After the nearly $350 billion in funds allocated to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the CARES Act were depleted in mid-April, Congress has approved an additional $310 billion in funds for the program. These additional funds arrive after a wave of backlash over certain businesses, such as national chains, received PPP loans ...
On April 26, 2020, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance to add six new symptoms of COVID-19. Based on this update, individuals should be cognizant of the new symptoms while self-monitoring for COVID-19 and employers should update their employee health screening procedures ...
World: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted all destinations worldwide to introduce restrictions on travel, research by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has found. This represents the most severe restriction on international travel in history and no country has so far lifted restrictions introduced in response to the crisis. Following up on previous research, the latest data from the United Nations specialised agency for tourism shows that 100% of destinations now have restrictions in place ...
Governor Justice has issued his plan for the scaling back of his “stay-at-home” Executive Order, otherwise known as “reopening the state.” The plan hinges on having three consecutive days where the statewide cumulative percentage of positive COVID-19 test results stays below 3 percent. Once that metric is met, there will be a phased reopening process that is optional to businesses – the plan stresses it is allowing entities to open, NOT requiring them to ...
The COVID-19 spread in Indonesia has caused several institutions in Indonesia to make certain adjustments, including in to hearings in district courts. On 23 March 2020, the Supreme Court issued Circular Letter No. 1 of 2020 on Guidance for the Implementation of Work during the Prevention of the Spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) within the Supreme Court and the other Courts, as was later amended by Circular Letter No ...
President Joko Widodo has finally declared the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) a National Disaster under Presidential Decree No. 12 of 2020 (“PD 12/2020”) which was issued on Monday, 13 April 2020. Through PD 12/2020, the President has strengthened the role of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana/ “BNPB”) as the COVID-19 Task Force (Gugus Tugas Percepatan Penanganan Coronavirus 2019) ...
It is evident that the current lockdown is having an unprecedented slowdown in the movement of persons between EU Member States. This is not due to a restriction which was imposed by the EU itself but because of the restrictions which the Member States themselves imposed through their respective Public Health officials. It is noticeable that the legal restrictions on immigration were driven by the Member States' individual rules rather than by a general guideline from the EU ...
With the number of cases continuing to increase exponentially on a daily basis, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) has now been determined a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has affected at least 213 countries across the world. On 2 March 2020, the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo announced the country’s first confirmed case ...
Another week brings another round of COVID-19-related lawsuits. We are identifying some early trends and provide a synopsis of the more relevant lawsuits below. Will nursing homes be overwhelmed by wrongful death lawsuits? The daughter of a woman suspected to have died from COVID-19 has filed a wrongful death suit against the company who owns the Life Care Center of Kirkland where her mother was a resident ...
The Small Business Administration emphasizes that businesses who participate in the Paycheck Protection Program must make a good faith certification that the loan request is “necessary” to support ongoing operations due to the current economic uncertainty ...
On April 23, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidance that permits employers to test employees for COVID-19. In an update to its publication, “What You Should Know about COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO Laws,”[1] the EEOC advised that an employer “may choose to administer COVID-19 testing to employees before they enter the workplace to determine if they have the virus ...
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act allocated $100 billion to the United States Health and Human Services Department (“HHS”) to provide financial relief for eligible health care providers. The first $30 billion of what is now known as the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund was released earlier in April. This initial wave was allocated among providers in proportion to their 2019 Medicare fee-for-service payments ...
Key Points A discharge of pollutants to groundwater may require a permit under the Clean Water Act. The new “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” test will be difficult to apply. It will be a long and arduous process to reach uniformity as agencies, courts, and the regulated community try to figure out how to proceed on a case-by-case basis. On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court published its much-awaited opinion in County of Maui v ...
Key Points: New guidance from the SBA clarifies the "necessity" requirement for PPP loans. Start-ups should proceed with caution when planning to apply for a PPP loan. Since the passage over the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES ACT (the “Act”) start-ups and emerging companies have received mixed signals and guidance regarding their eligibility for loans and loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") ...
Since the passage over the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES ACT (the “Act”) start-ups and emerging companies have received mixed signals and guidance regarding their eligibility for loans and loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") ...
In a turn of events, likely in response to the headlines relating to companies and others returning PPP loan proceeds, on April 23, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of the Treasury updated the Paycheck Protection Program Loans Frequently Asked Questions to include Question 31, which has been seen by many as a change in eligibility. The CARES Act specifically suspended the SBA 7(a) loan program requirement that borrowers be unable to obtain credit elsewhere ...
On April 24, 2020, Governor Whitmer reaffirmed the stay-at-home measures set forth in Executive Order 2020-42, amended the scope of that order, and extended the duration of such measures through May 15, 2020 (unless modified earlier). While many of the restrictions from her prior executive orders remain in place, Executive Order 2020-59 includes some easing of in-person operation restrictions as well as some corresponding requirements for those operations ...
The CREG granted the possibility to defer the payment obligations of the marketers invoiced by XM S.A. E.S.P in their ASIC and LAC functions ...
The Public Utilities Superintendence submitted to the CREG concerns provided by public utility providers with respect to the provisions of Resolution 058 of 2020. In this regard, the main concern was that both workers in charge of measurement and users have shown reticence regarding the performing of consumptions measurements due to the high possibility of COVID 19 infection ...
On 23 April 2020, the Municipal Court in Prague issued a judgment upholding the petition for annulment of certain measures of the Ministry of Health issued in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. With effect from 27 April 2020, the Court annulled two extraordinary measures of the Ministry of Health of 17 April 2020 and 26 March 2020 on the restriction of retail sales and two extraordinary measures of the Ministry of Health of 15 April 2020 and 23 3 ...
This is a briefing on the following issuances as of April 19, 2020 in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. Extension of Periods for the Filing and Submission of Various Documents and Payment of TaxesB. Mandatory Disclosure of Personal Information of COVID-19 Patients C. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Issuances D. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, the Central Bank of the Philippines) Issuances E. Insurance Commission (IC) Issuances F ...
The government announced that as of 20th April 2020, masks (or alternative face protections) are mandatory when going outside (for authorised reasons only) when the required interpersonal minimum distance of 2 meters cannot be guaranteed. This measure is also applicable in the work environment. On 17th April 2020, a new grand-ducal regulation introducing a series of health and safety measures to fight against Covid-19 entered into force ...
With nearly five years of enforcement experience since the coming into effect of the Competition Ordinance (Ordinance), on 16 April 2020, the Hong Kong Competition Commission (Commission) published a revised Leniency Policy for Undertakings Engaged in Cartel Conduct (Leniency Policy for Undertakings) and introduced a new Leniency Policy for Individuals Involved in Cartel Conduct (Leniency Policy for Individuals) (collectively, Leniency Policies) ...
On 1 October 2019, Hong Kong and the PRC brought into force the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Arrangement). The Arrangement empowers the courts of both jurisdictions to award interim measures in support of arbitration seated in the other territory ...
In X v Jemmy Chien, HCCT 31/2019 the Plaintiff applied to set aside an arbitration award on the ground that there was no valid arbitration agreement between the Plaintiff and Defendant. The Plaintiff’s case was that the Defendant was not the true party to the Service Agreement containing the arbitration agreement, as he had signed it as agent for another (Chen) who was the principal and true party to the Service Agreement ...
