Do student employees disqualify some universities from stimulus for small businesses?
Is Rockhurst University a small business? That’s something the Jesuit university in Kansas City and other small schools across the nation are trying to determine.
Rockhurst employs roughly 700 students either as part of the federal work-study program or in another capacity, said Gerald Moench, the university’s chief financial officer.
If those students are counted, then Rockhurst will exceed the 500-employee limit set by Congress to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program. The new Small Business Administration (SBA) initiative is intended to give small businesses cash flow assistance to help weather the COVID-19 pandemic without layoffs.
However, if the students are exempted from the count, then Rockhurst falls below the 500-employee threshold for its faculty and staff. Moench said that the guidelines are silent about an exemption for student employees.
“Despite that, we’re going to go ahead and apply anyway,” he said.
Rockhurst has spoken with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, about tweaking the program with an exemption for student employees so that small universities can participate and avoid furloughs of their staff.
“I think there’s been a lot of conversations with a lot of congressmen about this from a lot of universities,” Moench said.
Cleaver said schools shouldn’t be penalized for having students on work-study and that the SBA should allow an exemption.
“We can’t be nitpicking,” said Cleaver, who noted he had five universities in his district.
The $350 billion program’s rollout has been rocky due to high demand, unclear guidelines from the SBA and because Congress left much of the decision making power in the hands of participating banks.
The Senate is moving forward to pass additional funding for the program so that banks accept more applications.
“Additional money assures lenders and people who are going to use the program that there’s going to be enough… and they don’t have to worry,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, a member of the GOP leadership team.
In the meantime, lawmakers of both parties are looking clarification about which employers qualify.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and eight other senators sent a letter Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to expand eligibility for the program to include publicly owned hospitals.
“Our small rural hospitals regularly struggle with their razor-thin margins but are now facing difficult choices that range from significant staff furloughs to permanently closing the doors of their community’s lone hospital. Many of these hospitals are small, county-owned public hospitals who are currently denied access to funding,” the letter states.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 6:10 PM.
