In our previous legal alert we informed that Act on Employment Services[1]was amended so that allowances to maintain job positions and to maintain employees during the emergency situation, state of emergency and state of distress (the “State of Crisis”) can be provided to a broader group of employers compared to the currently available options under the Act on Employment Services ...
Over the past few years, more and more companies have started publishing news content written by artificial intelligence (“AI”) algorithms. This includes Chinese technology giant, Tencent, whose rapid growth has shaped the trajectory of Naspers, the South African company that currently still owns a bit more than 30% of Tencent. Tencent publishes content produced by automated software known as Dreamwriter ...
On 26 March 2020, directions were issued by the Minister of Home Affairs pursuant to the regulations published in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 to provide temporary measures in respect of entry into or exit out of South Africa in order to prevent and combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID‑19) ...
A state of emergency, in order to combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, has been imposed in Mozambique, with effect from 1 April 2020. This follows the Presidential Decree issued by President Filipe Nyusi on 30 March 2020 and ratified by the Mozambican Parliament. This unprecedented state of emergency is intended to last until 30 April 2020 ...
Following the issuing of what has colloquially been called the “Lockdown Regulations” to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in South Africa, there has been a hasty scramble for essential services to comply with the provisions of the Regulations and to register on the Essential Services Portal ...
Employers, contracting companies, enterprises and individuals who use employees, contractors, or people in arrangements of phone or cellphone orders, website orders, mobile apps, digital platform, gig economy, and freelancers, for delivery service or the purchase and delivery of goods and merchandise, must comply with the following prevention and promotional measures: Set appropriate communication channels for notifying suspected cases of Covid-19 to the District, Department or Munici
Compliance with environmental regulations is challenging under the best of circumstances, but the COVID-19 crisis and measures taken in response add a new layer of complexity. The lack of a consistent message from elected officials and health officers, on the one hand, and from federal and state environmental regulators, on the other, creates a quandary for the business community ...
“With our nation’s health care providers on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19, dollars and cents shouldn’t be adding to their worries.” - CMS Administrator Seema Verma. During this Public Health Emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has expanded its accelerated and advanced payment program (“Program”) to all Medicare-enrolled providers and suppliers (“Providers”) ...
On March 31, seven Bay Area counties issued stricter shelter-in-place orders and extended their effectiveness to at least May 3 (collectively, the “Orders”). As of the morning of April 2, Napa County noted that it will be joining the other Bay Area counties. Solano County extended the effectiveness of its order, but declined to tighten restrictions ...
The COVID-19 virus has a worldwide impact on travel activities, affecting foreigners such as employees of companies intending to travel to Germany as well as those who are already in Germany but are now effectively unable to leave. 1. RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRY AND VISA ISSUANCE The countries of the Schengen area have decided to impose entry restrictions on all non-essential travel from third countries ...
On April 1, 2020, the European Commission published a “Guidance on using the public procurement framework in the emergency situation related to the COVID-19 crisis” (Official Journal of the European Union, 2020/C 108 I/01). In particular, the Commission explains various options for awarding public contracts as quickly as possible within the European public procurement framework, which remains unchanged in this respect ...
On April 1, the DOL provided employers with further clarity on the FFCRA by publishing temporary regulations. These regulations will be effective from April 1, 2020, until December 31, 2020—the same effective period of the FFCRA. Also relevant to employers, the IRS issued guidance regarding the FFCRA tax credit ...
On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an interim final rule, providing additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Click here to read the full text of the Interim Final Rule. Here are some of the highlights of new and/or clarified information from the previous guidance issued by Treasury and SBA and the text of the CARES Act: Eligibility Only U.S ...
Among its other consequences, the ongoing global outbreak of Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an economic crisis. In this legal update we present insolvency law issues which may arise during the crisis and we also propose practical solutions for dealing with challenges that companies may face. 1 ...
I. Superintendence of Environment orders the extension of the terms suspension in sanctioning proceedings and other actions. On March 30, 2020 the Superintendence of Environment (“SMA”) issued Exempt Resolution No. 548 (“Res. 548”), which extended the term suspension measures ordered by means of Exempt Resolution No ...
1. The Chilean Supreme Court is vested with the powers to order the suspension of hearings whenever they cannot be carried out because no basic guarantees can be offered for due process. This is due to the restrictions imposed by the Government in the context of the constitutional exception state, such as the limitations to freedom of movement or to the entry into or exit from certain territories, or due to the consequences of the sanitary emergency ...
On April 3rd, 2020, a new Law that amends Law No. 19,983, which regulates the transfer and grants direct enforceability to the copy of invoices, on certain aspects that were recently amended by Law No. 21,131 on 30-days payment, was enacted . The most relevant modifications introduced by this Law aim to benefit small sized businesses (micro, small and medium sized businesses as per defined in Law No ...
On March 30, Decree No. 420, which contains various tax measures that seek to provide greater liquidity to companies, SMEs and employees, was published. The Decree No. 420 considers the following measures: 1. Deferral of the payment of VAT corresponding to the months of April, May and June 2020, under the following rules: to ...
Law No. 21,225 to Support Families and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises due to Covid-19 On April 2, 2020, Law No. 21,225, which materializes some of the measures of the Emergency Economic Plan announced by the Government of Chile last Thursday, March 19, was published. The measures contained in this law are the following: Family Income Support Bonus for recipients of certain family subsidies and individuals or families from the most vulnerable 60% of the population ...
Human resource professionals all know of the obligation to complete a Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of a newly hired employee. To verify a newly hired employee’s identity, the employee must present the employer with acceptable documents, which the employer must then examine to determine whether the documents reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee ...
As a growing number of the workforce is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental employers are raising benefit-related questions. The Employee Benefits Group at Hanson Bridgett will be providing updated information on possible issues arising in the benefits area through Benefits Alerts and postings on Hanson Bridgett's Online COVID-19 Resource Center ...
You’ve read the qualifying language before: across the country, construction projects are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought it important to prepare guidelines to assist contractors in navigating the situation from a risk management perspective. The situation is dynamic and will change quickly. A one-size-fits-all solution does not exist, and this global challenge continues to evolve. What works today may not address tomorrow’s needs ...
Like most industries, tech startups have been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As they scramble to adapt to a rapidly changing climate, tech leaders are asking if, and to what extent, their businesses can benefit from the $2 trillion stimulus package known as the CARES Act ...
