In the age of social distancing, it is about time the law is changed to allow wills to be executed electronically.Ingenious lawyers all over the Commonwealth are dreaming up rigmaroles for the signing of wills amid the pandemic. An English law firm has suggested that the will be signed at a park bench, with witnesses lurking nearby, ready to rotate around the document ...
On June 1, 2020, the Ministry of Popular Power for Health (MPPS) issued Resolution No 090, which establishes the health regulations for social responsibility in the face of the pandemic called Coronavirus (Covid-19) in order to mitigate and eradicate the virus infections within the national territory. Said Resolution was published in the Official Gazette No. 41,891 dated June 1, 2020 ...
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
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 ...
Last year, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Andrei Iancu noted that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to “fundamentally chang[e]” “the legal concepts of inventor or author.”[i] The USPTO recently had cause to consider this issue. On petition, the USPTO considered whether an applicant can name an AI program as an inventor on a patent application ...
The following are general considerations for health care employers who are strategizing their employees’ return to work. Note that each employer and health care environment is different and will need a specifically tailored plan. Further, there is a wealth of detailed guidance regarding various aspects of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, including detailed guidance regarding proper PPE and patient treatment ...
The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (“SUPPORT Act”)[1] was enacted on October 24, 2018. Among other things, the SUPPORT Act amended the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (“Sunshine Act”)[2] to expand the definition of “covered recipients”[3] for payment tracking and reporting purposes ...
Federal and state government enforcers have been turning their focus to nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and other long-term care facilities. While this enforcement priority is not tied specifically to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities can expect additional scrutiny as they are considered “ground zero” for infections ...
As states are beginning to open back up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are still at the highest risk of infection and should continue to be cautious. One-third of all COVID-19 deaths are attributed to long-term care residents and workers.[1] Facilities need to take steps to manage the spread of the disease and protect their residents and staff as states begin to allow more flexibility around long-term care quarantine practices ...
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 ...
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 ...
As an update to our April 24 alert, the United States Health and Human Services Department (“HHS”) has continued to provide a string of updates over the past month regarding the funds allocated to provide financial relief for eligible health care providers by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act ...
On May 26, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the formation of new Congregate Care Unified Response Teams to test residents and staff members in Ohio's nursing homes. Ohio Department of Health (“ODH”) Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH, subsequently issued a Director’s Order on May 27, 2020 requiring all nursing homes to cooperate with this testing ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 13, 2020 enhanced penalties for infection control survey non-compliance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] On June 1, 2020, CMS announced significant changes related to nursing home surveys. The new changes require states to complete 100 percent of their Focused Infection Control nursing home surveys by July 31, 2020 ...
The Ohio House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favor of House Bill 606, known as the “Good Samaritan Expansion Bill.” The bill grants temporary immunity from civil liability and professional disciplinary actions to a wide range of health care providers for injury, death, or damages arising from health care services rendered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Congress passed legislation amending the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) in hopes of making the program more useful to small businesses. Prior to the amendment, the PPP required loan proceeds to be spent during an eight-week covered period for a loan to be eligible for forgiveness. Additionally, 75 percent of the proceeds had to be used on payroll costs, so only 25 percent could be spent on certain eligible non-payroll expenses (e.g ...
On June 2, 2020, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH, issued a new comprehensive order permitting all surgeries to resume, effective immediately ( Surgery Resumption Order). The Surgery Resumption Order is available here. We have previously written about the March 17, 2020 ODH order that cancelled all non-essential or elective surgeries and procedures that use personal protective equipment (PPE) ...
Key Points A five bill, California Senate housing package heads to Appropriations after unanimously passing key committee votes last week. CEQA streamlining, increasing density, and affordable housing remain top priorities, including one bill seeking to incentivize commercial use conversion to residential use ...
On 7 April 2020, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Health, adopted the Covid-19 Working Hours Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the Working Hours Regulation), which allows exceptions to the Working Hours Act for a limited period of time from 10 April 2020. 1 ...
