On March 25, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly unanimously passed legislation providing emergency relief to Ohio municipalities, businesses, schools, and families related to COVID-19. Critical to civil litigants in Ohio, the legislation evolved to include emergency measures that will toll statute-of-limitations on forthcoming lawsuits and discovery deadlines in currently pending lawsuits ...
When Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("CRA"), it left much for the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") to explain. The DOL has started offering vital interpretations employers need to consider in making decisions over the next few weeks. 1. When does the CRA become effective? April 1, 2020. 2 ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced its temporary policy regarding environmental enforcement activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy is retroactive to March 13, 2020, and will apply for the foreseeable future, until seven days after EPA gives notice that the policy will terminate. The policy applies to actions for which EPA has federal enforcement authority ...
We knew this year was going to be an especially bad one for the flu. In its November 2019 issue, Scientific American, one of the country's leading science publications, included a twenty-page article titled "The Influenza Outlook", which highlighted the escalating threat of influenza for the year 2020. Unfortunately, at present, the emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus makes the flu pale by comparison ...
Does your organization’s insurance program provide any protection from the economic disruption caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic? What steps should you take to assess and protect that insurance coverage? The Bradley Policyholder Insurance Coverage team has provided an informative webinar addressing insurance coverage and claims adjustment for event cancellation, business interruption, and third-party claims stemming from the pandemic ...
Justice systems around the world will soon be exposed to the same pressure as is currently crushing healthcare systems in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. What can judges and advocates doto “flatten the curve” and increase the resilience of the justice system as it awaits the post-pandemic wave of disputes? Healthcare systems around the globe are wobbling, and in some states collapsing under atsunami of Covid-19 cases ...
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 ...
As if businesses did not have enough to worry about during this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s times like these when cybersecurity risk is at its peak. Distracted employees may be psychologically vulnerable to attack, and shifting quickly and unexpectedly to a remote workforce can create technology and control risks. It’s a perfect storm for cyber risk ...
INVIMA adopts measures aimed at efficiently facing the current health situation related to COVID-19, optimizing the processes that allow the commercialization of products necessary for the prevention of the virus and the evaluation of protocols to prevent it. 1. Declaration of products as Vital Unavailable. Due to the shortage of some supplies in general, the authority has declared that masks, antibacterial gel and disinfecting solutions as Vital Products Not Available ...
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection dictates measures tending to guarantee the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19 The Ministry of Health and Social Protection has issued Decree 476 of 2020 by which it has decided to make the necessary changes for regulatory requirements to have flexibility in all proceedings related with Pharmaceutical, Phytotherapeutics, Medical Devices, Biomedical Equipment, In-Vitro Diagnostic Reagents, cosmetics and products of Domestic hygie
An article establishing a procedure for the procurement of medical supplies was recently introduced. This new provision (Resolution No 53960) amended Resolution No 38941-2006-JD of February of 2006, which is the general procurement regulation for the Social Security Administration (CSS for its initials in Spanish) ...
FDA Takes Action to Increase U.S. Supplies in Response to COVID-19. The FDA took action to increase U.S. supplies to support the U.S. response to COVID-19 by providing instructions to manufacturers importing personal protective equipment and other devices. The FDA is engaging the import trade community during this pandemic to facilitate the entry of needed products, including PPE, into the U.S ...
FDA Warns Consumers About Unauthorized Fraudulent COVID-19 Products.The FDA issued a Consumer Update advising consumers to be beware of fraudulent coronavirus tests, vaccines and treatments. The FDA has seen unauthorized fraudulent test kits for COVID-19 being sold online. Currently, the FDA has not authorized any test that is available to purchase for testing yourself at home for COVID-19 ...
As a growing number of the workforce is being affected by the COVID-19 virus, employers are being asked to respond to benefit-related questions from employees. In the coming days, the Employee Benefits Group at Hanson Bridgett will be providing updated information on possible issues arising in the benefits area through Benefits Alerts and postings on Hanson Bridgett's Online COVID-19 Resource Center ...
The coronavirus (COVID-2019)[1], which today affects more than 150 countries and territories around the world, has already had, and continues to have, a significant impact on the global economy ...
In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many questions about insurance coverage. Because each policy is different, it is very difficult to generalize about insurance coverage. However, one thing we know to be true is that policyholders or insureds will be advocating for losses, primarily business losses, to be covered, while the insurance companies will be arguing the insurance policies preclude coverage either due to policy definitions or due to policy exclusions ...
A trend is emerging with recently filed litigation involving the COVID-19 pandemic. Spilman attorneys are committed to providing information that allows businesses to react as quickly as possible to avert civil litigation threats or to protect your interests through litigation. Monitoring these litigation trends will allow organizations to prepare to defend against such threats in the future or to identify and pursue civil remedies when needed ...
In a unanimous decision, the Texas Supreme Court held on March 20, 2020 that an insurance policy’s omission of an express duty to defend “groundless, false or fraudulent” claims does not preclude application of the Eight-Corners Rule. InJanet Richards, et al. v. State Farm Lloyds, No. 19-0802, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex ...
The FDA revised its guidance on postmarket adverse event reporting for medical products and dietary supplements during a pandemic to apply the guidance to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The FDA acknowledges that companies, and the agency, itself, may be hit with workforce shortages during a pandemic at the same time that adverse event reporting for products deployed for the pandemic may increase ...
The U.S ...
The FDA issued immediately-in-effect guidance to accelerate the development of certain laboratory tests for the urgent need caused by SARS-CoV-2. The FDA provides recommendations, among others, for serological tests, puts forth a policy for states to take responsibility for tests, and announces enforcement discretion for commercial manufacturers using new commercially developed tests prior to the FDA granting an emergency use authorization, under certain circumstances ...
To help prevent disruptions in the food supply-chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA issued a temporary policy for Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) supplier verification onsite audit requirements. The policy states that the FDA will temporarily not enforce FSMA supplier verification onsite audit requirements if other appropriate supplier verification methods are used instead ...
