In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the business community is faced with unprecedented threats to their cyber-infrastructure and data. Sensitive data, in particular, will be vulnerable to security breaches as a result of reduced human power under emergency legislation. Moreover, criminal hackers will be looking to capitalize on such vulnerabilities at a time like this ...
The impact of Covid-19 is becoming more prevalent throughout the economic landscape of The Bahamas. Most recently, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, preventative measures involving the closure of non-essential local businesses for a specified duration were introduced by the Government in exercise of its emergency powers. This has had far-reaching effects in the employment sphere ...
In recent weeks, Governments around the world have been grappling with how best to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Bahamas is no exception. To date the Prime Minister has issued two Emergency Orders aimed at ensuring the health and safety of persons within The Bahamas ...
On Monday, 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a 21-day national lockdown in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. The lockdown will result in all employees (except those performing “essential services”) being confined to their residences and, as a result, being unable to tender services in the “normal” course ...
The Minister of Health has invoked powers under the Public Health Act, (Cap. 281) to issue rules and orders aimed at combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Uganda as below: The Public Health (Notification of COVID-19) Order, 2020 Under this Order, Covid-19 is declared a notifiable disease to which the provisions on prevention and suppression of infectious diseases under the Public Health Act (Cap. 281) apply ...
On 15 March 2020, the President of South Africa, in a national address, announced the declaration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a "national disaster". Since then, many significant consequential announcements have been made, relating to restrictions on movement, business activity, travel and other matters, all in the interests of preventing an escalation of the national disaster and alleviating, containing and minimising the effects of the national disaster ...
Now that South Africa is under lockdown for the next 21 days, as part of an organisation’s business continuity efforts, businesses will, to the extent possible, continue to run remotely. Two common legal issues that arise from remote working are: the electronic signing of agreements and instructions; and whether meetings can take place using technological means. In this article, we touch on both issues ...
It is, to say the least, an overwhelming time. On 16 March 2020, the government presented a proposal for support measures to companies and employees to mitigate the effects of the corona virus. The proposal was followed on 19 March 2020, by the bill “Additional Amending Budget due to the Corona Virus”. Read this article as a PDF here ...
The M&A market has entered a volatile period, but there are several strategies that you as a seller or buyer can use to navigate your deal through to completion. These strategies may be particularly relevant for buyers who have secured financing or large cash reserves. We also expect that it will generally be a buyer’s market for some time to come. Read this article as a PDF here. Purchase price mechanism ...
Businesses in need of capital may find themselves facing foreign investment regulatory hurdles. We discuss the challenges for businesses and the potential for regulatory relief. Australia's foreign investment regime applies very broadly and captures many transactions. As businesses consider how to respond to the demands of the current COVID-19 economic environment, they may be required to go through the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) screening regime ...
In the turmoil of adjusting and living day-to-day in this time of the COVID-19 virus, the public has become more attuned to the reality of the term “Supply Chain.” We are gaining a better appreciation that before products reach the consumer, an extensive network of shippers and transportation entities of all types and modes of commerce, as well as freight brokers and any other functions essential to the delivery cycle, are at play 24/7 ...
Decree 457 of 2020 issued a mandatory preventive isolation order for every resident of the Republic of Colombia, as a consequence of the economic, social and ecological emergency that has been declared in the national territory. In this regard, it is required to regulate the mandatory isolation ordered by Decree 092 of 2020 in Bogotá D.C ...
Late in the day on March 24, the DOL provided its first round of guidance regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). While the guidanceprovides some clarity for employers, many important questions are left unanswered. When can employees take advantage of the benefits of the FFCRA? The FFCRA takes effect on April 1 and expires on December 31, 2020 ...
The General Meeting during the State of Emergency? Can it take place? And can it be convened? Do crisis measures contain an exception for meetings of the statutory organs of the company (e.g ...
An issue concerning businesses at present is the problem of settlements between them resulting from non-culpable inability to perform contracts. This is an area that may require the Parliament’s intervention if current regulations prove insufficient. Due to the closure of anumber of facilities (restaurants, cinemas, some retail outlets), businesses are incurring huge losses ...
The awaited regulation by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment on issuance of the Certificate for emergency situations (“CES”) has been adopted through Order 791/2020 relating to the granting of emergency certificates to the economic operators whose activity is affected in the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic published on 25 March ...
On March 23, 2020 the bill on Telework was finally and completely approved by the Congress and ratified by the President of Chile. Therefore, according to transitory article number 2, this law will become valid and enforceable starting April 1st 2020. This law regulates telework in the following terms: I ...
Last week, in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Premerger Notification Office of the Federal Trade Commission (the “PNO”) announced temporary e-filing procedures for the submission of HSR filings and a temporary suspension of early termination requests. Key Takeaways: As of March 17, 2020, the PNO and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will accept only electronic submissions of HSR filings (no paper or DVD filings) ...
In the wake of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Congress sought to pass a stimulus bill designed to mitigate the negative impact on the U.S. economy of measures taken to slow the spread of the virus.Hopes of a quick passage of the bill dimmed on March 21, when the Democrat and Republican negotiators in the Senate could not agree on worker protections or stock buyback restrictions for businesses that received funding, among other issues ...
In order to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus, the Swedish government has proposed a crisis package that includes proposals for strengthening companies’ liquidity through the tax account, a new system for short-term working and the state taking over responsibility for sick-leave payment for two months. It is of course our hope that these proposals will result in most companies managing the effects of the coronavirus ...