In light of the recent economic developments stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers are evaluating their employee benefit plans and how employee and employer costs will be impacted. The following summary provides a list of questions we have been receiving from clients over the past week, along with action items to help employers address these issues. Health and Welfare Plans and Fringe Benefits 1 ...
Obligation of Czech employers to protect employees from coronavirusPursuant to Section 106 (1) of the Labour Code, an employee has the right be assured of occupational health and safety protection at work (hereinafter referred to as "OHS"), even during a pandemic.Regarding prevention, the provision in section 102 of the Labor Code remains paramount ...
State of Emergency Conditions What does "state of emergency" actually meanand what are the powers of the Government in the regard? Can someone claim damages incurred in relation to the state of emergency? State of Emergency With effect from 12 March 2020 at 2 pm, the Government of the Czech Republic (the “Government”) has declared astate of emergency for 30 daysfor the territory of the Czech Republic due to health threats related to the presence of coronavirus in the
Crisis measures issued after the announcement of the state of emergency List as of 14 March 2020 1. Temporary implementation of the protection of internal borders in the Czech Republic Underlying document: Government Declartion No. 197 from 12.3.2020 and extraordinary measures of the Ministry of the Interior dated 13.3.2020 Effectiveness from: 14.3.2020 od 0:00 hod. Effectivness until: 18.3 ...
Employers have to face a number of issues in the current situation, some of which have data protection implications. Below you will find a brief summary of the data protection issues which are typically arising as a result of the pandemic, in a Q&A format.With regard to question no ...
The much-awaited relaxation of regulatory compliances under the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter “the Act”) have been introduced by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (hereinafter “the MCA”). Please see below the detailed analysis of relaxations introduced by the MCA on regulatory compliances applicable under the Act: (i) Directors need not plan their Board meetings in the coming quarter of this calendar year i.e. upto June 30, 2020 ...
In an attempt to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is contained effectively, the Indian Government has mandated a complete nationwide lockdown for 21 days beginning from March 25, 2020, 00:00 hrs. Mandatory Closure of Commercial Establishments All shops, commercial establishments, factories, workshops and offices, excluding establishments engaged in providing essential are required to be shut down ...
Financial Market Commission Announces a Package of Measures to Facilitate Credit Flow to Both Companies and Individuals By Diego Peralta and Diego Lasagna On March 23, 2020, the Financial Market Commission’s Council (“CMF”) approved new measures destined to grant more flexibility to the financial system, in the context of the coronavirus Covid-19 global outbreak ...
Having begun as a fairly localized issue in the centre of China, the COVID-19 outbreak has spread rapidly across borders, significantly impacting the global economy and causing havoc in financial markets. The impact has been across all sectors, from transport and tourism to manufacturing, technology, energy, retail and beyond ...
Several state and local governments have issued “shelter in place” orders and undoubtedly more will follow.All of them have various exemptions for “essential businesses” and many rely on these exemptions as outlined in the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) guidance on critical infrastructure workers ...
The coronavirus (COVID-2019)[1], which today affects more than 150 countries and territories around the world, has already had, and continues to have, a significant impact on the global economy ...
As a growing number of the workforce is being affected by the COVID-19 virus, employers are being asked to respond to benefit-related questions from employees. In the coming days, 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 ...
Due to the health crisis derived from the COVID-19 virus, declared as pandemic by the World Health Organization on March, 11, 2020, the US and Mexican governments released a joint statement, by which travel restrictions are established, in order to reduce the spreading of the COVID-19 as it is paramount to ensure the health of nationals of both countries and at the same time, protecting cross- border essential economic and employment activities ...
The regulations published on 18 March 2020 in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (the “Act”) have been amended to regulate the lockdown announced by President Ramaphosa on 23 March 2020. A new chapter 2 specifically dealing with the lockdown has been inserted into the regulations. We summarise below the most significant provisions contained in chapter 2 ...
On 23 and 24 March 2020, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (the “Minister”) published Regulations under section 78(1) of the Competition Act, 1998 exempting the banking and retail property sectors respectively from certain provisions of the Competition Act in order to limit the impact of the ongoing national state of disaster announced on 15 March 2020 ...
As a result of the increasing spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), many employees may consider placing themselves in self-quarantine after possible exposure to the virus. Self-quarantine is a precautionary measure taken by a person who has been in contact with someone who has contracted COVID-19, but has not tested positive or is not showing any symptoms of the virus ...
In terms of ordinary contract principles, if an employee commits an act of serious misconduct, this constitutes a breach of contract. This breach alone does not terminate the contract of employment. The employer can elect to either “accept” the breach or “reject” it. If the employer accepts the breach, it is this election of the employer to accept the breach that terminates the contract. This would, in common law terminology, constitute a dismissal ...
A trend is emerging with recently filed litigation involving the COVID-19 pandemic. Spilman attorneys are committed to providing information that allows businesses to react as quickly as possible to avert civil litigation threats or to protect your interests through litigation. Monitoring these litigation trends will allow organizations to prepare to defend against such threats in the future or to identify and pursue civil remedies when needed ...
How might businesses in your jurisdiction be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic? The Government of Estonia declared an emergency situation on March 12th due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic and the threat of mass infections. The government has decided to ban public gatherings and implement distance learning at schools, implemented sanitary controls at the border, and closed cultural and entertainment institutions until the 1st of May ...
Across the country, construction projects are being impacted by the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation is dynamic and will change quickly. We thought it important to prepare some guidelines that would help firms navigate the situation from a risk management perspective. A one-size-fits-all solution does not exist, and this global challenge continues to evolve. What works today may not address tomorrow’s needs ...
It didn't take long. There are already 11 trademark applications pending in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for marks including the word "CORONAVIRUS". The first of these applications was filed on February 4, 2020, (CORONAVIRUS SURVIVAL GUIDE) and most recently on March 13, 2020 (I SURVIVED THE CORONAVIRUS/ COVID-19 OF 2020!). Certainly there will be more to follow ...
As of Monday, March 23, Virginia Governor Northam announced all public K-12 schools will remain closed through the end of the school year and many – but not all – non-essential businesses will be required to close their doors. By the end of Tuesday (11:59 p.m. on March 24) some non-essential services, including all recreation and entertainment services, are to close ...
