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Guidelines and Application Procedures for Payroll Support to Air Carriers and 

Contractors under Division A, Title IV, Subtitle B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and 

Economic Security Act 

March 30, 2020 

INTRODUCTION 

These application procedures for payroll support to air carriers and contractors are issued 

pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Act). These procedures 

may be updated, revised, or modified at any time, and the requirements contained herein may be 

waived by the Secretary of the Treasury in his sole discretion to the extent permitted by law. 

General Authority. Section 4112(a) of the Act authorizes the Department of the Treasury 

(Treasury Department) to provide payments to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and 

certain contractors that must be exclusively used for the continuation of payment of employee 

wages, salaries, and benefits. Section 4113(b)(1)(A) of the Act authorizes the Treasury 

Department to provide such payroll support in such form, and on such terms and conditions, as 

he determines appropriate. 

These application procedures are issued pursuant to Section 4113(b)(1) of the Act and apply only 

to payroll support under Division A, Title IV, Subtitle B, of the Act. 

Aggregate Amounts. Section 4112(a) of the Act authorizes the Treasury Department to provide 

payments to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and certain contractors up to the following 

aggregate amounts: 

 Passenger air carriers: $25 billion. 

 Cargo air carriers: $4 billion. 

 Contractors: $3 billion. 

DEFINITIONS 

Following are definitions that the Treasury Department will apply for purposes of these 

procedures. These definitions supplement and interpret certain terms in the Act. 

“Act” means the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (S. 3548, 116th 

Cong.).

“Air carrier” has the meaning given to such term under 49 U.S.C. § 40102. 

“Cargo air carrier” means an air carrier that, during the time period from April 1, 2019 to 

September 30, 2019, derived more than 50% of its air transportation revenue from the 

transportation of property or mail, or both. 
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“Contractor” means: 

1) a person that performs, under contract with a passenger air carrier conducting operations 

under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations: 

a) catering functions, or 

b) functions on the property of an airport that are directly related to the air transportation 

of persons, property, or mail, including but not limited to the loading and unloading 

of property on aircraft; assistance to passengers under 14 C.F.R. part 382; security; 

airport ticketing and check-in functions; ground-handling of aircraft; or aircraft 

cleaning and sanitization functions and waste removal; or 

2) a subcontractor that performs the above functions. 

“Catering functions” means the preparation, assembly, or both, of food, beverage, provisions and 

related supplies for delivery, and the delivery of such items, directly to aircraft or to a location on 

or near airport property for subsequent delivery to aircraft. 

“Employee” means an individual, other than a corporate officer, who is employed by an air 

carrier or a contractor in the United States (including its territories and possessions). 

“Passenger air carrier” means an air carrier that, during the period from April 1, 2019, to 

September 30, 2019, derived more than 50% of its air transportation revenue from the 

transportation of passengers. 

“Wages, salaries, benefits, and other compensation,” for purposes of Section 4113(a)(2) and (3) 

of the Act, means remuneration paid by the applicant to its employees for personal services and 

includes salaries, wages, overtime pay, cost-of-living differentials, and other similar 

compensation, as distinguished from per diem allowances or reimbursement for expenses 

incurred by personnel for the benefit of the applicant. 

ELIGIBILITY 

Payments may only be provided to applicants that are air carriers or contractors. 

REQUIRED ASSURANCES AND OTHER CONDITIONS 

Pursuant to Sections 4113(b)(1)(A) and 4114 of the Act, to be eligible to receive payments, an 

applicant must agree to: 

 use such payments exclusively for the continuation of employee wages, salaries, and 

benefits; 

 refrain from conducting involuntary layoffs or furloughs, or reducing pay rates and 

benefits, of employees of the applicant and its subsidiaries (or, in the discretion of the 

Secretary of the Treasury, any affiliated entity) until September 30, 2020; 

 through September 30, 2021, ensure that neither the applicant nor any subsidiary or 

affiliate thereof purchases, in any transaction, an equity security of the applicant or the 

direct or indirect parent company of the applicant that is listed on a national securities 

exchange; and 
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 through September 30, 2021, ensure that the applicant shall not pay dividends, or make 

other capital distributions, with respect to the common stock (or equivalent interest) of 

the applicant or any subsidiary thereof. 

Collective Bargaining Agreements. Under Section 4115 of the Act, through September 30, 2020, 

neither the Treasury Department nor any other actor, department, or agency of the Federal 

Government may condition the provision of payroll support payments on the applicant’s 

implementation of measures to enter into negotiations with the certified bargaining 

representative of a craft or class of employees of the applicant under the Railway Labor Act (45 

U.S.C. § 151 et seq.) or the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.), regarding 

pay or other terms of employment. 

Limitation on Certain Employee Compensation. The Treasury Department may only provide 

payroll support payments to an applicant after the applicant enters into an agreement with the 

Treasury Department limiting, during the two-year period beginning March 24, 2020 and ending 

March 24, 2022, the total compensation (including salary, bonus, awards of stock, and other 

financial benefits) of certain employees of the applicant, as set forth in Section 4116 of the Act. 

Taxpayer Protection. Under Section 4117 of the Act, the Treasury Department is authorized to 

receive warrants, options, preferred stock, debt securities, notes, or other financial instruments 

issued by recipients of payroll support which, in the sole determination of the Treasury 

Department, provide appropriate compensation to the Federal Government for the provision of 

the payroll support. 

Audits and Reports. Under Section 4113(d) of the Act, the Inspector General of the Treasury 

Department will audit certifications regarding an applicant’s awardable amount. Under Section 

4118 of the Act, the Treasury Department will report to Congress on the payroll support 

provided. 

Suspension or Debarment. The Treasury Department may refuse to provide payroll support 

payments to applicants that have been debarred, suspended, deemed ineligible, or voluntarily 

excluded from participation. 

Insolvency. The Treasury Department may refuse to provide payroll support payments to 

applicants that have taken, or are currently evaluating, any action to commence a bankruptcy or 

insolvency filing in any applicable jurisdiction. 

Consultation with Transportation. Under Section 4119 of the Act, the Treasury Department may 

disclose to the Department of Transportation any information submitted as part of an application 

for payroll support, and may consult with the Department of Transportation on any aspect of 

application screening or evaluation. 

Continuation of Certain Air Service. Under Section 4114(b) of the Act, an air carrier applicant 

provided payroll support may be required, to the extent reasonable and practicable, by the 

Secretary of Transportation to maintain scheduled air transportation service, as the Secretary of 
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Transportation deems necessary to ensure services to any point served by that carrier before 

March 1, 2020.

AWARDABLE AMOUNTS 

Under Section 4113(a) of the Act, payroll support will be awardable to an approved applicant in 

an amount equal to the compensation paid by the applicant to its employees, as determined by 

the Secretary of the Treasury in his sole discretion, for the period from April 1, 2019 through 

September 30, 2019 (Awardable Amount). 

The Awardable Amount is determined in one of three ways: 

 For an air carrier that reports salaries and benefits to the Department of Transportation 

pursuant to 14 C.F.R. part 241, the Awardable Amount is an amount equal to the salaries 

and benefits reported by such air carrier on such reports pertaining to the time period. 

 For an air carrier that does not transmit reports under 14 C.F.R. part 241, the Awardable 

Amount is an amount that such carrier certifies, using sworn financial statements or other 

appropriate data, as the amount of wages, salaries, benefits, and other compensation paid 

by such carrier during the time period. 

 For a contractor, the Awardable Amount is an amount that such contractor certifies, using 

sworn financial statements or other appropriate data, as the amount of wages, salaries, 

benefits, and other compensation that such contractor paid its employees during the time 

period. 

Pro Rata Authority. In the event that Awardable Amounts payable to approved applicants in any 

category (passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, or contractors) exceed the aggregate amount 

authorized to be provided to such category, the Treasury Department may reduce, on a pro rata 

basis, the amounts payable to approved applicants in such category in order to address such 

shortfall. 

APPLICATION FORM AND DEADLINES 

To be eligible for payroll support, an applicant must complete the Payroll Support Application 

Form, including a proposal identifying a financial instrument (or instruments) and proposed 

terms for such instruments that would provide appropriate compensation to the Federal 

Government in exchange for payroll support. If the applicant is not an air carrier that reports 

salaries and benefits to the U.S. Department of Transportation under 14 C.F.R. part 241, the 

applicant must also include a sworn financial statement certifying the amount of compensation 

paid to its employees during the period from April 1, 2019, through September 30, 2019. The 

Treasury Department may request appropriate documentation in support of the sworn financial 

statement at a later time. 

An applicant must also complete a Payroll Support Agreement, which will be provided by the 

Treasury Department after an application is received. The Payroll Support Agreement will 

include terms containing: 
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 the assurances described above; 

 the compensation limitations in Section 4116 of the Act; 

 certain other conditions and covenants; and 

 provisions for the clawback of payments upon the applicant’s failure to satisfy its 

assurances, conditions, or agreements. 

To receive approval of their applications as soon as possible, applicants should submit their 

completed application materials not later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 3, 2020. Applicants 

may submit their application materials to PayrollSupportApplications@treasury.gov. In the 

coming days, the Treasury Department will provide a web-based form for application 

submissions. 

Applications received after 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 3 will be considered, but may not receive 

approval as quickly. Applications received after 11:59 p.m. EDT on April 27, 2020, may not 

be considered, but the Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion and subject to the 

availability of funds, consider such applications for approval. 

OMB Approved No. 1505-0263, Expiration Date: 09/30/2020 

APPLICATION EVALUATION 

Applications determined to be complete will be reviewed and evaluated by the Treasury 

Department. The Treasury Department will consider the eligibility of the applicant, the 

adequacy of the proposed financial instruments for providing compensation to the Federal 

Government, the availability of funds, the applicant’s willingness to be bound by the Payroll 

Support Agreement, and the purposes of the Act in determining whether to approve an 

application. 

PAYROLL SUPPORT PAYMENTS 

Approved applicants may receive payroll support in multiple payments, and the amounts and 

timing of such payments will be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in his discretion. 

To the extent an approved applicant’s initial payment or payments are less than the applicant’s 

Awardable Amount, the Treasury Department will make additional payments to the applicant 

up to its Awardable Amount from any funds remaining available. If there is any shortfall in 

available funds, the Treasury Department may reduce the Awardable Amounts to be received 

by approved applicants, as described under “Pro Rata Authority” above. 

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT NOTICE 

The information collected will be used for the U.S. Government to process requests for support. The estimated 

burden associated with this collection of information is two hours per response. Comments concerning the accuracy 

of this burden estimate and suggestions for reducing this burden should be directed to the Office of Privacy, 

Transparency and Records, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20220. 

DO NOT send the form to this address. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid control number assigned by OMB.