Employers who may be trying to proceed with PERM applications for foreign national workers are in an uphill battle. With layoffs, furloughs and unemployment at all time highs, the Department of Labor is on high alert for unsuspecting PERM employers who are trying to do the right thing under difficult circumstances.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Valentine A. Brown, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Law Blog.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, changed the 2020 required minimum distribution (“RMD”) rules for any defined contribution retirement plan subject to RMD payments (such as an IRA or 401(k)). If you would have otherwise been subject to a mandatory RMD, you may choose to forgo those distributions for the 2020 year.
To read the full post by Duane Morris attorney Joanna Lardin, please visit the Duane Morris Private Client Services Blog.
Judge J. Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York found the United States Department of Labor exceeded its authority when it limited eligibility to leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The decision affects employers in New York (unless the court issues a stay pending appeal) and vacates the definition of “health care provider” and provisions regarding leave eligibility if an employer does not have work for the employee, intermittent leave approval of the employer and providing leave documentation prior to taking FFCRA leave.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
On August 7, 2020, Governor Murphy announced the Small Landlord Emergency Grant (SLEG) Program, which will reimburse small residential rental property owners for lost rent revenue due to COVID-19 between April and July 2020. The program is structured to pass the benefit on to their tenants by requiring forgiveness of certain outstanding back rent and late fees. The rent forgiveness is in exchange for landlords receiving these funds from the state
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.
The automotive industry in North America is undergoing a time of unprecedented change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) effective July 1, 2020. On top of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the North American auto industry must contend with new rules of origin, labor value content (LVC) mandates, and steel and aluminum content requirements that are set forth in the new USMCA.
A recent webinar by the international business magazine Mexico Now examined how these issues are affecting the Mexican automotive industry in particular. During this webinar, valuable insights were provided by key industry figures. To read the full text of this Alert, which includes our summary of the webinar, please visit the firm website.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is dedicating approximately $10.5 million in equity grants to Career and Technical Education Centers (CTC) to assist them in implementing public health and safety plans and help them to resume operations.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.
A study conducted by the National Veterinary School in Alfort, France, suggested that dogs trained in some form of olfactory detection, such as explosives or narcotics, could be trained to detect, with reasonable accuracy, the SARS-CoV-2 virus in samples of human axillary perspiration (underarm sweat), thus suggesting the potential of sniffer dogs as a screen for the COVID-19 disease. That approach has been deployed at the Dubai International Airport (DXB).
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner John Simpson, please visit the Duane Morris Animal Law Developments Blog.
On April 9, 2020, Governor Baker issued an emergency order, mandating that insurers cover all medically necessary emergency department and inpatient services costs of COVID-19 treatment at both out-of-network and in-network hospitals and other medical facilities, without any cost to the patient, setting the OON reimbursement rate at 135% of Medicare, and prohibiting providers from balance billing. The Governor appears to have relied on § 7 of the Massachusetts emergency preparedness and response law in issuing the Order. Section 7 gives the Governor broad powers during a state of emergency, including “[r]egulation of the business of insurance and protection of the interests of the holders of insurance policies and contracts and of beneficiaries thereunder and of the interest of the public in connection therewith.”
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorney Emmy Monahan, please visit the Duane Morris Health Law Blog.
On July 30, the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (the Panel) heard oral argument of extraordinary length on the potential consolidation of all the federal cases involving business interruption coverage relating to COVID-19 and/or the COVID-19 shut-down orders. There are some 449 such federal cases, approximately 200 of which are putative class actions.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Damon Vocke, please visit the Duane Morris Insurance Law Blog.
As of July 31, 2020, Philadelphia City officials have extended the City’sresidential eviction moratorium in Philadelphia until March 15, 2021.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.
