Important developments are happening very rapidly. As expected, yesterday afternoon, the House voted 297-120 to approve H.R. 1865, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, with a one-year extension of WOTC, including VOW to Hire Heroes Act and retroactive extensions for Federal Empowerment Zones (FEZ) and the Indian Employment Credit (IEC).

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a cloture vote on H.R. 1865 for today, Wednesday, December 18th. If cloture passes by the required 60 votes, the vote on final passage of H.R. 1865 will likely occur by December 19th and make its way to the President for a signature before midnight, December 20th.

On the day the President signs H.R. 1865 into law, we will ask the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service for a regulation providing a grace period for employers to retroactively certify workers for FEZ and IEC.

As your trusted advisor, Walton will continue to provide updates on breaking news and important developments, so be sure to stay tuned. If you have any questions, please be sure to contact us.