With manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of consumer products facing significant issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has made clear in announcements that its mandatory safety reporting requirements remain strictly in place.
To read the full text of this Alert, please visit the firm website.
With most of the country under stay-at-home orders and practicing social distancing, COVID-19 has become a major disruptive force for the indefinite future. One of the many business areas severely hindered by COVID-19 is contractual relationships between parties. Consenting parties to a new contract may agree that a PDF signature page sent by email suffices in these times, but what about statutory requirements that have to be satisfied? Real estate deeds and mortgages generally need to be notarized to be accepted for recording and for title companies to insure them. A will or trust agreement drawn up during the pandemic may need to be notarized as well to be given effect. Usual notary requirements include in-person, physical presence before the notary. How does that work with social distancing?
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
(This is the fourth in a series on the impacts of the coronavirus on employment and the workplace. Read part one, part two and part three.)
Government and private sector businesses are moving so rapidly during the first week of the $2 trillion CARES Act, that we can already draw some lessons going forward. This is so especially for the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the main vehicle rushing funds to small businesses to stem additional layoffs and permanent business closures.
To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris attorney Michael Bernick, with comments from Nanette Heide and Sandra Stoneman, please visit the firm website.
In response to a complaint from disability advocacy groups in Washington state regarding health care rationing, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a reminder to entities covered by federal civil rights statutes of their ongoing obligation, amid the COVID-19 crisis, to prohibit discrimination on the base of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, and disability. OCR is responsible for enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The bulletin reminds covered entities that “persons with disabilities should not be denied medical care based on stereotypes, assessments of quality of life, or judgments about a person’s relative ‘worth’ based on the presence or absence of disabilities.” Continue reading “HHS Office of Civil Rights Issues Bulletin Regarding COVID-19 and Civil Rights Issues and Resource Allocation”
On Friday, April 10, 2020, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Pacific time), Duane Morris will be hosting the webinar, “Cannabis 302: The Impact of COVID-19 on the California Cannabis Market.”
Join Tracy Gallegos and Justin A. Santarosa from our Cannabis Industry Group for a discussion on how California cannabis companies are adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic by way of operational changes, such as increasing curbside and home delivery and seeking alternative sources of revenue, while responding to lease issues in relation to various eviction moratoriums and other matters.
On April 2, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 113, which authorizes the Superintendent of State Police acting as State Director of Emergency Management to “take or use personal services and/or real or personal property, including medical resources, for the purpose of protecting or promoting the public health, safety, or welfare.” Due to the “critical shortage of medical resources in the State,” it is anticipated this order will be used primarily to commandeer personal property such as medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) from businesses and institutions.
To read the full text of this Alert, please visit the firm website.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ first statewide order restricting travel outside the home went into effect April 3, 2020, with a number of provisions still subject to reasonable debate as to their effect. To clarify the impact of Executive Order No. 20-91, the Office of the Governor released a set of FAQs.
To read the full text of this Alert, which describes a number of the key takeaways from the clarifying document, please visit the firm website.
Late on Friday, April 3, the Department posted updated guidance for institutions that recognizes the regulatory flexibilities authorized by Congress in the CARES Act, but also addresses other areas including Clery Act, Distance Education, Foreign Schools and FERPA, among other issues relevant to the COVID-19 interruption.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Katherine Brodie, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will launch the application for its Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan Program on Monday, April 13, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. A link to the program application will be posted on the State’s COVID-19 Business Information Hub. To provide business owners the opportunity to prepare to apply for the loan, a .pdf version of the application will become available on Monday, April 6, 2020.
To read the full text of this blog post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.
On April 3 2020, the SBA released an interim rule with additional guidance regarding the affiliate rules applicable to the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The U.S. Department of Treasury also released interim guidance regarding the affiliation rules applicable to the PPP. As previously reported in our Alert, the program is intended to support small businesses, sole proprietors and independent contractors that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
To read the guidance and the four tests for affiliation, please review the interim rule from the SBA and the U.S. Treasury.
Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help organizations plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Nanette C. Heide, Sandra G. Stoneman, any member of the COVID-19 Strategy Team or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
