Immediate Threat

Appeal Brief

Appeal Letter

Appeal Analysis

Background

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in a major disaster declaration for New Jersey on March 25, 2020, with an incident period from January 20, 2020, to May 11, 2023. Maryville Inc. (Applicant), a Private Nonprofit entity that facilitates rehabilitation of substance use and mental health disorders, requested Public Assistance (PA) for work from July 2, 2022, to May 12, 2023. The Applicant requested $135,486.88 for employees’ overtime[1] for planning for and executing social distancing and quarantine protocols by moving and transporting people and equipment, enforcing masking rules, and cleaning. The Applicant identified duties related to COVID-19 testing, mask purchases, and temperature scanning for select employees.[2]

On March 29, 2024, FEMA issued a Determination Memorandum denying $72,670.57 in overtime costs related to select employees (counselors, counselors in training, dietary staff, and a peer recovery specialist), as these costs were not incurred in the performance of emergency protective measures for the declared event.[3] FEMA explained that the duties performed by those employees were not eligible under FEMA’s COVID-19 policies. Further, FEMA stated that cleaning and disinfection may be an eligible activity, but the Applicant did not demonstrate that the costs exceeded its regular cleaning budget.

First Appeal

On May 17, 2024, the Applicant appealed, claiming that a portion of the requested costs are tied to additional cleaning and disinfection under FEMA’s COVID-19 policies. The Applicant explained that the additional duties performed by its employees during their shifts added one to four hours to their daily work hours. Further, the Applicant stated that the peer recovery specialist provided personal protective equipment (PPE) and instructed patients on its proper use. On May 28, 2024, the New Jersey Division of State Police, Recovery Bureau (Recipient) transmitted the Applicant’s appeal, supporting the Applicant’s position.

FEMA, stating it identified a new eligibility issue which could lead to a denial of previously awarded costs, requested additional information including the job descriptions and the activities performed by the employees for which costs were previously granted. The Applicant replied by providing a sample of timesheets and a narrative describing the duties performed by all the employees included in the original PA request.[4] 

On March 25, 2025, the FEMA Region 2 Regional Administrator denied the appeal of $72,670.57 and an additional $62,816.31 in previously awarded costs because the Applicant did not distinguish the time employees spent on COVID-19-specific activities to demonstrate that the costs were directly tied to the performance of eligible work. 

Second Appeal

In a letter dated May 22, 2025, the Applicant submitted a second appeal for $135,486.88. The Applicant states that the duties performed by its employees were aligned with FEMA’s COVID-19 policies and executed in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state, and county health policies. The Applicant states that in March 2020 it implemented an internal policy requiring cleaning and disinfecting of workspaces after each use for the safety of its employees and clients. Further, the Applicant submitted a comparison of overtime use by department before and during COVID-19 and reiterates that its budget increased due to the pandemic. In a letter dated May 29, 2025, the Recipient submitted the second appeal in support of the Applicant.

Discussion

FEMA is authorized to provide assistance for emergency protective measures to save lives and protect public health and safety.[5] For emergency protective measures to be eligible, the applicant is responsible for showing the work is required due to an immediate threat resulting from the declared incident.[6]In response to COVID-19, eligible emergency protective measures include the purchase and distribution of face masks and PPE; cleaning and disinfection; and COVID-19 diagnostic testing, screening, and temperature scanning.[7] FEMA may only provide assistance in response to COVID-19 declared events that is provided in accordance with a COVID-19 specific policy.[8] For emergency work, generally only overtime labor costs for budgeted employees are eligible.[9] To be eligible, costs must be directly tied to the performance of eligible work and adequately documented.[10] It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide documentation to substantiate its claim as eligible and to clearly explain how those records support its appeal.[11]

Here, the Applicant states that the additional tasks performed by its employees due to COVID-19 increased their total hours worked. The Applicant states that during their shifts, employees performed the regular duties of their respective positions, such as helping recovering clients from relapsing, teaching vital and innovative life skills, and preparing food, all of which are unrelated to the incident and therefore ineligible work. The employees also performed tasks related to potentially eligible emergency work, such as cleaning surfaces, distributing masks, COVID-19 testing, and monitoring COVID-19-positive clients. However, none of the Applicant’s documentation, including its spreadsheet, timesheets, position descriptions and narratives of the duties performed, track the specific time employees engaged in the added tasks. Moreover, the documentation does not show that the potentially eligible work was performed during the claimed overtime hours. Therefore, the Applicant has not distinguished the costs associated with eligible work from the ineligible work. Since the Applicant did not document the specific time spent performing potentially eligible emergency work, nor link those tasks to the specific overtime hours it claimed, the costs are ineligible for PA funding.

Conclusion

FEMA finds that the Applicant has not tied the requested costs to the performance of eligible emergency protective measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.