Coronavirus aid package forces mid-sized companies to agree not to break up unions or outsource jobs if they want a slice of the $2 trillion stimulus

Tom Brenner/Reuters

The stimulus package included several rules for mid-sized businesses receiving aid.

• The United States Senate passed a stimulus package meant to bail out US businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
• The stimulus package, if passed by the House of Representatives, would set aside $2 trillion in coronavirus-related aid, including financial relief for large companies and small businesses, state and local governments, and hospitals.
• The stimulus package included several rules for mid-sized businesses receiving aid.
• Loan recipients must agree to "remain neutral in any union organizing effort for the term of the loan."
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Businesses looking for coronavirus-related relief from the federal government must agree to "remain neutral in any union organizing effort" in order to secure a loan, per the United States Senate's economic stimulus bill.

The Senate passed a $2 trillion pandemic stimulus package, which sets aside billions in loans for companies and small businesses. The House of Representatives still must vote on the bill before it can be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

Under a section titled "assistance for mid-sized businesses," the bill said that businesses and eligible nonprofit outfits with 500 to 10,000 employees could receive direct loans from the federal government. These loans would have interest rates up to 2% and no interest or principal due for the first six months.

But before receiving any money, companies seeking aid must agree to a few requirements put forward in the bill, around unions, outsourcing jobs, and stock buybacks. Loan recipients must also agree that the loan would "be used to retain at least 90 percent of the recipient's workforce, at full compensation and benefits, until September 30, 2020."

The bill's language included further caveats for loan recipients, including an agreement that businesses on the receiving end of the aid package will not "outsource or offshore jobs" or nix "existing collective bargaining agreements" for two years after paying off the loan.

The package would also bar businesses from paying dividends or repurchasing equity security "while the direct loan is outstanding," with the exception of any stock buybacks "required under a contractual obligation."

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