Every state has an Open Meeting Law, or Sunshine Law requiring public bodies to take official action and conduct deliberations in open meetings. Open meetings are defined as an in-person meeting open to the public with a certain number of legislators or board members physically present to establish a quorum and participate in the meeting ...
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced in a press conference on March 17, 2020 that all elective surgeries would be postponed in the State of Ohio effective at 5:00 p.m. on March 18, 2020 until further notice. The Order, issued by Director of the Ohio Department of Health Amy Acton, is available here: (https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHOOD/2020/03/17/file_attachments/1403950/Director%27s%20Order%20non-essential%20surgery%203-17-2020.pdf) ...
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports swimming is the fourth most popular recreational activity in the United States and the most popular recreational activity for children (ages 7 to 17). Statistics further show 36 percent of children and 15 percent of adults go swimming at least six times a year in the United States ...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday on Twitter that the U.S. will extend the tax filing deadline of April 15, 2020 for 2019 individual and business tax returns until July 15, 2020. Earlier this week, the Internal Revenue Service announced that the payment deadline for any 2019 individual income tax due, including 2020 first quarter estimated payments due April 15, 2020, was deferred until July 15, 2020 ...
In the advent of DNA testing, companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe have made it easy and convenient to submit DNA samples for testing from your own home. This type of genetic—also known as genomic—testing has been applied to a variety of uses, including paternity determinations and the discovery of genetic ancestors and relatives ...
On March 17, 2020, Governor Newson issued Executive Order N-29-20 ("Executive Order") in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This order supersedes Executive Order N-25-20, which was issued on March 12, and expressly waives all requirements in the Brown Act and Bagley-Keene Act that require a physical presence of Board members, staff or the public as a condition of holding and participating in a local agency governing body or state commission public meeting ...
Updated: April 4, 2020 On March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Director of the California Department of Public Health ordered all Californians to stay home “except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors ...
On March 17, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order suspending some of the notice requirements under the California WARN Act ("Cal-WARN"), the state counterpart to the Federal WARN Act. The order came in response to the sudden onslaught of workplace closings across California due to COVID-19. Under the Cal-WARN, employers with 75 or more employees must give 60-days' written notice to employees and unions before layoffs occur ...
Recently, both INAPI and TDPI implemented temporary measures in terms of deadlines, procedures and legal requirements for the submission of original documents, with the aim to facilitate to applicants and users of the system to comply with legal obligations, taking into account both the difficulties in meeting these obligations and the purpose of safeguarding people's health ...
On March 18, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-15 which permits all public bodies in the State of Michigan, with the exception of the State Legislature, to meet during the COVID-19 state of emergency (“COVID-19 Emergency”) by electronic means until April 15, 2020 ...
The currently unstoppable strong spread of COVID-19 and the resulting restrictions on public life, such as quarantine measures and curfews, which are imposed in EU Member States and worldwide and which are sometimes very drastic, are also increasingly impairing the ability to work and communicate. In the meantime, various IP Offices have also reacted to this. 1 ...
UPDATE - On March 20 in the evening, Governor Wolf issued a revised list classifying businesses as life-sustaining and non-life-sustaining. The press release, list and frequently asked questions can be found here. In addition, Governor Wolf has extended the timeframe for enforcement of the order. The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently completed the Appropriations hearings related to the FY 2020-2021 budget. The plans to resume the legislative session were altered due to COVID-19 ...
According to press reports, most Germans are willing to accept limitations on the extent of the protection of their personal data vis-à-vis public authorities and agencies in order to tackle the coronavirus crisis. However, that alone is not an adequate justification for measures that employers may take during a coronavirus pandemic to prevent an outbreak in their company ...
At their core, the Regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 issued and brought into operation yesterday, 18 March 2020, outline the responsibilities of all government departments, the release and allocation of resources, and the conditions under which liquor industry may function. In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic being declared a national state of disaster, the Regulations are intended to contain the spread of the virus ...
We invite you to read our news alert about the State of Catastrophe declared by the Chilean government and the economic measures announced today by the country's Ministry of Finance to face the covid-19 pandemic. A) State of Catastrophe is declared in Chile: Below, please find a summary of the main consequences of the “State of Catastrophe” decreed by H.E. the President of the Republic of Chile: I. Background. On 18 March 2020, H.E ...
In response to the severe public health emergency and the economically-damaging nationwide confinement measures triggered by the Covid-19 (“Covid-19”) outbreak in Italy, on 17 March 2020 the Italian government has adopted Law Decree #CuraItalia1 (the “Decree #CuraItalia”) ...
On March 4, 2020, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in the State of California as a result of the threat of COVID-19 ...
On March 18, 2020, the State Medical Board of Ohio (“Board”) held a special meeting, which resulted in the temporary suspension of certain regulatory enforcement activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine Effective immediately, the Board will suspend enforcement of any regulations requiring in-person visits between providers and patients ...
Introduction While the long-term litigation effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may not materialize for months – or even years – it is important for tort litigation attorneys and their clients to begin preparing now for potential legal issues that may arise. This bulletin is intended to serve as a non-exhaustive list of tort-focused legal considerations for health care providers, product manufacturers, and their attorneys in the new and ever-evolving COVID-19 landscape ...
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 ...
Ohio continues to be a leader in proactive restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 and securing the resources necessary to do so. On March 17, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Amy Acton, MD, MPH announced an ODH Order requiring the cancellation of all non-essential or elective surgeries or procedures that use personal protective equipment (PPE). This Order is effective at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 18, 2020 ...
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 ...
At Patterson Belknap we continue to diligently monitor the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus and assess the potential legal and business issues that may arise relating to the virus. The situation is fluid, and best practices and guidelines are evolving in real time. We are closely monitoring the situation as it unfolds, and share our latest perspectives on the legal issues relating to COVID-19 below ...
As the United States and countries all over the world continue to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, the race is on for Covid-19 treatments and vaccines. There is currently no FDA-approved therapy or vaccine for Covid-19. Given the profound urgency, life sciences companies and other researchers are prioritizing research and development of potential therapies and vaccines ...
