On 26 May 2020, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) issued a press release and rolled out round 4 of measures aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the businesses and workers in Cambodia. These latest measures consist of a combination of new measures and extension of those measures already in place ...
Two years ago, the most visible and tangible impact of the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR” or “Regulation”) for individuals all around the globe was an unprecedented wave of emails from businesses changing their privacy policies and seeking consent to store and process data ...
In the age of social distancing, it is about time the law is changed to allow wills to be executed electronically.Ingenious lawyers all over the Commonwealth are dreaming up rigmaroles for the signing of wills amid the pandemic. An English law firm has suggested that the will be signed at a park bench, with witnesses lurking nearby, ready to rotate around the document ...
Through the recently issued Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and Interim Final Rule on Loan Forgiveness, the Small Business Association (SBA) has once again demonstrated that the contours and requirements of the PPP program are constantly evolving. The SBA’s recent Interim Final Rule on SBA Loan Review Procedures provides some insights on how the SBA will enforce PPP qualification and forgiveness requirements ...
On May 22, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) provided additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) through the issuance of two new Interim Final Rules on (i) loan forgiveness and (ii) SBA loan review procedures and related borrower and lender responsibilities (collectively, the “Loan Forgiveness Rules”), each of which supplements the first PPP Interim Final Rule, published on April 2, 2020, the subseq
The Amendments to the Agreement on Trade in Services of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Amendment) which was signed on 21 November 2019 has come into force on 1 June 2020. Trade in Services is one of the four major areas covered by the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), under which Hong Kong service suppliers enjoy preferential treatment when entering certain service sectors in the Mainland ...
As California continues to move through Stage 2 of its Resilience Roadmap, “Lower-risk workplaces,” where retail (curbside and delivery only), related logistics and manufacturing, office workplaces, limited personal services, outdoor museums, childcare, and essential businesses can now open with modifications, California employers should continue to be vigilant in assessing and complying with up to date health and safety guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Admini
On Thursday, May 28, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a preliminary timetable for the reopening of San Francisco businesses, restaurants, and offices. The multi-phased plan, which can be found here (“Order”), is designed to comply with the timeline and guidelines previously announced by Governor Gavin Newsom ...
The Ministry of Health, jointly with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (“IMSS”), recently published specific technical guidelines for companies and work centers to resume activities ...
Metro Manila, Regions II, III, and IV-A, and the provinces of Pangasinan and Albay (which are currently under [MECQ]) will be placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from June 1. This is based on the announcement made on May 28, 2020 by the President. Many other areas of the country which are now under GCQ will transition to Modified General Community Quarantine starting June 1 ...
On May 26, 2020, the Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, signed a broad COVID-19 relief package into law, to supplement existing federal and state relief measures. The new legislation included several amendments to the Administrative Code of the City of New York (the “Code”) that affect commercial landlords and tenants, including N.Y.C. Council Int. No. 1932-A (“Local Law 1932-A”) ...
In a move that will improve the time for obtaining application approvals, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today it plans on resuming premium processing for Form I-129 (non-immigrant worker) and Form I-140 (immigrant worker) petitions in phases throughout June. On June 1, 2020, it will accept Premium Processing requests for all eligible Form I-140 petitions ...
Key Points The Judicial Council amended Emergency Rule 9 to provide dates certain for tolling the statutes of limitations for civil actions, which are currently tolled due to the COVID-19 state of emergency. Pursuant to the amended Emergency Rule 9, the statutes of limitations applicable to CEQA actions are tolled from April 6, 2020, until August 3, 2020 ...
Effective at noon today, May 29, 2020, Virginia Governor Northam's Executive Order 63 went into effect, requiring face coverings to be worn in certain circumstances. Specifically, a face covering is required for individuals aged ten and older when "entering, exiting, traveling through, and spending time inside" the following categories of businesses: All retail. Food and beverage, but only when reopened for indoor dining. Personal care/grooming - i.e ...
On May 28, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting the protections afforded to social media companies like Twitter and Facebook. The executive order was signed shortly after Twitter added fact-checking links to two of the President’s tweets regarding the efficacy of absentee voting from California. The Communications Decency Act The executive order is intended to modify Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. (47 U.S.A. § 230 ...
By a near-unanimous 417-1 vote, the House has passed the PPP Flexibility Act, which if enacted would, among other things, extend the time to utilize Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds and obtain forgiveness, allow more time to rehire employees, and allow more of the proceeds to be used for other forgivable costs besides payroll costs. The Senate will now consider the bill and may vote on it next week. A copy of the bill may be found here: https://docs ...
As we have learned through our ghosts of recessions past, the vast majority of those who become unable to pay their debts in economic downturns are honest, but unfortunate, debtors. That said, we also have learned that an appreciable number of debtors start taking drastic measures to preserve their assets and associated lifestyles during these times, sometimes engaging in a shell game designed to conceal or otherwise understate their assets when creditors start knocking on their door ...
With the expectation that bankruptcy filings will increase over the next few months, this might be a good time to revisit the documents filed with a bankruptcy filing and the information they provide. The focus today is on the Notice of Bankruptcy, Petition, Schedules and Statement of Financial Affairs, which are always filed. There are several other papers that may be filed (required or not), depending on the bankruptcy case ...
Over a year ago, Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code to create Subchapter V, with the intent of encouraging small businesses (defined as those with less than $2,725,625.00 in debt) to file reorganization plans more often by saving certain costs of a routine Chapter 11. Congress then passed the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, raising the debt limit to $7,500,000.00 ...
Much of the bankruptcy chatter arising from the pandemic world in which we find ourselves is now focusing on the cascade of new bankruptcy cases that are predicted to arrive soon. We have already seen the effects of closed stores and no foot traffic on some of the big names in retail (J.C. Penney, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Pier 1, etc.), but many consumer cases are sure to follow, the result of the staggering number of layoffs and lost jobs that the pandemic has caused ...
In Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam lawsuit the court found was based largely on a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision and thus violated the public disclosure bar. No. 3:18-cv-01496-JD, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82548, at *22–27 (N.D. Cal. May 11, 2020) ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unique challenges and causing operational and financial disruptions for many governmental issuers and other borrowers (obligated persons), who are subject to the continuing disclosure requirements of Rule 15c2-12 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One of these challenges is the determination of whether and what to disclose to bondholders under existing continuing disclosure undertakings or in the context of voluntary disclosure ...
In order to curb illegal importation, facilitate the sale and consumption of quality products in fulfilment of market demand and accurately assess and collect tax by the State, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) issued Notification no. 38/2020 (“Notification-38”) on 25 May 2020 to remove foreign alcoholic spirits from the import restriction list. Although Notification-38 removes foreign alcoholic spirits from the list beer remains restricted ...
