1. Description of Business

GEE Group Inc. was incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1962 and is the successor to employment offices doing business since 1893. GEE Group Inc. and its wholly owned material operating subsidiaries, Access Data Consulting Corporation, Agile Resources, Inc., BMCH, Inc., Paladin Consulting, Inc., Scribe Solutions, Inc., SNI Companies, Inc., Triad Logistics, Inc., and Triad Personnel Services, Inc. (collectively referred to as the “Company”, “us”, “our”, or “we”) are providers of permanent and temporary professional and industrial staffing and placement services in and near several major U.S cities. We specialize in the placement of information technology, accounting, finance, office, engineering, and medical professionals for direct hire and contract staffing for our professional clients and provide temporary staffing services for our industrial clients.

The Company markets its services using the trade names General Employment Enterprises, Omni One, Ashley Ellis, Agile Resources, Scribe Solutions Inc., Access Data Consulting Corporation, Paladin Consulting Inc., SNI Companies (including Staffing Now, Accounting Now, and Certes), Triad Personnel Services and Triad Staffing. As of September 30, 2022, we operated from locations in eleven (11) states, including twenty-eight (28) branch offices in downtown or suburban areas of major U.S. cities and four (4) additional U.S. locations utilizing local staff members working remotely.

The Company’s fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of each year. Fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 refer to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Liquidity

The primary sources of liquidity for the Company are revenues earned and collected from its clients for the placement of contractors and permanent employment candidates and borrowings available under its current and former asset-based senior secured revolving credit facilities. Uses of liquidity include primarily the costs and expenses necessary to fund operations, including payment of compensation to the Company’s contract and permanent employees, payment of operating costs and expenses, payment of taxes, payment of interest, fees and principal under its debt agreements, and capital expenditures.

On April 19, 2021, the Company completed the initial closing of a follow-on public offering of 83,333 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $0.60 per share. Gross proceeds of the offering totaled $50,000, which after deducting the underwriting discount, legal fees, and offering expenses, resulted in net proceeds of $45,478. On April 27, 2021, the underwriters of the Company’s follow-on public offering exercised, in full, their 15% over–allotment option to purchase an additional 12,500 common shares (the “option shares”) of the Company at the public offering price of $0.60 per share. The Company closed the transaction on April 28, 2021 and received net proceeds from the sale of the option shares of approximately $6,937, after deducting the applicable underwriting discount.

On April 20, 2021, as the result of the completion of the public offering, the Company repaid $56,022 in aggregate outstanding indebtedness under the Former Credit Agreement, including accrued interest, using the net proceeds of its underwritten public offering and available cash. The repaid debt was originally obtained from investors led by MGG Investment Group LP (“MGG”) on April 21, 2017 and had a maturity date of June 30, 2023. The MGG debt was comprised of a revolving credit facility with a principal balance on the date of repayment of approximately $11,828, which was subject to an annual interest rate comprised of the greater of the London Interbank Offering Rate (“LIBOR”) or 1%, plus a 10% margin (approximately 11% per annum), and a term loan with a principal balance on the date of repayment of approximately $43,735, which was subject to an annual interest rate of the greater of LIBOR or 1% plus a 10% margin. The term loan also had an annual payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest rate of 5% in addition to its cash interest rate, which was being added to the term loan principal balance (cash and PIK interest rate combined of approximately 16% per annum). Accrued interest of approximately $459 was paid in connection with the principal repayments.

On May 14, 2021, the Company entered a Loan, Security and Guaranty Agreement for a $20 million asset-based senior secured revolving credit facility with CIT Bank, N.A. (the “CIT Facility”). Concurrent with the May 14, 2021 closing of the CIT Facility, the Company borrowed $5,326 and utilized these funds to pay all remaining unpaid Exit and Restructuring Fees due to its former senior lenders in the amount of $4,978, with the remainder going to direct fees and costs associated with the CIT Facility. Additional information regarding the CIT Facility is presented in Note 9.

Management believes that the Company has adequate cash and working capital and can generate adequate liquidity to meet its obligations for the foreseeable future and at least for one year after the date that these consolidated financial statements are issued.

Coronavirus Pandemic (“COVID-19”), Paycheck Protection Program Loans and Deferral of Federal Payroll Taxes under the CARES Act

In approximately mid-March 2020, the Company began to experience the severe negative effects of the economic disruptions resulting from COVID-19. These included abrupt reductions in demand for the Company’s primary sources of revenue, its temporary and direct hire placements, lost productivity due to business closings both by clients and at the Company’s own operating locations, and the significant disruptive impacts to many other aspects of normal operations. Some effects of COVID-19 and the subsequent variants of the virus continue to be felt, although to a lesser extent, with the most severe impacts being felt in the industrial segment and, to a lesser extent, in the professional segment including finance, accounting and office clerical (“FAO”) contract staffing service end markets.

Between April 29 and May 7, 2020, the Company and eight of its operating subsidiaries obtained loans in the aggregate amount of $19,927 from BBVA USA (now known as PNC Bank), as lender, pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which was established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) and administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”). These funds were the only source of financing available to our companies and businesses and were critical to our ability to maintain operations, including the employment of our temporary and full-time employees, to provide our services and meet our liquidity requirements in the midst of the worldwide Coronavirus Pandemic. The PPP loans were used primarily to restore employee pay-cuts, recall furloughed or laid-off employees, support the payroll costs for existing employees, hire new employees, and for other allowable purposes including interest costs on certain business mortgage obligations, rent and utilities. The Company received notice of forgiveness for some of these loans and their accrued interest during fiscal 2021 in the amount of $3,456 while the remaining loans were forgiven in fiscal 2022 totaling $16,773 (see Note 10). The Company accounted for the remaining PPP loans as current debt in the Company’s accompanying consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2021 in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 470, Debt.  

The Company and its subsidiaries, under the CARES Act, also were eligible to defer paying $3,654, in aggregate, of applicable payroll taxes incurred during fiscal 2020. One half of the deferred deposits of the employer’s share of Social Security tax were required to be paid on or before December 31, 2021 to be considered timely and avoid a failure to deposit penalty, and the remaining fifty percent (50%) of the eligible deferred amounts are required to be paid similarly by December 31, 2022. The first half of the required deferred deposits payments totaling $1,827, in aggregate, were paid prior to December 31, 2021, as required. The remaining deferred amounts are included in other current liabilities on the accompanying consolidated financial statements as of September 31, 2022. These amounts will be paid prior to their due date, December 31, 2022, as required.