When COVID-19 first hit, many employers were initially faced with the need to identify if they qualified as an essential business under the operative orders issued by the federal and state governments, and then come into compliance with safety measures, all while ensuring compliance with other requirements such as those laid out by the Americans with Disabilities Act ...
In their March 3, 2020 Law 360 article, our colleagues, Rob Patterson and Shu-Shu Wong, commented on the trend of certain buyers evaluating the feasibility of invoking force majeure as an excuse for not performing their purchase obligations under their liquefied natural gas long-term sale and purchase agreements (LNG SPAs) due to the COVID-19 outbreak ...
On April 9, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Board”) announced the establishment of the Main Street Business Lending Program (“Main Street Loan Program”), an up to $600 billion lending program for mid-size businesses ...
In the face of governmental orders shutting down businesses, redirecting business efforts and assets, and even seizing business property to redistribute to others, we see more and more questions about the limits of governmental authority and the remedies for affected people and businesses. Lawsuits already are being filed, and the courts undoubtedly will have to provide the answers. Click here for a more detailed discussion of COVID-19 and governmental takings ...
In recent weeks, and especially in recent days, we have seen the serious repercussions of the spread of COVID-19 on Quebec businesses and SMEs. Government authorities are planning financial assistance measures for businesses, and some chambers of commerce have already announced that new services will soon be offered to businesses to help them deal with the crisis. We are as yet unaware of the details of this assistance and how it will be allocated ...
On 9 April 2020, in light of the amendments to the coronavirus (COVID-19) TERS Directives, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (“UIF”) released four new memoranda of agreement (“MOAs”) to be used when employers apply for the COVID-19 Temporary Relief Scheme (“TERS”). It has also issued a revised application procedure. A MOA records the terms and conditions for the implementation of the TERS by the UIF and any employer who submits a claim under the TERS ...
Current state of affairs On 5 March 2020, the first case of novel Coronavirus Disease of 2019 ("COVID-19"), was confirmed in South Africa. Prior to, and with the advent of the various regulations issued in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, all industry sectors, including the mining industry, were directed to take reasonable measures to prevent or limit the exposure to COVID-19 at working places ...
On 8 April 2020, the Minister of Employment and Labour issued a notice amending a few significant aspects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) Temporary Relief Scheme (“C19 TERS”) Directive of 25 March 2020 (the “Amendment”).The C19 TERS was established to compensate employees who have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (“UIF”) ...
The SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act (the "Act") took effect on January 1, 2020, making substantial changes to the rules regarding retirement account distributions, including a required 10-year payout for most non-spouse beneficiaries of IRAs and other retirement plans. Changes to Existing Law For estate planning purposes, the Act's most important change is the elimination of the "stretch IRA ...
When a client or customer files for bankruptcy, a business’ treatment of that customer’s account must change. Many businesses have dedicated bankruptcy departments or teams that deal with these accounts. However, it can take a while before the account is flagged or transferred to the bankruptcy team. Further, some smaller business bankruptcy teams are comprised of other department employees just wearing a “bankruptcy hat” when working on those accounts ...
Mortgage servicers are currently being inundated with requests from borrowers impacted by COVID-19 for forbearance and other types of payment relief. Tracking, making sense of, and then complying with the guidance and requirements that are being issued and then modified – seemingly on a daily basis – by the federal government, the GSEs, and various states is proving to be a challenge for many, especially at a time when resources may already be limited or stretched thin ...
We have previously reported on the Order that adopted the extraordinary measures under the COVID-19 health emergency declaration, published on March 31, 2020 (the “Order”), and the subsequent Technical Guidelines regarding certain essential activities described in the Order published on April 6, 2020. (These alerts may be found here and here, respectively ...
Due to introduction of restrictive measures in the territory of Ukraine during the quarantine period, the National Bank of Ukraine (hereinafter the "NBU"), by its Resolution No. 39 dated 26 March 2020 (the "Resolution"), introduced special rules for application by the banks of Ukraine of the requirements of the Regulation on determination by banks of Ukraine of the credit risk on active banking operations, approved by the Resolution of the Board of the NBU No. 351 of 30 June 2016 ...
INFARMED has published a set of exceptional measures – which will remain in force during the period of risk to public health – to be adopted by sponsors, clinical trial sites, and research teams, to guarantee the safety, protection and rights of clinical trial subjects.It has also defined INFARMED’s evaluation of trials intended to treat or prevent the new Coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2) as a priority ...
Many commercial contracts limit claims between parties, particularly for consequential losses, to instances of gross negligence. Many statutes circumscribe claims against government authorities to the same circumstances. The Police Act, for example, prohibits claims against the police except where the police have been “guilty of dishonesty, gross negligence or malicious or wilful misconduct” ...
On April 8, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) provided additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) through an update to the Frequently Asked Questions document (“FAQs”) originally published on April 2, 2020 and subsequently updated on April 6th and 7th ...
On April 8, 2020, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2020-23 to allow certain partnerships to take advantage of tax law changes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the immediate expensing of costs related to "qualified improvement property ...
As the country and the world grapple with the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the necessary steps governments, businesses, and citizens are taking to mitigate the crisis and the spread of COVID-19, businesses are dealing with an unprecedented slowdown and/or shutdown of operations across many economic sectors ...
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a series of memoranda that discloses the department’s enforcement priorities and provides public guidance related to the ongoing coronavirus crisis ...
Last week, the SBA issued guidance concerning the rights of independent contractors with respect to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans. First, the SBA clarified that employers cannot include compensation paid to independent contractors in calculating their own loan amount. Second, the SBA announced that independent contractors and self-employed individuals will be eligible to apply for a PPP loans starting April 10, 2020 ...
