The prosperous and globalized world as we know it has been suddenly slammed. Henry Kissinger, in his article published in WSJ on April 4, states that the historic challenge for the current leaders will be to manage the crisis while building a new future. If they fail, the world would be set on fire. He also says that nations rely on their institutions to foresee and deal with calamities, to arrest their impact and to restore stability ...
GERMAN GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO INCREASE HURDLES FOR ACQUIRING GERMAN COMPANIES IN STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT BUSINESS SECTORS On April 8, 2020, the German government adopted the draft bill of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs to amend the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz, AWG) ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a burst of COVID-19-related guidance documents to facilitate expanded availability of medical products during the current public health emergency created by COVID-19. FDA-regulated products under these temporary policies include: PPE, diagnostic tests, hand sanitizers, disinfectant devices, remote monitoring devices, ventilators, and electronic thermometers for clinical use ...
On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law a $2 trillion emergency relief bill to ease the economic impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) and support response efforts. The CARES Act[1] included an allocation of $80 million in funding to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue its COVID-19 response efforts. The additional agency funding will be used, in part, for the development of medical countermeasures and vaccines ...
Through data analysis, hospitals can track denials, improve appeals success rates and recoup revenue losses that threaten their very survival. Early last year, when Modern Healthcare reported that a deluge of reimbursement claim denials had driven U.S. hospitals toward a “crisis point,” it highlighted an alarming market imbalance between payers and providers ...
In recognition of the ability to detect the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in sewage and the critical role of basic hygiene in combatting COVID-19, the Minister of the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has published directions in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. The Directions implement the emergency procurement of water supply and sanitation services to identified areas to combat the spread of COVID-19 ...
In order to provide guidance to litigators in navigating the national state of disaster, the Chief Justice has issued two sets of directives that apply to all courts across the country. The first was issued on 17March2020, and contained provisions restricting the number of people allowed in courts and implemented decontamination and social distancing protocols. The second was issued on 17 April 2020, and is to be read in conjunction with the initial directive ...
Key Points: In most circumstances, the bankruptcy court should be a court of last, not first, resort. In certain circumstances, outlined in this article, the commencement of a bankruptcy case makes good sense. In most circumstances, because of the costs and uncertainties associated with the commencement and prosecution of a bankruptcy case, the bankruptcy court should be a court of last, not first, resort ...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is sponsoring the Save Small Business Fund—a grantmaking initiative offering short-term relief for small employers who are struggling during the COVID-19 outbreak. The fund will provide $5,000 grants to small employers in the United States and its territories that must be applied toward business expenses ...
We recently discussed how the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) allocates $100 billion to the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund, to be distributed as relief funds to hospitals and other healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response (“Provider Relief Fund”) ...
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), a historic $2 trillion relief package signed into law on March 27, 2020, seeks to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several industries ...
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the existence of a public health emergency of international importance (PHEIC) and classified the virus SARS-CoV2 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Around the world, governments and organisations are seeking to introduce contingency rules to deal with the epidemic and the disease (COVID-19) caused by it.This situation has had an enormous effect on football, with the suspension of virtually all football competitions across the globe ...
The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption of business worldwide, and many businesses and organisations will be scouring their current contracts to identify avenues of relief. In many cases, the pages containing the force majeure clause will be the first to be turned ...
Below is a summary of key new measures that have been implemented by various UAE authorities since 15 April 2020 and the time of this inBrief, 12:00 noon on Saturday, 18 April 2020. Dubai’s National Disinfection Programme extended On 17 April 2020, Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management extended the 24-hour National Disinfection Programme for another week. The programme, which began on 5 April 2020, was initially scheduled to end on 18 April 2020 ...
On 14 April 2020 the Romanian Ministry of Justice published a new draft emergency government ordinance on certain measures regarding the holding of general meetings of shareholders and meetings of the management bodies (the “EGO”). Such EGO is intended to ease the holding of such meetings in the context of the restrictions applicable during the state of emergency ...
West Virginia now has one set of social distancing rules for businesses thanks to an emergency rule promulgated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources ("DHHR"). Prior to the DHHR’s rule, local boards of health were issuing county-by-county orders that created a patchwork of similar, but different, requirements throughout the Mountain State ...
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 ...
What is it? The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a loan program geared toward small businesses dealing with the jarring disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). It is a part of the larger $2 trillion CARES Act and run through the Small Business Administration. It provides $350 billion in loans to help businesses keep their workforce employed during COVID-19 crisis. Who can apply? The PPP provides loans to business with fewer than 500 employees ...
There are some things in life everyone needs. A bathroom, for example. Moving from the construction and energy industries to a once family-owned now multibillion-dollar business, Andy Iverson says he was a perfect match to serve as general counsel for American Bath Group, a fast-paced manufacturing company looking to change the bathware industry. “I get to play problem solver,” Iverson says ...
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 ...
