It is no secret that business bankruptcies are surging in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, chapter 11 filings increased 26% in the first half of 2020,[1] and some expect the number of cases to increase even more in the coming months.[2] From retailers to airlines to telecommunications companies, few sectors of the economy are immune. As a result, more and more businesses will face the prospect of one or more of their customers filing chapter 11 ...
This is a briefing on the issuances as of August 1, 2020 on the following matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. General Community Quarantine (GCQ) over Metro Manila Again Extended until August 15, 2020 B. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Allows More Business Establishments to Operate During GCQ from August 1, 2020 A ...
The Insurance Commission (“IC”) of the Philippines has issued a circular letter dated June 14, 2020 on the adoption of a regulatory sandbox framework for the experimentation and testing of insurance technology innovations (IC Circular Letter No. 2020-73 (“ICL 2020-73”): “Guidelines on the Adoption of a Regulatory Sandbox Framework for Insurance Technology (InsurTech) Innovations).” The full text of Circular Letter No ...
Key Points The California Supreme Court clarified the so-called California Rule on public employee’s "vested rights" to pension benefits, holding that detrimental financial changes to employee pension benefits do not invariably require that offsetting comparable new advantages be provided. And it set a legal framework for analyzing that issue ...
On July 24, 2020, the California Department of Public Health issued a new guidance document for all employers within California, entitled “COVID-19 Employer Playbook For a Safe Reopening ...
China has become the largest emerging market economy and the second largest economy in the world. As a result, many Chinese companies have elected to access the U.S. capital markets for their financing needs. As of June 2020, there are over 200 China-based issuers listed on U.S. exchanges with a collective market capitalization of over $1.15 trillion. With the rising geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S ...
On Monday July 27th, Law No. 21,247 which establishes special benefits for some parents and children’s guardians (the “Law”) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, was published on the Official Gazette. The main aspects regulated by the Law, are the following: I. Preventive parental leave It consists in the granting of preventive leave for taking care of children whose parents were making use of the parental postnatal leave ...
On July 29, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order Nos. 2020-160 and 2020-161. Executive Order 2020-160 replaces the prior executive orders that address stay home, stay safe restrictions in Michigan. In general, this Order moves the State to a more uniform approach to business operations and restrictions ...
Published in CEE Legal Matters “In terms of national politics, when it comes to Latvia, the word of the day is ‘stability,'“ says Raimonds Slaidins, Senior Partner at Ellex Klavins in Riga ...
Key Points Small employers (with fewer than 500 employees) and governmental employers who are required to provide employees with paid sick and expanded family leave related to COVID-19 are required to report the amounts paid on Form W-2. IRS guidance provides information about how to report paid leave on employees’ Forms W-2 ...
Key Points If finalized as proposed, a Department of Labor (DOL) proposed rule would require plan fiduciaries to select investments based solely on pecuniary factors. The proposed rule would also tighten conditions for treating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors as pecuniary factors plan fiduciaries may consider in selecting investments ...
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently released streamlined forms employers may use to coordinate leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ...
In March, due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) the Ministry of Health established that an employee required to quarantine at home in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines would automatically receive a sick leave certificate which could present to the employer and receive sick pay for the quarantine period ...
Key Points New proposal would allow investment advisors to provide advice to ERISA retirement plan participants for a fee, despite potential conflicts of interest. Reinstates five-part test from 1975 for determining when an investment advisor provides investment advice as a fiduciary to a plan participant. The U.S ...
As workplaces continue to reopen, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued additional guidance addressing various return to work issues and leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The new DOL guidance, summarized below, appears on the DOL’s FFCRA Questions and Answers page ...
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, local municipalities and state governments throughout the country have implemented stay-at-home orders and mandated closures of businesses and restaurants to lower the spread of the disease. California, after having permitted much of the state to reopen businesses, has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and on July 13th implemented a new statewide order to curb the increase, reimposing certain business closures ...
On July 23, 2020, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and Arizona Department of Health Services Director, Dr. Cara Christ held a news conference to discuss certain executive orders of the Governor regarding re-opening of Arizona businesses and public district and charter schools in Arizona ...
California’s cannabis-related businesses will face a dual battle in complying with Proposition 65 requiring businesses to warn the public about cancer-causing chemicals present in products they purchase, writes Buchalter’s Anne Marie Ellis. Businesses are going to have to change their labeling and packaging to list marijuana smoke as a reproductive toxicant and cancer causing agent ...
Companies subject to product liability lawsuits – and their counsel – know the importance of promptly examining whether the company is subject to general personal jurisdiction or specific personal jurisdiction of the forum court. A court with general personal jurisdiction over a defendant can hear any and all claims against that defendant. After the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct 746 (2014) and BSNF Railway Co. v ...
Key Points Participants in defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k), 401(a), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plans, can skip their required minimum distribution (RMD) payments for 2020. If RMDs for 2020 have already been received, participants have until August 31, 2020 to rollover the RMD into an eligible retirement plan ...
Key Points New CEQ rule updating NEPA to go into effect September 14, 2020. Development and other projects funded, assisted, or regulated by federal agencies will receive less scrutiny in the future. Highlights The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule to update its regulations for federal agencies implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ...
As we have outlined in Part 1 and Part 2 of our blog series, ‘Returning the Workplace to Safe Operation’, employers have a duty to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace as much as reasonably practical. Consequently, employers may determine it is appropriate to conduct certain active screening, such as questionnaires, temperature screening, and testing ...
