New York SBDC Research Network

From Bankrate : When nature goes wild, it can be disastrous for your finances. According to the National Climatic Data Center, major weather disasters have caused more than $1.2 trillion worth of damage in the U.S. since 1980 — and that doesn’t include Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria or Nate. If you’re hit with an emergency and need to find cash fast, tap into the emergency reserves in your savings account. Then look to these resources.

Using Trade Associations and Expert Consultants in Disaster Planning and Recovery by  Mike Keating  | January 15th, 2014 Manufacturers can rely on trade groups and expert consultants in their disaster planning, says Michael Keating in his latest Expert’s Corner. This is Keating’s seventh article in the series on disaster planning and recovery . His series advises manufacturers what to do in disaster preparation and recovery. Source: http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2014/01/15/using-trade-associations-and-expert-consultants-in-disaster-planning-and-recovery/ Continue reading below the jump. 

If you share responsibility for the care of historical records, or you care about records held by particular organizations, you will want to learn more about emergency preparedness. The following resources from around the state and nation offer information for historical records keepers on disaster planning and recovery. • The Disaster Assistance page of the New York State Archives provides information on emergency preparedness and recovering from a disaster and describes the services it can provide to State Agencies, to Local Governments, and to Historical Records Repositories. The New York State Archives has also been playing a leadership role in a national effort, coordinated by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), to help all state archives and records management programs prepare for natural disasters and other records-related emergencies. •The Pocket Response Plan (PReP)™ is a concise document for recording essential information needed by staff in case of a disaster. It w...

Here is info on dedicated phone lines for business victims of Sandy: 1) IRS They promote their Disaster Assistance Hotline at 1-866-562-5227 on some of their disaster recovery pages. Here’s a page dedicated to victims of Sandy. If you call the toll-free number, you’re given two options. One is specifically for questions relating to Sandy-inflicted damage. 2) Professional Licenses These are administered by NYS Dept of Education, Office of the Professions. There’s a box (in pink) at the bottom of the home page , titled “Important Information for Licensees Impacted by Hurricane Sandy”. In the last two paragraphs, two different phone numbers are mentioned to replace licenses or registration certificates.

According to New York State law , employees paid on an hourly basis generally do not have to be paid for time not worked, assuming the employer has informed the workers in advance that the office will be closed. Under state law, employers are required to pay a minimum level of ‘call-in pay’ if the employee shows up for work but the employer is closed and has no work for the employee to perform, unless the employer has attempted to notify the employee of the closure in advance. For most industries, the call-in pay rate equals four hours at the New York minimum wage rate. Salaried employees usually must be paid for the entire week, without any deductions, if they worked a portion of the work week but then were unable to work the remainder of the week because of a company’s closure, the premise being that salaried workers may have performed duties, such as calling clients or prospects, from home. One of our business counselors was told by the Department of Labor that businesses can ha...

SBA Coordinating With Our Federal Partners Federal response teams are already providing assistance to affected communities. SBA is closely coordinating with federal partners, including FEMA, to share information in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Sandy Response SBA plays an important role in disaster recovery efforts for businesses and homeowners by providing low-interest loans to rebuild and recover. If you have been affected by Sandy, please visit www.sba.gov/sandy to learn more and apply. For the latest on the government-wide response to Sandy, please visit www.usa.gov/sandy . Not affected by Sandy? You can help by sharing this update. IRS Provides Tax Relief to Victims of Hurricane Sandy Following recent disaster declarations for individual assistance issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the IRS announced that affected taxpayers in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York will receive tax relief. Other locations may be added in coming days based on a...

Disaster Planning Tips Discussed During Free Webinar Hosted by SBA and Agility Recovery Solutions WASHINGTON – Natural disasters exacted a significant financial toll on the United States in 2011. The Insurance Information Institute reports that insured losses from a series of disasters – which included devastating spring tornadoes in the Midwest, floods in the southeast, wildfires in the southwest, and Hurricane Irene – totaled $35.9 billion. Small businesses were hit particularly hard as many were forced to close during these disasters, causing economic injury to many that were already struggling. The factors that cause financial losses after a disaster, however, can be offset by having a recovery plan in place. On Tuesday, January 17, Agility Recovery Solutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration will host a free webinar that looks at how natural disasters in 2011 caused business interruptions, with a focus on business continuity lessons learned. Agility President and ...

President Barack H. Obama has declared certain counties in New York State to be disaster areas as a result of Hurricane Irene. As a result of this declaration, Commissioner Thomas H. Mattox has postponed certain tax filing and payment deadlines for taxpayers in these counties who were directly affected by the storm. The relief provided for in this notice applies to taxpayers directly affected by the storm in the counties of Albany, Clinton, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren, and Westchester. This includes taxpayers residing in or having their principal place of business in these counties. In addition, the relief will also apply to taxpayers directly affected by the storm located in any additional counties in New York State that are declared disaster areas and eligible for federal tax relief after this notice is issued. The relief will also apply to taxpayers d...