October 12, 2021 By: Artin Betpera Calls to reassigned numbers have presented an endless source of legal risk for any company that calls or texts consumers for informational or marketing purposes. Reassigned number class actions brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act have resulted in eight-figure settlements, and present unique challenges when defending ...
The TCPA and other related regulations over telemarketing and “robocalling” continue to evolve at a quick pace, creating uncertainty and posing challenges for any business that contacts consumers through calling or texting. This past month has seen more important developments in the wake of the Supreme Court opinion in Facebook v. Duguid, which gave us a narrow interpretation of the statutory ATDS definition ...
To implement the changes to the PPP program contained in the recently enacted PPP Flexibility Act, Treasury has issued a new Interim Final Rule (IFR). It has also issued a revised forgiveness application form, worksheet and instructions, and a new expedited (EZ) forgiveness application form and instructions that can be used by certain borrowers. Links to those documents can be found below ...
February 18, 2022 By Li-An Leonard As noted in an earlier Buchalter Client Alert, Governor Newsom and legislative leaders reached an agreement to bring back COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave in 2022. On November 9th, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 114 creating California Labor Code § 248.6 and completing the comeback of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Leave in 2022 or as referred to in this update, 2022 SPSL ...
On November 17, 2020, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an extension to the commercial eviction moratorium that had been previously enacted and extended on a month-to-month basis by mayoral declaration. The new commercial eviction ordinance (the “Ordinance”) keeps the majority of the terms of the current moratorium in effect, while providing a new four-tiered system for qualified tenants for repayment of deferred rent ...
In an update to our client alert from November 30 regarding the San Francisco commercial eviction moratorium previously passed by the Board of Supervisors, we note that, following our publication of the client alert, the Board of Supervisors, on December 1, amended the moratorium to clarify previous language on a retail tenant’s right to terminate its lease that was ambiguous ...
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 ...
November 5, 2021 By: John Epperson The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its much-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19 vaccination and testing on November 5, 2021. The ETS went into effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register with requirements phased in over 30 to 60 days ...
On July 28, the Federal Reserve announced that many of its emergency lending facilities, including the Main Street Lending Program’s New Loan Facility, Priority Loan Facility, Expanded Loan Facility, Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility and Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility, are being extended to December 31, 2020. The facilities were previously scheduled to be available until on or about September 30, 2020 ...
On July 23, SBA announced that lenders may begin submitting PPP loan forgiveness requests to SBA on August 10. To assist lenders, SBA issued a Procedural Notice with new guidance regarding lenders’ reviews of forgiveness applications. The Notice may be found here: https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/5000-20038.pdf The Notice reaffirmed forgiveness guidance and rules previously issued ...
U.S. Trademark laws are based on the premise that rights in a trademark exist so long as the mark is continuously used in interstate commerce. Once you cease use of the mark without an intention of resuming such use, the mark may be subject to cancellation or abandonment by a third party ...
September 16, 2021 By: John Epperson The COVID-19 pandemic will likely to be a concern and challenge for employers for longer than anyone had hoped or anticipated. As businesses adjust to what seems to be a “new normal” it is worth a reminder that COVID-19 infection can be a recordable illness on an employer’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) 300 Injury and Illness Log. OSHA’s recording criteria under 29 CFR 1904 ...
On July 17, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that due to a rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases in the last month, and because San Francisco was listed on the State’s County Monitoring List (the “Monitoring List”) for three consecutive days, San Francisco was halting all reopening procedures indefinitely beginning on Monday, July 20 ...
In early April as the statewide vaccination rate began to rise and major population centers across California began to see significant decreases in positive COVID cases and hospitalization rates, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the State plans to reopen in full on June 15, 2021. As of the date of this Alert, California has one of the lowest number of COVID cases per 100,000 people and the fourth lowest number of COVID hospitalizations in the United States ...
A recent opinion, 731 Market Street Owner, LLC v. City and County of San Francisco (Cal. Ct. App., June 18, 2020, No. A154369) 2020 WL 3285962 (“731 Market Street Owner”), issued by a California Court of Appeal in San Francisco provides some relief to San Francisco building owners ...
Now is the time to prepare for when non-essential businesses will be allowed to re-open after the various state and local COVID-19 shutdown orders are lifted. We do not know when that date will be or how the orders will be lifted, but planning now can make that phase go smoother for building owners and managers as well as tenants in those buildings. One thing we can be certain of is that the use and operation of buildings will not be “back to normal” for a while ...
The stock market has had record declines and many businesses are shuttered, at least temporarily. Long-term prospects may still be positive but in the near-term the value of many entities has reduced. Are there transactions that privately-held businesses and their owners could implement that would allow them to achieve long-term goals that could benefit the business, the owner, and owner’s family? We believe that there are ...
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the CARES ACT was signed into law. The Cares Act includes provisions for changing deadlines for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. For patents and trademarks, the Act permits the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to change the deadlines imposed by Title 35 of the United States Code, the Trademark Act, Section 18 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ...
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is impacting every aspect of doing business, and annual meetings of shareholders are no exception. Each corporation is required by state corporation law, and usually its own bylaws, to hold an annual meeting of its shareholders to elect the members of its Board of Directors and to conduct such other business as may be properly brought before its shareholders, with most corporations holding these meetings in March through June ...
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 ...
BT announced earlier this week that it plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030. It expects around 10,000 of these roles to be replaced by AI, particularly in customer services. BT’s recent announcement is a reminder that increased use of AI is now a key board agenda item, with businesses exploring whether they can increase efficiency and improve operations by investing in generative AI ...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, the Central Bank of the Philippines) has issued Circular No. 1105, Series of 20201 (Digital Bank Circular) dated December 2, 2020 to provide guidelines on the establishment of digital banks. This circular took effect on December 23, 2020 and was promulgated pursuant to the Monetary Board’s authority under Section 3.2(g) of the General Banking Law of 2000 to create other classes of banks ...
