Regarding its functions, the UPME has been monitoring the demand for electrical energy and natural gas on a daily basis, in order to identify the impact of the measures taken to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the consumption of these energies. The following conclusions have been reached from this monitoring: Energy demand fell in April by 16.92% compared to the average scenario projected by the UPME and by 11.10% so far in May ...
With Executive Order No. 2020-110, Governor Whitmer has lifted the stay-at-home order and allowed most businesses in Michigan to reopen—at least to some extent. There are still several sectors that are ordered to stay closed to the public, including non-essential personal care services (hair, nail, massage, etc.), and the Executive Order contains several other restrictions imposed on specific industries ...
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is affecting companies across the nation and around the world in a variety of ways. Dykema is closely monitoring the legal ramifications of the crisis and evaluating the potential impact to businesses in a wide variety of industries. This Quick Reference Guide is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice ...
Following the World Health Organization’s announcement of a public health emergency caused by COVID-19 and its declaration ofan international pandemic, the President of the Republic declared a state of emergency on 18 March and this lasted until 2 May. On 30April, theGovernment declared a situation of calamity and this was renewed on 15May and 29 May ...
Since the start of the spread of COVID-19 in Canada, the federal and provincial governments have announced various programs and subsidies to help Canadian businesses survive in light of the challenges posed by necessary social distancing measures, as discussed in our previous blog post here ...
This ninth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, continues to be dominated by shutdown challenges and workplace injury and wrongful death claims. But as governments discuss contact tracing as a way to control COVID-19’s spread, a data breach lawsuit against Deloitte illustrates the risks associated with creating the systems and collecting the necessary information ...
The Amendments to the Agreement on Trade in Services of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Amendment) which was signed on 21 November 2019 has come into force on 1 June 2020. Trade in Services is one of the four major areas covered by the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), under which Hong Kong service suppliers enjoy preferential treatment when entering certain service sectors in the Mainland ...
Through the recently issued Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and Interim Final Rule on Loan Forgiveness, the Small Business Association (SBA) has once again demonstrated that the contours and requirements of the PPP program are constantly evolving. The SBA’s recent Interim Final Rule on SBA Loan Review Procedures provides some insights on how the SBA will enforce PPP qualification and forgiveness requirements ...
Two years ago, the most visible and tangible impact of the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR” or “Regulation”) for individuals all around the globe was an unprecedented wave of emails from businesses changing their privacy policies and seeking consent to store and process data ...
On Thursday, May 28, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a preliminary timetable for the reopening of San Francisco businesses, restaurants, and offices. The multi-phased plan, which can be found here (“Order”), is designed to comply with the timeline and guidelines previously announced by Governor Gavin Newsom ...
As California continues to move through Stage 2 of its Resilience Roadmap, “Lower-risk workplaces,” where retail (curbside and delivery only), related logistics and manufacturing, office workplaces, limited personal services, outdoor museums, childcare, and essential businesses can now open with modifications, California employers should continue to be vigilant in assessing and complying with up to date health and safety guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Admini
The Ministry of Health, jointly with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (“IMSS”), recently published specific technical guidelines for companies and work centers to resume activities ...
Metro Manila, Regions II, III, and IV-A, and the provinces of Pangasinan and Albay (which are currently under [MECQ]) will be placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from June 1. This is based on the announcement made on May 28, 2020 by the President. Many other areas of the country which are now under GCQ will transition to Modified General Community Quarantine starting June 1 ...
States’ responses to the global pandemic may, however well-intended, harm the interests of inward investors. Under international public law, those investors have rights and so a spate of investor-State arbitral claims may well be a legacy of the pandemic. Across the world, governments have responded to Covid-19 by introducing emergency measures, which have inhibited social interaction and hampered economic activity ...
In a move that will improve the time for obtaining application approvals, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today it plans on resuming premium processing for Form I-129 (non-immigrant worker) and Form I-140 (immigrant worker) petitions in phases throughout June. On June 1, 2020, it will accept Premium Processing requests for all eligible Form I-140 petitions ...
Effective at noon today, May 29, 2020, Virginia Governor Northam's Executive Order 63 went into effect, requiring face coverings to be worn in certain circumstances. Specifically, a face covering is required for individuals aged ten and older when "entering, exiting, traveling through, and spending time inside" the following categories of businesses: All retail. Food and beverage, but only when reopened for indoor dining. Personal care/grooming - i.e ...
On May 28, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting the protections afforded to social media companies like Twitter and Facebook. The executive order was signed shortly after Twitter added fact-checking links to two of the President’s tweets regarding the efficacy of absentee voting from California. The Communications Decency Act The executive order is intended to modify Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. (47 U.S.A. § 230 ...
By a near-unanimous 417-1 vote, the House has passed the PPP Flexibility Act, which if enacted would, among other things, extend the time to utilize Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds and obtain forgiveness, allow more time to rehire employees, and allow more of the proceeds to be used for other forgivable costs besides payroll costs. The Senate will now consider the bill and may vote on it next week. A copy of the bill may be found here: https://docs ...
Key Points The Judicial Council amended Emergency Rule 9 to provide dates certain for tolling the statutes of limitations for civil actions, which are currently tolled due to the COVID-19 state of emergency. Pursuant to the amended Emergency Rule 9, the statutes of limitations applicable to CEQA actions are tolled from April 6, 2020, until August 3, 2020 ...
Business interruption insurance claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic have raised numerous questions for practitioners, businesses, and insurers ...
In Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam lawsuit the court found was based largely on a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision and thus violated the public disclosure bar. No. 3:18-cv-01496-JD, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82548, at *22–27 (N.D. Cal. May 11, 2020) ...
In times of the ongoing crisis, associated with the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and the introduction of epidemiological requirements and restrictions, many businesses have faced difficulties with contractual performance, including the failure in supply, cancellation of scheduled events and often cutbacks in profits and the impossibility to perform monetary obligations ...
In order to curb illegal importation, facilitate the sale and consumption of quality products in fulfilment of market demand and accurately assess and collect tax by the State, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) issued Notification no. 38/2020 (“Notification-38”) on 25 May 2020 to remove foreign alcoholic spirits from the import restriction list. Although Notification-38 removes foreign alcoholic spirits from the list beer remains restricted ...
On May 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued as new final rule updating various aspects of the requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The rule is effective on October 1, 2020. Banks regulated by the OCC must comply with the final amendments by October 1, 2020, January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, as applicable ...
