The Missouri Grocers Association is committed to serving and representing the health and wellness of our members. In the times that we live in today, it is important that our organization rallies around and supports the grocery industry as we continue to serve our communities in these unprecedented times. It is for that reason, that I am proud to announce the launch of the MGA’s Affinity Health Insurance Plan.

The MGA’s Affinity Health Insurance Plan provides members with a cost-effective way to purchase health insurance for their employees. This plan is designed to give employers the opportunity to provide a great employee benefits package at rates that are lower than they would be on the open market. This option for members will provide our industry with another tool to take care of our employees and lower costs during these challenging times.

For more information on the program, CLICK HERE.

QUESTIONS? LEARN MORE

James Nevins at (417) 228-3565 or email james@nevont.com

Please click here to urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor legislation to provide tax relief for essential frontline workers. The FRNT LINE Act and the AG CHAIN Act, sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Reps. GT Thompson (R-PA) and Dwight Evans (D-PA) in the Senate and House respectively, would recognize the heroes serving at the frontlines of the food and agriculture industry by extending income and payroll tax relief for income earned during the public health emergency. Your support is critical to garnering Congressional support for these important pieces of legislation.

In an updated COVID-19 enforcement guidance, OSHA announced that many more employers will be subject to enforcement inspections and changes course on its COVID-19 Recordkeeping Guidance.

The new May 19th COVID-19 Recordkeeping Guidance pulls back on the relief granted in the April 10th guidance, which eliminated the requirement for most employers to undertake a work-relatedness analysis for COVID-19 cases unless there was a cluster.

Now, all employers, including grocers, must take a case-by-case work-relatedness analysis for every employee with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.

NGA’s Employment and Labor firm Conn Maciel Carey developed this COVID-19 Recordkeeping Flow Chart, and a one-pager on How to Record COVID-19 Cases.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, 12:00 p.m. CT
60 minutes | Advance registration required

This webinar will focus on the road from illegal to legal cannabis use and the challenges employers face in navigating state and federal laws in this fast-changing environment.

REGISTER HERE

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an alert listing safety tips employers can follow to protect stockroom and loading dock workers in the retail industry from exposure to the coronavirus. Click Here to see more.

The Missouri Grocers Association is committed to serving and representing the health and wellness of our members. In the times that we live in today, it is important that our organization rallies around and supports the grocery industry as we continue to serve our communities in these unprecedented times. It is for that reason, that I am proud to announce the launch of the MGA’s Affinity Health Insurance Plan.

The MGA’s Affinity Health Insurance Plan provides members with a cost-effective way to purchase health insurance for their employees. This plan is designed to give employers the opportunity to provide a great employee benefits package at rates that are lower than they would be on the open market. This option for members will provide our industry with another tool to take care of our employees and lower costs during these challenging times.

For more information on the program, CLICK HERE.

QUESTIONS? LEARN MORE

James Nevins at (417) 228-3565 or email james@nevont.com

The Missouri WIC program will continue to honor WIC-approved food substitutions for milk, eggs, bread, peanut butter, and infant fruit and vegetables through July 31, 2020, at a minimum, if WIC-approved stock is not available at the store at the time of the WIC transaction.

(See the details on these WIC food substitutions HERE)

Due to the unpredictable nature of COVID-19 impacts, WIC-approved food availability is continuously being evaluated.

The WIC program will provide additional information on June 30, 2020, regarding the possibility of continuing to allow some or all of these food substitutions to continue after July 31, 2020, based upon ongoing evaluation of WIC-approved food item availability. Providing notification to retailers, local agencies, and participants by no later than June 30, 2020, will provide a minimum of one month to make any adjustments, if needed.

-Bridgett Henderson
WIC Retailer Manager
573-751-8322

People who had contact with someone infected with COVID-19 may receive a text message from the Department of Health, telling them they'll get a call from a specific number. The tracer who calls will not ask for personal information, like a Social Security number. At the end of the call, some may ask if the contact would like to enroll in a text message program, which sends daily health and safety reminders until the 14-day quarantine ends. But tracers won't ask for money or other personal information like your bank account or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer.

Scammers, pretending to be contact tracers and taking advantage of how the process works, are also sending text messages. These scam messages ask the receiver to click a link. Please alert your employees, and tell them not to take the bait. Clicking the link will download software giving scammers access to personal information.

Click here to read the Federal Trade Commission's notice about the text message scam and get more information on filtering unwanted text messages.

Congress has been mulling a number of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program in response from borrowers who have growing concerns that they will not be able to spend the loan funds quickly enough.

The Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, H.R. 6886, introduced by Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Dean Phillips (D-MN) would expand the 8-week window to use loan funds to 24 weeks, while also eliminating the requirement that at least 75 percent of loan funds be used for payroll expenses in order to be eligible for forgiveness.

Meanwhile, two bills focused on changes to PPP have been introduced in the Senate. Yesterday, Sens. Rubio (R-FL), Cardin (D-MD), Collins (R-ME), and Shaheen (D-NH) sponsored the PPP Extension Act, which would extend the window to 16 weeks, and allow borrowers to use loan funds for PPE and other protective items.

Today, another group of senators introduced a Senate companion to the House bill, in hopes that the legislation can move quickly through both chambers. However, the Senate has adjourned until the end of May, likely delaying passage of either bills until next month unless no senator objects and the legislation can be passed by unanimous consent next week.

The committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Haffner and Sen. Justin Crown, will meet Thursday, May 28th to discuss the safety of production line workers for slaughter facilities and how disruptions in production have impacted the Missouri cattle industry. MGA State Director Dan Shaul will be involved in the discussion from the grocery industry perspective.

You can view the full story here.