Take action today to urge your representative to support H.R. 6841, the AG CHAIN Act. This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Dwight Evans (D-PA), 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.

These dedicated and talented men and women are working tirelessly to ensure that our food supply chain continues to operate for the benefit of all Americans. The AG CHAIN Act honors our supermarket superheroes and will help boost the income of workers that show up for work every day.

Please click here to urge your representative to cosponsor the AG CHAIN act.

Wednesday morning, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that it has extended its Hours of Service waiver for motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance in the transportation of essential supplies, equipment, and persons. The current extension, which was set to expire on May 15, has now been extended through June 14, 2020. To view the extension, please click here.

"Consumers are returning to old-fashioned brands that previously fell out of favor, reported The Wall Street Journal (May 11).

As consumers stockpile nonperishables, goods such as processed cheese and canned soup that had been losing out to healthier alternatives are recording their strongest sales in years. Hershey noted its confectionery products also gained three percentage points of market share over the past month.

Additionally, frozen fish sticks and canned salmon made a comeback, reported Reuters (May 11). Volumes of packaged seafood surged more than 50% during quarantine, according to Nielsen data."

"The world is fundamentally recalibrating right now. Consumer habits are changing at pace and understanding those changes, in the context of these scenarios, will be critical as businesses prioritize how they too recalibrate to meet the changed circumstances driven by COVID-19," said Scott McKenzie, Nielsen global intelligence leader.

To read the full article click HERE.

Curbside pickup at grocery and general merchandise stores including Target and Walmart was on the rise before the pandemic, and it's been catching on with retailers across the board in recent weeks. Retailers including Kohl's and Ulta Beauty have made it easier for shoppers to use the service by putting step-by-step instructions online. Curbside pickup is the new "Key to Success".

You can view the full story here.

This year's online grocery sales are poised to grow 40% fueled primarily by the pandemic, compared with 22% growth in 2019, according to the Coresight Research US Online Grocery Survey. Online sales are expected to account for 3.5%, or nearly $38 billion, of retail food and beverage sales in 2020, and Coresight CEO Deborah Weinswig noted a decline in the number of respondents doing "almost none" of their grocery shopping online as well as an increase in respondents doing "some" shopping online. You can view the full story here.

As the coronavirus pandemic wears on, some states are starting to ease restrictions, allowing businesses to reopen. As an essential business, supermarkets have remained open throughout the crisis, adapting operations on the fly to the dictates of social distancing and enhanced safety and sanitation procedures.

Consumers are not expected to immediately or entirely revert back to their pre-crisis shopping behaviors in the post-pandemic world, which will likely be further stressed by recession.

This webinar will explore how grocers must adapt to the new normal, how adoption of eCommerce may continue to accelerate, how new shopping habits may influence daily operations and store design, and how a struggling economy may impact purchasing patterns.

Click Here to Register Now.

Wednesday morning, the Treasury Department provided additional guidance regarding how SBA will review PPP borrowers' required good-faith certifications. All loan requests under $2 million will be deemed to have been made in "good faith" and the borrower's certification of necessity will not be scrutinized. If a borrower of a PPP loan over $2 million is found to have lacked the required basis for the certification of necessity, the borrower must repay the loan and will be ineligible for forgiveness. However, if the borrower (over $2 million) repays the loan after notice from SBA, additional enforcement action will not be taken. To view the most recent PPP guidance, please click here.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a temporary policy to allow employers to accept expired List B documents when completing the Form, I-9 beginning May 1. This policy is intended to account for the fact that many people are unable to renew their driver's licenses or state ID cards at this time due to stay-at-home orders. While some states have extended the expiration of drivers' licenses and state identification cards, which are common List B documents, others have not. The temporary policy addresses both situations.

For more information on this policy including procedures CLICK HERE.

Post-Pandemic Return-to-Work Considerations for Employers

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 12 PM CT

In this webinar, we will focus on key issues and challenges faced by businesses and their leaders as they reopen and adapt to quickly-evolving pandemic-related conditions.

What you will learn:

* Work safety and hygiene for workers returning from layoffs and furloughs

* Simple tips when considering what traditional onboarding tools should be deployed when ramping back up - such as DMV and background reports

* Frequent asked questions we have received from employers with an expanded question-and-answer period

Click here to register now.

"How did you feel when the whole COVID-19 business forced you to scale back or close your business? When you were forced to work from home? When you had to cancel business and personal plans indefinitely? Were you frustrated? Maybe you thought, "Maybe this won't last long," or "Maybe it will end in weeks."

The first action we want to do is bring back normal. But "normal" is gone... forever. Sure, I'm frustrated that I can't take charge and return to normal. Right. Now!

When the pandemic struck, we panicked and became frantic and fragile. Successful leaders rise above those tendencies. They know if they don't teach their people to treat other people right, they will lose not only their customers but their organizations/businesses. There's never been a more critical period in our lifetime where humanity has been called to help others. Leadership is needed more now than ever.

Here's what I know: The first roadblock we face in any crisis is dealing with what we cannot control. We have a human tendency to focus on those decisions first. The first thing I discovered was that the only thing I could really change was ME...

I can't tell you WHEN this crisis will end.

But we have more control over HOW we come out than we think.

1. My Perspective

How we VIEW things is how we DO things. "

To continue reading click HERE.