What's New? OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. The ETS establishes binding requirements to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace. Read more about this and other Workplace Considerations relating to COVID-19 in The Gold Book.

New Series W-8 Forms Issued

The Internal Revenue Service has released updated and revised Forms W-8 and instructions. The Form W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E are final effective October 2021 (Form W-8IMY remains in draft). Click here to see more information on the IRS website.  

What's New? Workplace Considerations During the Time of COVID

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recognizes that “long COVID” may be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act in certain circumstances. 

Employers and employees should follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as state/local public health authorities on how best to slow the spread of this disease and protect workers, customers, clients, and the general public. The ADA and the Rehabilitation Act do not interfere with employers following advice from the CDC and other public health authorities on appropriate steps to take relating to the workplace.

The Gold Book addresses many concerns on this topic including disability related inquiries, religious accommodations, vaccinations, and more. Visit the COVID-19 Relief section of the Decisions and Opinions chapter.

What's New? Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace

The Americans with Disabilities Act published a technical assistance document in 2009, during the spread of H1N1 virus, and was re-issued on March 19, 2020 and revised thereafter, to incorporate updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies established ADA principles that are relevant to questions frequently asked about workplace pandemic planning. Details are found in the Human Resources chapter of The Gold Book under American with Disabilities Act. 

What's New? 2021 Dollar Thresholds for Regulation Z

The CFPB is required to adjust the asset exemption threshold for depository institutions yearly according to the annual percentage change in the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The threshold has been adjusted for calendar year 2021. Read more in the HMDA section of The Gold Book. 

What's New? NYS Paid Family Leave Extended to Siblings

The NYS Paid Family Leave Act of 2016 provides eligible employees job-protected and paid time off to care for new borns, adopted and foster children. Additionally, paid time off is provided to care for a family member with a serious health condition and to assist family members in helping spouses, domestic partners, children or parents deployed abroad on active military services. Effective October 2021, the definition of family member was expanded to include siblings. Read more in The Gold Book. 

What's New? Debt Collection FAQs

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued FAQs to assist financial institutions comply - see Debt Collection Rule FAQs in The Gold Book.

What's New? PPP Borrower Appeals

The Small Business Administration has issued a final rule, effective September 14, 2021, outlining procedures for borrowers to appeal final SBA Paycheck Protection Program loan review decisions. Read more in The Gold Book.

What's New? SARs Instructions for OCSE

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued Notice OCSE-FIN-2021-NTC3 effective September 16, 2021 to call attention to an increase in online child sexual exploitation (OCSE) and provide financial institutions with specific suspicious activity report (SAR) filing instructions. Read more here in The Gold Book.

What's New? NY HERO Act - UPDATE!

On September 6, 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the commissioner of health designated COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under New York State’s HERO Act. Employers must activate the infectious disease exposure prevention plans that were adopted in August 2021. Additionaly the deadline for distribution of the model safety plan is September 4, 2021. Find our more in The Gold Book, NY HERO Act. 

What's New? Juneteenth Federal Holiday

The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law this year, establishing June 19, Juneteenth, as a federal holiday. See the full federal holiday schedule from 2021 to 2025 in The Gold Book. 

Regulatory Relief Following Hurricane Ida (NY & NJ)

The FDIC has announced a series of steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of New Jersey and New York affected by remnants of Hurricane Ida.

• The FDIC is encouraging banks to work constructively with borrowers experiencing difficulties beyond their control because of damage caused by Hurricane Ida.
• Banks that extend repayment terms, restructure existing loans, or ease terms for new loans in a manner consistent with sound banking practices can contribute to the health of the local community and serve the long-term interests of the lending institution.
• Banks may receive favorable Community Reinvestment Act consideration for community development loans, investments, and services in support of disaster recovery.
• The FDIC also will consider regulatory relief from certain filing and publishing requirements.

A copy of the Guidance can be found on the FDIC’s website.

Federal COVID Response Plans

This week, President Biden announced a new set of COVID response and vaccine plans.  Among other items, the plan's directives will affect employers including some financial institutions. 

The plan will:

• Direct the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require vaccination or provide a negative test for the virus weekly.  OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement, though no timeframe for that rule has been announced. 
• Direct OSHA to develop a rule to require employers with more than 100 workers to provide paid time off in order to be vaccinated (note this is already required by New York State - read more in The Gold Book.)

The plan also outlines information on changes to the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and streamlining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness for small loans. The full plan (still in development) can be accessed here. 

What's New? Model Risk Management Handbook

The OCC has issued a new “Model Risk Management” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook. The new booklet provides information needed to plan and coordinate examinations on model risk management, identify deficient practices, and conduct appropriate follow-up. For more details, visit The Gold Book.

What's New? State Chartered Banks

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill, passed in March, that requires New York state-chartered banks offering consumer checking accounts to pay checks in the order they are received, or from smallest to largest dollar amount for each business day's transactions. Under the new law, banks may dishonor a check for insufficient funds, but then must honor smaller checks within amounts on deposit in the subject account. Read more in The Gold Book. 

What's New? SBA PPP Servicing Procedures

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, as amended by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the PPP Extension Act of 2021, authorized SBA to guarantee loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a new temporary 7(a) program, through June 30, 2021. PPP loans made under sections 7(a)(36) and (37) of the Small Business Act are referred to as “First Draw PPP Loans” and “Second Draw PPP Loans,” respectively. (Both are hereinafter referred to as “PPP loan” or “loan”.) The purpose of this Notice is to remind PPP Lenders of their servicing responsibilities and to advise PPP Lenders of the guaranty purchase process for SBA to honor its 100% guaranty on a PPP loan. The servicing rules effective July 15, 2021 may be found here in The Gold Book. 

What's New? NY Hero Act Compliance Date Announced

By August 4, 2021, all New York employers with worksites (of any size) located in New York must either adopt the applicable Model Plan provided by the NY DOL, or establish an alternative plan that meets or exceeds the minimum provided by the model standard. If an employer develops its own plan or a different exposure plan, it must do so in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement, or if there is no collective bargaining representative, with the “meaningful participation” of employees. Read about the NY HERO Act in The Gold Book.

New FedNow Service

The FedNow Service is a new instant payment service that the Federal Reserve Banks are developing to enable financial institutions of every size, and in every community across the U.S., to provide safe and efficient instant payment services in real time, around the clock, every day of the year. Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, businesses and individuals will be able to send and receive instant payments conveniently, and recipients will have full access to funds within seconds, giving them greater flexibility to manage their money and make time-sensitive payments. Consistent with the Federal Reserve’s historical role of providing payment services alongside private-sector providers, the FedNow Service will provide choice in the market for clearing and settling instant payments as well as promote resiliency through redundancy. Financial institutions and their service providers will be able to use the service as a springboard to provide innovative instant payment services to customers. We will update this page as we have more information about this new service, which is under development and will continue to evolve.

Implementing the FedNow Service in an efficient and safe manner remains a high priority for the Federal Reserve. The FedNow Service will launch in 2023 and will be deployed in phases so that the initial service can be launched expeditiously with additional features and enhancements released in stages after the initial launch. This phased approach will allow for adjustments and improvements in response to industry needs or changes in technology.

The Federal Reserve has issued a proposed rule that would:

• govern funds transfers over the Federal Reserve’s new 24x7x365 service to support instant payments,
• amend the Federal Reserve’s Regulation J to establish a new subpart C that would set out the legal rights and obligations of the Federal Reserve Banks and FedNow service participants,
• include a requirement that the beneficiary’s bank must make funds available to the beneficiary of a FedNow transfer immediately after the beneficiary’s bank has accepted the payment order over the FedNow service,
• expand and clarify the applicability of Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”)—the uniform state law governing funds transfers—to funds transfers made with the FedNow service, 
• allow participating banks to choose to settle payments over the service in the master account of a correspondent bank.

The FedNow services are expected to be available in 2023. Read more here on the Federal Reserve website.

OCC to Reconsider CRA June 2020 Rule

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2020, a final rule (June 2020 rule) to modernize the agency’s regulations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The OCC has determined that it will reconsider the June 2020 rule. While this reconsideration is ongoing, the OCC will not object to the suspension of the development of systems for, or other implementation of, provisions with a compliance date of January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, under the 2020 CRA rule. At this time, the OCC also does not plan to finalize the December 4, 2020, proposed rule that requested comment on an approach to determine the CRA evaluation measure benchmarks, retail lending distribution test thresholds, and community development minimums under the June 2020 rule. 

Read more on CRA in The Gold Book. 

What's New? NYS POA Rules Effective June 13th

New York State recently reformed the statutory short form power of attorney for purposes of financial and estate planning, effective June 13, 2021. The changes are designed to simplify the POA form, allow for substantially compliant language as opposed to exact wording, provide safe-harbor provision for good-faith acceptance of an acknowledged POA, and allow sanctions for those who unreasonably refuse to accept a valid POA. In addition, there are also a number of technical amendments.

Learn more in The Gold Book,  New York Power of Attorney section.