The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. While the following CMS recommendations and guidelines identify nursing homes as the target recipients, they are applicable to all facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds, and are therefore subject to CMS's oversight ...
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 ...
As part of Spilman’s COVID-19 Task Force, we wanted to answer the pressing questions of many employers during this growing pandemic. Employers should consider implementing strategies and policy changes to reduce the risk of infection in the workplace while still complying with their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is a developing topic, with many states imposing quarantines and Congress taking up the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ...
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government passed the CARES Act, which provides a number of protections to homeowners unable to pay their mortgages. The CARES Act prohibits any home foreclosures before December 31, 2020, and allows homeowners to seek forbearance from lenders for a period of 180 days, with one extension of 180 days. The Act applies to all federally backed mortgages ...
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have released a proposal calling on Congress to provide additional protections for consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their proposal notes that an unprecedented 22,000,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the past four weeks. Millions of them received or will receive a $1,200 stimulus check the senators argue will not cover one month of basic expenses ...
On Monday, November 1, 2021, CNBC reported the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") completed its review of OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS") that will require larger employers to either adopt a policy for mandatory employee vaccinations or an alternative allowing weekly testing and masking for all unvaccinated employees. OMB approval of the ETS is the last step prior to finalizing the rule and its publication in the Federal Register ...
On May 13, 2020, the Small Business Administration ("SBA") issued FAQ # 46 dealing with its plan to review certain PPP loans (in response to COVID-19) to determine if the “necessity” certification was made in good faith by the borrower at the time of application ...
Governor Justice has issued his plan for the scaling back of his “stay-at-home” Executive Order, otherwise known as “reopening the state.” The plan hinges on having three consecutive days where the statewide cumulative percentage of positive COVID-19 test results stays below 3 percent. Once that metric is met, there will be a phased reopening process that is optional to businesses – the plan stresses it is allowing entities to open, NOT requiring them to ...
Lawmakers and citizens across the country are engaged in disputes over the breadth and duration of shutdown orders intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Pennsylvania was the first state, however, to have a case reach the U.S. Supreme Court where, despite a setback for the petitioners when their application for stay was denied, it remains pending. And, Pennsylvania may have the distinction of the most contentious dispute, as well ...
Our COVID-19 Task Force stands ready to assist with developing your customized "playbook" for helping your business return to the new normal. Below are a few recent articles Spilman has published, along with a link to a recent webinar ...
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a further extension of certain deadlines that were about to expire on May 31. The latest order provides until July 1, 2020 for certain actions delayed due to COVID-19. For small and micro entities only, filings that would have been accepted if filed by June 1, 2020, will now be deemed timely if filed by July 1, 2020 ...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office authorized relief for trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeals Board ("TTAB") proceedings. The Notice of Waiver provides a 30-day extension of time from the initial date it was due, for deadlines falling between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020. The filing must include a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak ...
1) Publish, circulate, and implement the latest CDC, local health department, and OSHA pronouncements on maintaining a healthy worksite and make sure you are stocked on essential product (soaps and sanitizers). 2) If you plan on allowing essential vendors and other visitors to continue coming onto your property, implement a visitor policy that: Requires visitors to acknowledge they have not come into contact with anyone at risk ...
This 28th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, includes a number of updates on the mounting number of business interruption coverage disputes -- including a claim against a broker whose alleged failure to obtain infectious disease coverage left the insured without coverage for COVID-19-induced losses ...
In our 22nd edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, we see cases against employers continue to rise, and offer insight for employers to keep employees safe and simultaneously avoid lawsuits. In another notable update -- again for employers and business owners -- the Supreme Court of Virginia dismissed a case challenging the Governor's restrictions on businesses amid the pandemic ...
This tenth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, finds us reporting fewer shutdown-related cases than in previous weeks, suggesting that these cases are winding down as the country opens back up. By contrast, our prediction that workers' compensation and personal injury cases would begin to pick up with reopening appears to have borne out, with this week bringing the first reported “household exposure” claim ...
On March 18, 2020, Governor Jim Justice suspended the rule prohibiting bars and restaurants from providing beer and wine for off-premises consumption. Restaurants and bars with Class A licenses are now permitted to sell sealed bottles or cans of beer in their original containers and bottles of wine to-go so long as they are accompanied by food orders. The rule does not authorize the sale of beer growlers unless the individual possesses a beer growler license ...
The evening of April 22, Governor Wolf presented his detailed plan for reopening Pennsylvania beginning May 8, 2020. The reopening will be done in three phases: red, yellow, and green. The entire Commonwealth is currently under the red phase, which has the purpose of minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing, implementing safety protocols, and closing schools and businesses that have been deemed non-life sustaining ...
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 ...
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 ...
Restrictions related to COVID-19 have created immediate impacts for businesses of all sizes. Regardless if your industry has been directly affected by government mandates to work from home or restrict travel, it seems that no company can operate under a "business as usual" mindset over the near future ...
When much of the country locked down in March 2020, very few expected us to still be dealing with this pandemic in December 2020. And yet, here we are. In fact, coronavirus cases are rising sharply throughout much of the country, and the prospect of additional shutdowns is growing more probable by the day. Not all news is bad. Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have produced what appear to be viable vaccines that could be available as early as this month ...
With the surge of coronavirus cases across the United States, and in West Virginia, questions arise concerning compensability of work exposures. Are coronavirus claims compensable under West Virginia workers’ compensation law? The answer depends on whether the coronavirus is considered an occupational disease under West Virginia law ...
Both houses of the United States Congress have now passed the CARES Act and sent it to the President for his expected signature. Among the provisions in the 880-page Act are critical ones dealing with aid to small businesses, sole proprietors, and independent contractors ...
At Spilman, we are often asked to review the "colder" legal aspects of human events of all types. The COVID-19 pandemic will be no different. To get a jump start on some of the questions we have faced or will face, we offer some thoughts on the contractual implications of COVID-19. Over the past week, Americans have witnessed countless unprecedented responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA postponed its season. The NHL soon followed ...
