My business has liquidity needs... What can I do to keep this situation under control? As the coronavirus has already made a serious impact on the world economy, companies are faced with important liquidity needs. In uncertain times, easy access to cash can become rare. What can you do? First, approach what is probably your most clear source of liquidity, your bankers ...
Following the measures announced by the Federal Government on 12 March 2020, more and more employers are considering implementing a temporary telework regime, in which employees are required to work from home. Can an employer impose such a measure and what are the implications? An employer cannot unilaterally oblige an employee to work from home, except if employees are exposed to specific health and safety related risks at work ...
In this challenging period of the Coronavirus outbreak, your organisation might currently be taking strong internal measures to protect its employees while ensuring work continuity. Such measures could have data protection implications and therefore you might be wondering how to take them in accordance with the GDPR. We have answered the most important GDPR questions below ...
EUIPO On 16 March 2020, the Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has issued Decision No EX-20-3 extending all time limits expiring between 9 March 2020 and 30 April 2020, that affect all parties before the Office, to 1 May 2020. In principle, the new deadlines will not be communicated to the parties on a case-by-case basis ...
The new virus COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, is spreading exponentially all over the world, also in Brazil. The outbreak is affecting the way in which our clients and their clients conduct their businesses, and the behavior of each and every one of us drastically. The virus is not only tragic for those, whose health is being affected, but also for large parts of the economy, such as the tourism industry, airlines and general retail (other than nutrition-related) ...
Congress appears to have reached an agreement on legislation to provide paid family and medical leave in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the bill still must be signed into law by the President. In the interim, Pittsburgh employers should take note that the City of Pittsburgh has passed legislation that already requires most employers operating in the City to provide for the accrual of minimum amounts of sick leave effective March 15, 2020 ...
So long as COVID-19 remains a pandemic, every employer must face the new reality that there is a good chance an employee will test positive for COVID-19. Employers should consider the following checklist when handling an employee testing positive for COVID-19: Treat positive test results and “suspected but unconfirmed” cases of COVID-19 the same. If the source of infection is known, identify if it was at the workplace or outside ...
As employers react to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), they must be aware of the potential for unlawful discrimination based on an employee’s race or national origin. The CDC has issued this guidanceto employers regarding COVID-19: “To prevent stigma and discrimination in the workplace, use only the guidance described below to determine risk of COVID-19 ...
In the early hours of Saturday, March 14, 2020, the United States House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which is designed to expand relief in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, through access to free testing, enhancing food assistance, increasing Medicaid funding, and providing paid sick leave and unemployment benefits to workers ...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a public statement on its website on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, providing updated guidance on acceptable employment practices in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The statement highlights common questions employers may have regarding how to manage employee issues related to COVID-19 and provides guidance ...
As employers weigh their measure of response to COVID-19, the employers must recognize that The General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1), requires employers to furnish each worker with “employment and a place of employment, which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm ...
In the current situation, employees who come into contact with other employees may be diagnosed with COVID-19. What is an employer’s obligation to notify other potentially exposed employees? Employers have a general duty to provide a safe workplace under Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA ...
On March 16, seven Bay Area counties issued "shelter-in-place" restrictions, which create compliance issues for cannabis operations licensed as dispensaries or as delivery services ...
Assistance to maintain employment contracts in companies facing a proven business crisis. Ministerial Order 71-A/2020 of 15 March defines and regulates the terms and conditions to award immediate assistance for employers and employees affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The assistance is intended to maintain jobs and to mitigate the extreme difficulties that many businesses are now facing. Thishelp isextraordinary, temporary and transitional in nature ...
In order to limit the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its effects, on 12 March 2020, the Government of the Republic of Estonia declared an emergency situation until 1 May 2020 and the Health Board recommends avoiding human contact. In this situation, implementing effective safety measures at the workplace often requires asking additional personal data, including health data from the employees ...
A panel of Bradley labor and employment and cybersecurity attorneys discuss coronavirus-related issues facing employers, including: How should you talk with your employees about the rapidly changing situation with the coronavirus and what it means for them as employees? What are the wage and hour, benefits and data security issues implicated by employees working remotely? What are the options for maintaining or reducing your workforce when the coronavirus results in supply chain int
Corona-related sales declines in many industries lead to short-term liquidity bottlenecks for numerous companies. As the third pillar of the protective shield for employees and companies, the German Federal Government has therefore decided on new and unlimited measures to expand liquidity assistance to facilitate companies’ access to cheap loans ...
On March 16, 2020, seven Bay Area counties, including San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, issued nearly identical orders to Shelter-in-Place (the "Order"), to be effective as of 12:01 a.m. March 17, 2020. The issuance of the Order intended to ensure the maximum number of people self-isolate to slow the spread of COVID-19 ...
Short-time work is generally understood to be the temporary, foreseeable reduction in normal working hours (by at least 10% to a maximum of 90%). A special feature of Corona Immediate Assistance Short-Time Flex is that working hours can even be reduced to zero. Short-time work requires a social partner agreement and contact with the Austrian Labour Market Service (Arbeitsmarktservice – AMS) ...
As part of Spilman’s COVID-19 Task Force, we wanted to answer the pressing questions of many employers during this growing pandemic. Employers should consider implementing strategies and policy changes to reduce the risk of infection in the workplace while still complying with their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is a developing topic, with many states imposing quarantines and Congress taking up the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ...
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the Bank of Mauritius has been closely monitoring its economic impact on the banking sector and the Mauritian economy. On 10 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mauritius reduced the key repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.85% per annum and on 13 March 2020, the Bank of Mauritius introduced a Support Programme to further assist Mauritian businesses across all economic sectors ...
Employers must review their action plan on a daily basis to promote prevention, manage possible or proven contagion among their employees and ensure that business operations continue. Two actions are key: Seeking accurate information from public health officials and governments daily; Taking this information into account when deciding how to meet your obligations to employees while maintaining operations ...
In a press release today, 17 March 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour (the “Department”) appealed to employers to use the prescriptions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 in governing workplaces in relation to Covid-19, also known as the Coronavirus. The Department has implored employers to prepare themselves and their employees as far in advance as possible for potentially worsening outbreak conditions ...
