On March 31, seven Bay Area counties issued stricter shelter-in-place orders and extended their effectiveness to at least May 3 (collectively, the “Orders”). As of the morning of April 2, Napa County noted that it will be joining the other Bay Area counties. Solano County extended the effectiveness of its order, but declined to tighten restrictions ...
On the 17thof March, we gave an overview on the options available for the governments in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to support companies being harmed by the COVID-19 crisis. At that time we noted that companies should work with the government in order to ensure that the measures taken truly help the companies survive the crisis ...
On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued afinal borrower applicationand provided lenders with therequired datathe federal government will collect electronically to guarantee the loans. The lender application form requires the lender to certify they have gathered the requisite information from the applicant, as outlined in the updated borrower application form ...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office authorized relief for trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeals Board ("TTAB") proceedings. The Notice of Waiver provides a 30-day extension of time from the initial date it was due, for deadlines falling between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020. The filing must include a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak ...
Insight on Eligibility and Requirements for Obtaining Financial Assistance For Mid-Sized Companies and Eligible Businesses (other than Air Carriers and Businesses Critical to MaintainingNational Security) The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provides for various loans, loan guaranties and other forms of financial assistance to U.S. businesses both small and large and in specific industries and sectors ...
On March 27, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia addressed the question of discovery costs in a long-running False Claims Act case,U.S. ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton (No. 19-7064, March 2020) (“Barko”). In Barko, a former employee claimed that an affiliate of Halliburton, Kellogg Brown & Root Services (KBR), inflated costs and received kickbacks from subcontractors during the Iraq war during the early to mid-2000s ...
LATEST UPDATE - April 3, 2020 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 ...
UPDATED - We have updated several items as clarifications have been made. We will continue to update as more frequently asked questions are posed. When Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("CRA"), it left much for the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") to explain. The DOL has published a temporary rule offering its interpretations of the CRA, and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has established a procedure for claiming the tax credits ...
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 ...
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 30, 2020, the Department of the Treasury published guidelines and procedures for passenger and cargo air carriers (together, “Air Carriers”) seeking relief under the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act ...
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the CARES ACT was signed into law. The Cares Act includes provisions for changing deadlines for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. For patents and trademarks, the Act permits the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to change the deadlines imposed by Title 35 of the United States Code, the Trademark Act, Section 18 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ...
The Government announced on 1 April 2020 its proposal of a Program of economic measures to reduce the negative effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and an attempt to support the economy of Serbia, split into four categories ...
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 ...
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 USCIS has announced, in a tweet, that its proposed rule that would have authorized up to 35,000 new H-2B visas has been placed on hold and no new visas will be issued due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tweet states: To clear up various misreporting – DHS’s rule on the H-2B cap is on hold pending review due to present economic circumstances. No additional H-2B visas will be released until further notice ...
On March 31, 2020, the IRS issued Form 7200 Advance Payment of Employer Tax Credits Due to COVID-19 and instructions for eligible employers to claim advance payments of refundable payroll tax credits related to COVID-19 ...
On March 20, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) jointly issued guidance regarding the tax credits available to certain small employers who are required to provide new types of paid leave to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Act), enacted on March 18, 2020 ...
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 ...
On March 25, 2020, Governor Jim Justice signed into law House Bill 4925, which will take effect June 2, 2020. HB 4925 (W. Va. Code 18-2-25) provides that any student receiving home instruction pursuant to W. Va. Code 18-8-1(c), for at least one year proceeding the year proposing to be eligible, shall be eligible for participation in interscholastic athletic events and other extracurricular activities of public secondary schools serving the attendance zone in which the student lives ...
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 ...
Section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) (H.R. 748) offers a refundable credit against an eligible employer’s share of Social Security payroll taxes (6 ...
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 ...
Article 2.2.5.3.2 of Chapter 3 of Title 5 of Part 2 of Book 2 of Decree 1083 of 2015, the Sole Regulatory Body for the Public Service Sector, is amended as follows"Article 2.2.5.3.2. Order for the definitive filling of career posts. The definitive filling of career posts shall be carried out in the following order: With the person who, at the time of his retirement, held career rights and whose reinstatement has been ordered by a judicial authority ...
