Individuals receiving unrequested unemployment paperwork from L&I’s Office of Unemployment Compensation.
• Individuals receiving unemployment benefit payments they did not apply for from the Pennsylvania Treasury.
• Employers receiving notice that a claim has been opened for a current employee who is actively working, or an unknown person.

Report Fraud

Online:

• Individuals can report suspected unemployment fraud by visiting the UC Benefits Website and clicking “Report Fraud” at the bottom of the page to complete and submit the Identity Theft Form. Do not log in.
• Employers should indicate the claim is fraudulent in their response to the Notice of Claim Filed.
• To report identity theft fraud related to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, please click here.

Phone:

Call the PA Fraud Hotline at 1-800-692-7469.

Police:

File a police report with the municipality you resided in at the time the unemployment benefits in question were paid. A copy of the police report must be provided to the Office of Unemployment Compensation.

Other:

The U.S. Department of Labor recommends that victims of ID theft should also report their information to the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
Victims should also consider starting a recovery plan with the Federal Trade Commission.