In passing the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), Congress provided much-needed relief to project owners by making it easier to modify construction loans. Under the Act, an owner may qualify for a forbearance arrangement, an interest rate modification, or a repayment plan, among other options, and the modification does not adversely impact the credit of the borrower ...
The IRS continues to provide clarity regarding application of the various Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES Act") modifications to the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") (see prior coverage here). In addition to recent guidance regarding bonus depreciation, the IRS on April 9 released Rev. Proc. 2020-24 and Notice 2020-26, both of which address CARES Act amendments applicable to net operating losses ("NOLs") ...
The Government of Serbia adoptedthe Regulation on Fiscal Benefits and Direct Aid to Private Sector Entities and Financial Aid to Citizens to Mitigate the Economic Impact ofCOVID-19 (“Regulation”) on 10 April 2020, ten days after the announcement of the proposalof the Program of economic measures aimedat reducing the negative effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Regulation provides tax benefits and direct payments to private sector companies ...
The health crisis caused by COVID-19 (better known as “Coronavirus”) has had a significant impact on both global and local trade. In our country, the first case, which was confirmed on March 9, triggered the implementation of significant sanitary measures that led to the necessary temporary closure of multiple enterprises, as well as limited the movement of the population, and restricted commercial [1] and governmental [2] activity ...
Does the COVID-19 pandemic (or actions taken to counter the spread of COVID-19) constitute Force Majeure and is there any implied remedy (e.g. implied force majeure relief) arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? Under English law, unlike civil law systems, force majeure is neither defined nor automatically applicable to commercial contracts ...
In their March 3, 2020 Law 360 article, our colleagues, Rob Patterson and Shu-Shu Wong, commented on the trend of certain buyers evaluating the feasibility of invoking force majeure as an excuse for not performing their purchase obligations under their liquefied natural gas long-term sale and purchase agreements (LNG SPAs) due to the COVID-19 outbreak ...
On April 9, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Board”) announced the establishment of the Main Street Business Lending Program (“Main Street Loan Program”), an up to $600 billion lending program for mid-size businesses ...
Under the CARES Act that was signed into law on March 27, 2020, $100 billion was allocated to “eligible health care providers” to provide financial relief for health care organizations in relation to the COVID-19 public health emergency ...
Upon the ongoing spread of coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the Indonesian Government has declared the COVID-19 as a national emergency situation. Following the nation’s COVID-19 emergency, the Indonesian Government have issued sets of regulations and policies in various sectors in order to control and mitigate the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Covid19 related lock down measures implemented in France since mid-March make it quite difficult if not impossible to hold physical meetings for signing financing transactions under French law / involving French parties. For notarised deeds, the emergency measures enacted by a decree dated 3 April 2020 have suspended the requirement of physical presence during and replaced it by remote signature mechanism. This applies to the remote signature of notarised loan agreement and mortgage deeds ...
In recent weeks, and especially in recent days, we have seen the serious repercussions of the spread of COVID-19 on Quebec businesses and SMEs. Government authorities are planning financial assistance measures for businesses, and some chambers of commerce have already announced that new services will soon be offered to businesses to help them deal with the crisis. We are as yet unaware of the details of this assistance and how it will be allocated ...
Many states now have Executive Orders in place either requesting or requiring employers to allow employees to work from home to the maximum extent possible. Allowing employees to work from home is new ground for many employers, so here are a few tips an employer should keep in mind and traps to avoid in order to make the adjustment easier for all involved: 1 ...
On April 6, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) promulgated a temporary rule (“Rule”) interpreting and giving further guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The FFCRA includes the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLA”) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSL”). The Rule clarifies a number of important threshold questions in the wake of the FFCRA’s enactment ...
When a client or customer files for bankruptcy, a business’ treatment of that customer’s account must change. Many businesses have dedicated bankruptcy departments or teams that deal with these accounts. However, it can take a while before the account is flagged or transferred to the bankruptcy team. Further, some smaller business bankruptcy teams are comprised of other department employees just wearing a “bankruptcy hat” when working on those accounts ...
Mortgage servicers are currently being inundated with requests from borrowers impacted by COVID-19 for forbearance and other types of payment relief. Tracking, making sense of, and then complying with the guidance and requirements that are being issued and then modified – seemingly on a daily basis – by the federal government, the GSEs, and various states is proving to be a challenge for many, especially at a time when resources may already be limited or stretched thin ...
As a result of the COVID-19, employers are being forced to reduce the size of their workforces in order to keep costs down for the duration of the pandemic and perhaps beyond. Employers can choose to either furlough employees or lay them off; however, deciding which route is best requires an analysis of the employer’s situation, as well as the needs of the employees ...
With the surge of coronavirus cases across the United States, and in West Virginia, questions arise concerning compensability of work exposures. Are coronavirus claims compensable under West Virginia workers’ compensation law? The answer depends on whether the coronavirus is considered an occupational disease under West Virginia law ...
The SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act (the "Act") took effect on January 1, 2020, making substantial changes to the rules regarding retirement account distributions, including a required 10-year payout for most non-spouse beneficiaries of IRAs and other retirement plans. Changes to Existing Law For estate planning purposes, the Act's most important change is the elimination of the "stretch IRA ...
A recent COVID-19 outbreak at a King County, Washington state long-term care skilled nursing facility led to numerous cases and deaths among residents and visitors. Most likely as a result of continued and growing cases of COVID-19 at skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, on April 5, 2020, Cal/OSHA published Interim Guidance for Protecting Workers at Skilled Nursing and Long-term Care Facilities from Exposure to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) ...
An increasing number of California cities are adopting expanded paid sick leave ordinances – or expanded application of local paid sick leave ordinances – aimed at providing paid sick leave benefits to employees affected by COVID-19 who may not be entitled to benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). These cities include San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose ...
On April 8, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) provided additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) through an update to the Frequently Asked Questions document (“FAQs”) originally published on April 2, 2020 and subsequently updated on April 6th and 7th ...
On 30 March 2020, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts Aimed to Ensure Additional Social and Economic Guarantees Due to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-2019) Spread" (the Law), which introduces to the Ukrainian legislative environment new complex rules aimed at minimizing the negative impact of the spread of the COVID-19 in Ukraine. The below summary focuses on key changes introduced by the Law ...
Due to introduction of restrictive measures in the territory of Ukraine during the quarantine period, the National Bank of Ukraine (hereinafter the "NBU"), by its Resolution No. 39 dated 26 March 2020 (the "Resolution"), introduced special rules for application by the banks of Ukraine of the requirements of the Regulation on determination by banks of Ukraine of the credit risk on active banking operations, approved by the Resolution of the Board of the NBU No. 351 of 30 June 2016 ...
On April 6, 2020, the new law on employment protection (hereinafter, the "Law") entered into effect, within the context of a series of emergency measures taken by the Chilean authority as a result of the COVID-19 disease.The new Law provides the possibility of accessing the coverage of the unemployment insurance in three main scenarios:I ...