The Supreme Court this past week denied certiorari in United States ex rel. Schneider v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., an appeal from a D.C. Circuit case affirming the district court’s dismissal of a qui tam FCA action. See No. 19-678, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 2079 (Apr. 6, 2020). In so doing, the Court declined to address the emerging circuit split over the extent of the government’s dismissal power in qui tam cases ...
THE CURRENT STARTING SITUATION The spread of the corona virus is a considerable burden on the economy. Many companies in Germany are forced to reduce their business operations or even to close down completely or partially. In other sectors of the economy, such as food retailing or companies providing services of general interest, the increased demand for products or the increased demand can hardly be met ...
In the sensational decision of 14 May 2019 (Case C-55/18), the ECJ ruled that the Member States must oblige employers to introduce an "objective, reliable and accessible system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker to be measured”. The decision was largely understood primarily as an appeal to the legislators of the Member States to implement the EU legal requirements ...
AUTHORIZATION TO RENDER SERVICES The Secretary of Health and territorial entities will authorize, within a short period of time, and temporarily, health service providers who are registered in the REPS to: Temporarily adapt a place not destined to render health services, inside or outside their facilities. Temporarily convert or adapt a health service to render another, for which the health service provider is not authorized for. Expand the capacity of an enabled service ...
As soon as we began to shelter-in-place during the COVID-19 crisis, most of us also started to hold virtual meetings, both professional and personal, as a better, more satisfying way to connect. For this, we turned en masse to a handful of video conferencing platforms. However, while we can all agree that these services help us do our jobs and stay in touch with loved ones, these services raise many novel privacy and security concerns ...
Governor Ivey in her State of the State address on February 4 argued forcefully that Alabama must do more to attract physicians (and nurse-practitioners) to practice in the rural, under-served areas of the state. Unfortunately, one of the only current tax incentives to do so—a $5,000 income tax credit that can be claimed over a 5 consecutive year period--has been the source of many audits and administrative and Alabama Tax Tribunal appeals ...
In the wake of the rapid developments to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Temporary Relief Scheme (“C19 TERS”) in the past few weeks, it is critical that employers remain informed and up-to-date on the latest processes in place. The C19 TERS was established to compensate employees who have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (“UIF”) ...
A recent government notice amended the regulations published in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 to provide for the mandatory establishment of the COVID‑19 Tracing Database by the National Department of Health. This database will trace people who are known or reasonably suspected to have come into contact with any person known or reasonably suspected to have contracted COVID-19 ...
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy recentlypublishedCoronavirus (COVID-19) related regulations pertaining to some of the prescribed timeframes in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (“MPRDA”). The relevant timeframes have been extended by the operation of law by thenumber of days of the ultimate duration of the COVID-19 lockdown period ...
The UAE authorities have taken a number of measures to reduce the costs that businesses are facing during the current crisis. We now report on some of the measures that have been introduced, current as of 12:00 noon on Thursday, 16 April 2020. Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) Administrative Resolution No. 92 of 2020 On 14 April 2020, the ADDED issued Administrative Resolution No ...
Fraud is lurking underside of the pandemic, requiring vigilance and preventive measures. The coronavirus pandemic threatens businesses not only with loss of profit, but also with potential losses due to criminal activity ...
On April 14 and April 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration ("SBA") provided additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) through the issuance of a new Interim Final Rule (the “New Rule”). This rule supplements the first PPP interim final rule published on April 2, 2020, as well as issuing updates to the Frequently Asked Questions document (“FAQs”) originally published on April 2, 2020 ...
The pandemic crisis unfolding in the United States and around the world has placed a significant strain on commercial lending relationships, and the pressure will only mount as the medical and financial ramifications unfold. For many companies, the immediate concern is of course liquidity. But in the face of falling revenue, shuttered businesses and extreme uncertainty, lenders and borrowers will need to make some tough choices when it comes to their ongoing lending relationships ...
On April 13, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued guidelines on safety practices for critical workers who may have had exposure to a person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 ...
On April 9, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued Q&As on COVID-19 issues. The EEOC has also updated its guidance during a pandemic for employers relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are some highlights from these updates. Medical Inquiries and Exams In the updated guidance, the EEOC indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic meets the definition of a direct threat ...
On 17 October 2019, the Indonesian Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition (“KPPU”) issued KPPU Regulation No. 4 of 2019 on The Procedure for Supervising and the Management of Partnership Cases (“KPPU Reg. 4/2019”) which revoked several previous KPPU regulations, i.e. KPPU Regulation No. 1 of 2017 on The Procedure for the Management of Partnership Cases (as amended) (“KPPU Reg. 1/2017”), and KPPU Regulation No ...
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor J.B. Pritzker has provided relief to Illinois consumers’ pocketbooks. On April 14, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order in Response to COVID-19 No. 23 (“Executive Order 23”). The stated purpose of Executive Order 23 is to ensure that Illinois residents have funds for essential items such as food, medicine, housing, and transportation by temporarily suspending certain consumer debt collection measures ...
The government approved a legislative bill to help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus epidemic on lessees of business premises. The proposal will be discussed at the 44th session of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, which will be held on 7 April 2020 ...
General questions with respect to the impact of extraordinary measures on contractual relations have been mentionedHERE, in relation to financing contracts there are certain specifics, the basic outline of which is set forth in this note ...
While stock exchanges worldwide have experienced dramatic downturns and the economy is apparently heading for a global recession, supervisory organs are taking measures to respond to the situation by means of financial market regulation ...
Like other taxpayers, landlords are currently exposed to various economic pressures. On one hand, they have to cover the expenses related to their property, but on the other hand they often do not receive rent from tenants who have had to restrict their operations because of the government measures against the coronavirus ...
VAT payers, who have monthly obligations, may no longer be oriented in the flood of newly adopted tax measures to help taxpayers to overcome the current situation caused by the spread of the coronavirus. For this reason, we provide a brief overview of the tax measures specifically related to VAT and add some important remarks that should be kept in mind ...
On 6 April 2020, the Government approved a bill on certain measures to mitigate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic on the tourism sector. On 8 April 2020, the bill will be discussed by the Chamber of Deputies Committee for Public Administration and Regional Development and subsequently by the Chamber of Deputies. The Act applies to package tours starting on 20 February 2020 through to 31 August 2020 ...
Aid for self-employed persons and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by anti-coronavirus measures pursuant to the Czech Government’s 'COVID GUARANTEE' programme was exhausted in one day. On Monday, March 30, 2020, the terms and conditions of the follow-up COVID II program will be published, in which CZK 5 billion should be available. The rush of applications is expected, so action needs to be taken quickly and not delayed ...
