HireNow: Funding Available for New MA Employees
Late last week, the Governor Charlie Baker introduced a new program aimed at reinvigorating the workforce here in Massachusetts by offering grant money to employers who hire and retain job candidates. Funding is coming from the Commonwealth’s excess Covid-19 Relief Funds from the Federal government and aims to incentivize businesses to hire candidates despite the high costs of finding and training talent. Below we are going to go through the program details and how it can be used to help your small business.
To be eligible for this grant, your business must be located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and be in good standing with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and Department of Unemployment Assistance. Both for-profit and not-for-profit entities are welcomed to participate in this funding, however, government employers are not eligible. According to the requirements, there must be one designated person at each employer that will handing this process (applying for and attesting to all of the information). This person must be either the owner or an employee of the business and cannot be a third-party (i.e. your accountant, although we are here and happy to assist however possible).
The new hires that you bring on must live and work in Massachusetts and be retained for 60 days with a minimum number of 30 hours worked weekly on an ongoing basis. Naturally, these employees must be paid a minimum of $14.25 per hour (minimum wage here in the Commonwealth) but they also cannot be paid more than $85,000 per year (or $42.50 per hour). These employees must be on payroll as W-2 Employees (not independent contractors) and start after March 23, 2022.
Employers are eligible to receive to $4,000 for each new eligible employee (up to $400,000 total). The purpose of these funds are as follows:
· Subsidize additional time spent shadowing experienced staff members or extended on-the-job training during onboarding
· Hiring external trainers to provide technical skills training
· Sign-on/retention bonuses
· Tuition reimbursement benefits
The state will be auditing employers at random for this so you need to be careful to use these funds only for their designated purpose. Employers who receive this money will be a matter of public record so if you do not want your business name on the list, this money is not for you.
To apply for the funding, you must set up a HireNow account here; this should be done as soon as possible so that the state can keep you updated on the program. Following your first qualify hire’s 60-day mark, you must go through what is called “Employer Registration” which will only be done once. Additionally, you must go through “Employee Registration” for your first new employee and each subsequent employee so that you can claim your funds for them. Within 60 days of this, you must sign and certify that the employee has been retained which is when you will provide the Commonwealth with your banking information for them to send your payment. A graphic from the Commonwealth is below and may help you understand the process further.
Please call our office with any questions regarding this new grant opportunity!