As a growing number of the workforce is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are raising several benefits related questions, particularly with respect to the new paid sick and family and medical leave requirements. The Employee Benefits Group at Hanson Bridgett will be providing updated information on possible issues arising in the benefits area through Benefits Alerts and postings on Hanson Bridgett's Online COVID-19 Resource Center ...
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development ("DCED"), Pennsylvania businesses have until 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2020 to seek an exemption to Governor Wolf's order requiring "non-life sustaining businesses" to close physical locations. Businesses that do not file their exemption by the deadline may lose the opportunity entirely. The application can be found on the DCED’s website ...
The Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 31, 2020 signed a notice waiving certain deadlines for patent-related filings, if the missed deadline resulted from situations relating to COVID-19 ...
In an expedited process, a Federal Law amending several legislative acts was passed by the State Duma and Federal Council of the Russian Federation. In particular, the law envisages use of the power of the Government of the Russian Federation to impose, in extraordinary cases, a moratorium on insolvency proceedings and provides a legal regime of such moratorium ...
The Government of the Slovak Republic approved on 31 March 2020 further draft bills in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these is also an act amending the Labour Code[1]and other particular laws in the field of employment and social security. You can find a brief summary on this amendment below ...
On 1 April the Prime Minister adopted a new decree (the “1 April Decree”) to extend the lockdown measures previously introduced through the decrees issues on 8 March, 9 March, 11 March and 22 March 2020 ...
On March 12, 2020, in view that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a Pandemic, we published a Guide for employer including different scenarios that may occur in the labor aspect. After its publication, the governmental authorities have adopted various measures related to labor matters aimed to prevent the spread of the virus and to secure employment ...
Although some industries have halted all non-essential work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many patent and trademark offices around the world have remained open and operational, largely due to electronic filing capabilities ...
In a recent article, we discussed government efforts to combat fraud in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a number of government enforcement actions, including the marketing of coronavirus treatments;selling toothpaste, dietary supplements, creams and other products as treatments to prevent and cure the coronavirus; andprice-gouging on health and safety products. On March 31, 2020, the U.S ...
In the wake of COVID-19, cities, counties and states across the nation are issuing “shelter in place” orders to curb nonessential movement of residents, and companies around the world are moving to a remote work system. This webinar focuses on IT, cybersecurity, and privacy issues that may impact businesses that are located in “shelter-in-place” jurisdictions ...
In keeping with the promise of government to introduce fiscal measures to address the negative impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on business, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) released Binding General Ruling (VAT) 52 (“BGR 52”), dated 27 March 2020, that extends the prescribed time periods relating to the exportation of movable goods from South Africa ...
Since the declaration of the national state of disaster in South Africa in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, it has been anything but “business as usual” for most professionals. This is equally true for legal practitioners trying to navigate the directives regarding litigation and court process during the national state of disaster ...
In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the South African Government has implemented various statutory measures to prevent the potential spread of the disease, and to limit, contain and minimise the risk of exposure of persons within the country ...
Following our previous ENSight on the assistance scheme announced by the Mauritian Prime Minister, the government has decided to extend its scheme to the informal sector and take general measures aiming to facilitate the life of everyone during this crisis. Self-employed individuals Government has offered, to self-employed individuals, financial support amounting to half of the guaranteed income for the period between 16 March 2020 to 15 April 2020 ...
On 31 March 2020, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (“DEFF”) published directions (the “Directions”) under the National Disaster Management Act, 2002, to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The purpose of the Directions is to ensure fair processes with respect to certain environmental laws, as a result of the restrictions placed on the movement of people during the lockdown period ...
On 27 March 2020, the South African Revenue (“SARS”) announced much needed value-added tax (“VAT”) relief on the importation of “essential goods” as part of the coronavirus (COVID-19) tax relief measures. Section 7(1)(b) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (“VAT Act”) imposes VAT on the importation of any goods into South Africa by any person. In terms of section 7(1), VAT is imposed at the standard rate of 15% ...
On 27 March 2020, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy (the “Minister”) published the Amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Regulations (“MPRDA Regulations”) for implementation under GNR.420 inGovernment Gazette43127 (the “Amended Regulations”) ...
Building on previously announced waivers and emergency rulemaking, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional waivers on March 30, 2020, to provide hospitals, health systems, and many other providers with “maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ...
The United Nations has issued a “Global Call to Creatives” (the “Call”) asking content creators, influencers, advertisers, and others to help in translating public health messages “into work that will engage and inform people across different cultures, languages, communities and platforms ...
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the President signed H.R. 748, known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act on March 27, 2020. The bill provides more than $2 trillion of aid to individuals and the public and private sector ...
On March 31, 2020, the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released initial guidance and a sample application form for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), the small business loan program established pursuant to theCoronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020 ...
Even though OSHA has advised that no specific standard covers the novel coronavirus, human resource and safety personnel must be mindful of the generally-applicable standards that might apply. In addition to recording requirements on OSHA 300 logs, there are five standards that merit particular attention in the COVID-19 context ...
The USCIS has announced it will extend its suspension of in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) until May 4, 2020. It has also indicated it may extend these closures beyond that date if needed. USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency services during these closures ...
On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which is supporting the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in administering the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and SBA issued preliminary guidance on the program and made available the form of application ...
The Indian Government has announced a full nationwide lockdown for three weeks (until April 14, 2020) in order to contain the spread of Covid-19. Accordingly, the Indian Trade Marks Registry, Patents and Design Office have been closed till April 15, 2020. Nevertheless, the online filing portal of Indian IP offices is operational. All deadlines falling till April 15, 2020 will become due on the day when the IP offices re-open ...
