On April 9, the federal banking agencies issued an interim final rule to encourage lending to small businesses through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) established under the CARES Act. Specifically, the agencies are applying a 0% risk weight to PPP covered loans for regulatory capital purposes ...
We have previously reported on the Order that adopted the extraordinary measures under the COVID-19 health emergency declaration, published on March 31, 2020 (the “Order”), and the subsequent Technical Guidelines regarding certain essential activities described in the Order published on April 6, 2020. (These alerts may be found here and here, respectively ...
A recent COVID-19 outbreak at a King County, Washington state long-term care skilled nursing facility led to numerous cases and deaths among residents and visitors. Most likely as a result of continued and growing cases of COVID-19 at skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, on April 5, 2020, Cal/OSHA published Interim Guidance for Protecting Workers at Skilled Nursing and Long-term Care Facilities from Exposure to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) ...
On April 8, 2020, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2020-23 to allow certain partnerships to take advantage of tax law changes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the immediate expensing of costs related to "qualified improvement property ...
An increasing number of California cities are adopting expanded paid sick leave ordinances – or expanded application of local paid sick leave ordinances – aimed at providing paid sick leave benefits to employees affected by COVID-19 who may not be entitled to benefits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). These cities include San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose ...
Boards of education should be aware of some upcoming deadlines regarding new WV State Department Policy 3300 and the introduction of the possibility of charter schools in West Virginia. As you may recall, new WV Code Sections 18-5G-1 through 18-5G-12 establish the process by which West Virginia will consider public charter schools. The Code Sections limit the number of new schools to three until July 1, 2023 ...
Physicians and medical professionals throughout the world are facing and attempting to treat one of the most serious and deadly viruses that has affected the world in our lifetime. Medical professionals are on the front lines and in a position, despite their best efforts to protect themselves, to contract the disease. Medical professionals do not only fear for their own lives but also for the lives of their family members if they unintentionally bring this disease home ...
According to a news report published by Reuters, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has stopped sending Right to Sue letters ("RTS") to complainants for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. An RTS is a statement from the EEOC that it has concluded its investigation into a charge and is generally required for an employee to bring suit for claims of discrimination under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ...
As a result of the COVID-19, employers are being forced to reduce the size of their workforces in order to keep costs down for the duration of the pandemic and perhaps beyond. Employers can choose to either furlough employees or lay them off; however, deciding which route is best requires an analysis of the employer’s situation, as well as the needs of the employees ...
In the face of governmental orders shutting down businesses, redirecting business efforts and assets, and even seizing business property to redistribute to others, we see more and more questions about the limits of governmental authority and the remedies for affected people and businesses. Lawsuits already are being filed, and the courts undoubtedly will have to provide the answers. Click here for a more detailed discussion of COVID-19 and governmental takings ...
Many states now have Executive Orders in place either requesting or requiring employers to allow employees to work from home to the maximum extent possible. Allowing employees to work from home is new ground for many employers, so here are a few tips an employer should keep in mind and traps to avoid in order to make the adjustment easier for all involved: 1 ...
In an April 7, 2020 press release, the SEC Office of Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued two risk alerts. The first, involving examinations, focuses on compliance with Regulation Best Interest, and the second focuses on compliance with Form CRS. OCIE has released these two risk alerts to give investment advisers and broker-dealers advance notice as to what they can expect, in terms of scope and substance, during initial exams for compliance with the two initiatives ...
In the face of governmental orders shutting down businesses, redirecting business efforts and assets, and even seizing business property to redistribute to others, we are seeing more and more questions about the limits of governmental authority and the remedies for affected people and businesses. Lawsuits already are being filed, and the courts undoubtedly will have to provide the answers ...
The extensive global COVID-19 pandemic determined the states to impose restrictive measures with impact over the free movement of people and usual course of business of the economic operators. Due to the recent development of the outbreak in Romania, the Presidential Decree no. 195/16.03 ...
On April 6, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) promulgated a temporary rule (“Rule”) interpreting and giving further guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The FFCRA includes the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLA”) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSL”). The Rule clarifies a number of important threshold questions in the wake of the FFCRA’s enactment ...
When COVID-19 first hit, many employers were initially faced with the need to identify if they qualified as an essential business under the operative orders issued by the federal and state governments, and then come into compliance with safety measures, all while ensuring compliance with other requirements such as those laid out by the Americans with Disabilities Act ...
In the face of governmental orders shutting down businesses, redirecting business efforts and assets, and even seizing business property to redistribute to others, we are seeing more and more questions about the limits of governmental authority and the remedies for affected people and businesses. Lawsuits already are being filed, and the courts undoubtedly will have to provide the answers ...
On April 10, Health and Human Services (“HHS”) began providing a $30 billion portion of the latest COVID-19 relief fund to healthcare providers. Information on this funding may be found here. While the government announced this funding as coming with “no strings attached” in its April 7 briefing, the relief payment (the “Payment”) does come with certain terms and conditions that a provider must certify compliance with ...
Does the Covid-19 pandemic (or actions taken to counter the spread of Covid-19) constitute a Force Majeure in a refit/ repair contract? Is there any implied right of relief for the contractor or the owner? Under English law, unlike civil law systems, a force majeure is neither defined nor automatically applicable to commercial contracts ...
Does the COVID-19 pandemic (or actions taken to counter the spread of COVID-19) constitute Force Majeure and is there any implied remedy (e.g. implied force majeure relief) arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? Under English law, unlike civil law systems, force majeure is neither defined nor automatically applicable to commercial contracts ...
In recent weeks, and especially in recent days, we have seen the serious repercussions of the spread of COVID-19 on Quebec businesses and SMEs. Government authorities are planning financial assistance measures for businesses, and some chambers of commerce have already announced that new services will soon be offered to businesses to help them deal with the crisis. We are as yet unaware of the details of this assistance and how it will be allocated ...
On April 9, 2020, the Argentine Executive Branch issued and published in the Official Gazette Decree No. 351/2020, whereby it summons the mayors of all the country’s municipalities to control and monitor compliance with National Secretariat of Domestic Commerce’s Resolution No. 100/2020 concurrently with the national government and while health emergency lasts ...
For over 240 years, Congress has allowed citizens of different states to litigate in federal court and, for equally as long, has permitted defendants to remove such cases from state court to federal court in cases exceeding the jurisdictional minimum. Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 79 Section 12 ...
