The Ruth's Chris steakhouse chain will reportedly return the $20 million it got through the government's Paycheck Protection Program. "We intended to repay this loan in adherence with government guidelines, but as we learned more about the funding limitations of the program and the unintended impact, we have decided to accelerate that repayment," CEO Cheryl Henry said in a statement. "It is our hope that these funds are loaned to another company to protect their employees." The company has been under fire for accepting those loans, which were intended for small businesses, not multimillion-dollar corporations; a Change.org petition that circulated this week demanding they return the funds garnered more than 250,000 digital signatures. However, with fewer than 500 employees at each location, the company had argued that it did meet the loan's eligibility requirements for the loan and has had to furlough some employees. The move comes days after Shake Shack likewise announced it would return the $10 million it got from the loan program.
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