On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Act that aims to provide emergency supplemental relief to Americans affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.The Act, among other things, aims to provide such relief by addressing three employment-related areas: (1) emergency paid sick leave to employees, (2) emergency leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and (3) support for unemployment insurance ...
The main doubts of company directors about the consequences ofthe current Covid-19 pandemic in relation to insolvency, the PER, and the RERE. As a result of the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020 ...
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 ...
A. SHORT-TIME WORK 1. WHAT IS THE LEGAL POSITION? According to the "Act on the temporary crisis-related improvement of the regulations for short-time work compensation" ("Gesetz zur vorüberristeten krisenbedingten Verbesserung der Regelungen für das Kurzarbeitgeld") (see preliminary version of BT publication 19/17893), a company can order short-time work due to the worldwide cases of illness caused by the coronavirus and thus reduce working hours ...
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 ...
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Authority has recently issued new company regulations (the Company Regulations 2020). The Company Regulations 2020 came into effect on 2 January 2020 and they repeal and replace the previous DMCC Company Regulations 2003 (DMCC Regulation No. 1 of 2003, as amended by DMCC Regulation No. 1 of 2007, DMCC Regulation No. 1 of 2009 and DMCC Regulation No. 1 of 2013) (the Previous Company Regulations) ...
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 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 ...
Our colleagues have discussed the application and interpretation of force majeure clauses in contracts related to COVID-19 disruptions. These clauses are included in a contract by the parties and spell out the circumstances under which performance will be excused during one of the specified circumstances, such as natural disaster, disease, epidemic, or pandemic ...
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 a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Karnataka through Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety & Health has issued a circular dated March 14, 2020 (“Circular”) providing certain guidelines for factories / manufacturing entities situated within the State ...
Are delivery obligations between businesses still to be fulfilled? In principle, commercial contracts and the rights and obligations contained therein remain legally binding, despite the official measures taken to prevent the spreading of COVID-19. However, in connection with travel contracts, the Austrian Supreme Court qualified the outbreak of the infectious disease SARS as a force majeure event that made it unreasonable to perform the contract ...
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus, (subsequently renamed as COVID-19), “a public health emergency of international concern”. Various unprecedented and draconian measures were imposed by the PRC Government and other governments around the world, namely, a city lockdown, travel restrictions and bans, extension of the Lunar New Year holidays, mandatory quarantine orders, border closures, etc ...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe, disrupting lives, communities and businesses, and putting countries under considerable strain, Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) has set up the COVID-19 –Legal & Tax Resource Center. Thereyou can access valuable knowledge and legal insights with respect to the implications of the coronavirus in various fields in Romania ...
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 ...
The recent outbreak of 2019-nCOV, a flu-like respiratory illness better known as the Coronavirus, is causing employers to ready themselves for a variety of responses to the spread of the virus. Human Resources professionals are seeking guidance on how to promote a safe and healthy working environment without violating the rights of ill or potentially ill employees. We have some tips to help strike the right balance ...
Over the last few days, Judge Lawrence K. Marks, the Chief Administrative Judge of the New York State Unified Court System, issued two memoranda bearing on COVID-19’s effect on the Commercial Division. First, by memorandum dated March 13, 2020, Judge Marks announced that he and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore have implemented a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the well-being of court personnel ...
On March 5, 2020, the Karnataka Labour Department issued a circular (“Circular”) requiring all establishments in the State to grant 28 days of paid sick leave to any employee who has been infected by the COVID-19 virus (“Coronavirus”). These precautionary measures laid out by the Government aim to prevent the spread of Coronavirus ...
The UAE authorities have been dynamic in implementing measures to control the spread of COVID-19 within the UAE. Please find below a non-exhaustive list of noteworthy measures that have been implemented by various UAE authorities to date ...
Discussing the legal concept ‘Force Majeure’ in credit agreements – if it can be called upon, it has in principle a temporary nature and does not relief you from payment obligations. In general, force majeure is an unforeseeable and unavoidable event that occurs after a credit agreement has been concluded (i.e ...
The Corona crisis is not only a huge challenge for health care, but also the consequences for the economy will be enormous. Different sectors (such as the hospitality sector and the transport sector) will not be able to overcome the difficult times we are currently facing without public support ...
The coronavirus crisis could make the ability of a business to perform pending contracts harder. Even though so-called ‘hardship’ clauses are perfectly valid and enforceable under Belgian law, hardship is not generally accepted as a principle of Belgian contract law. Until the rules on obligations of the new Civil Code, which recognise hardship, enter into force, there are exceptions and creative ways to deal with this problem ...
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 ...
