Coronavirus (COVID-19)

April 9, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

COVID-19 Employer Update: Implementing the FFCRA – What Employers Need to Know

This webinar, featuring Duane Morris partners Christopher Durham, Linda Hollinshead and Kathleen O’Malley, will be held on April 21, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

In the midst of significant operational challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are now managing employee requests for emergency sick and extended family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). Navigating the requirements of the FFCRA has been made more complex by the fact that the U.S. Department of Labor issued its Q&A Guidance in piecemeal fashion and the temporary rule implementing the FFCRA was issued April 1, 2020, the day the law went into effect. Employers have had little time to prepare for and contemplate their responsibilities under this new law and now must quickly get up to speed.

For more information or to register, please visit the Duane Morris Institute website.

April 9, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

Webinar: H-1B and Nonimmigration Visas: Lay-offs, Grace Periods and Changes in Employment Due to COVID-19

This webinar, featuring Duane Morris partners Valentine Brown, Lisa Spiegel and Ted Chiappari, will be held on April 14, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

This webinar will address various immigration issues organizations need to be aware of including:

• H-1B Work and Compensation Rules
• USCIS Updates to Processing
• Travel restrictions and available exceptions
• Immigration Strategy and Long term planning
• What if the US Postal Service suspends operation
• What if USCIS Service Centers Close
• Planning an adjudication for employer-sponsored green cards

For more information or to register, please visit the Duane Morris Institute website.

April 9, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

New York Issues Updated Guidance on the Definition of “Essential Business” and “Non-Essential Business”

On April 9, the Governor issued and updated Executive Order (202.6) to provide further guidance on determining whether a business is “Essential” (and thereby permitted to operate) or “Non-Essential” (and, thereby NOT permitted to operate).

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 by Duane Morris

Developments Regarding Animals and COVID-19

Recent reports of a Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus at that causes the human illness known as COVID-19, have focused attention on the effects that the current pandemic may have upon animals.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner John Simpson, please visit the Duane Morris Animal Law Developments Blog.

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 by Duane Morris

$6 Billion in Student Emergency Grants via Institutions from U.S. Department of Education

On April 9, 2020, the Secretary of Education announced the availability of more than $6 billion for immediate distribution to colleges and universities to provide direct emergency cash grants to college students through the authority of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the CARES Act.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Katherine Brodie, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog.

April 9, 2020August 31, 2020 by Duane Morris

What Companies Are Looking for Before You Can Come Back to Work

At some point, the biggest American companies are going to tell their employees it’s time to leave home and return to work.

That decision will be fraught with risk without widespread testing for the COVID-19 virus. For some industries, such as Wall Street banks, ubiquitous testing is essential to bringing back their workforce to offices around the globe. For other industries, such as automakers, plans are already being made to open factories as early as May.

The tension between getting up and running as soon as possible versus taking chances with the health of employees is both a moral and a legal quandry. Employers have a relatively low legal risk, but a high reputational one, if they rush people back to the office, said Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney at law firm Duane Morris who specializes in human resources and minimizing companies’ legal and business risks.

To read more of Mr. Segal’s comments, please visit the firm website. To read the full text of the article, please visit the CNBC website.

April 9, 2020 by Duane Morris

Construction and Engineering UK: Exit Strategies

It was announced on Sunday 5 April that Keir Starmer was selected as leader of the Labour Party. Whilst the current Covid-19 outbreak has no basis for political jostling, he raised a very important question, namely, what is the government’s “Exit Strategy” to eventually get us back to a sense of normality.

The point raised by Keir Starmer is of wider economic relevance. Save for key workers, most other business sector activities have come to a halt. This is largely (but not exclusively) the case for construction and engineering projects.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorneys Vijay Bange and Tanya Chadha, please visit the Duane Morris Construction Law Blog.

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 by Duane Morris

Deadline for Public Comment on Important Distance Education Rulemaking: May 4, 2020

On April 1, the U.S. Department of Education (“USDE”) published a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Distance Education and Innovation in the Federal Register. The proposed regulations are the final part of the consensus negotiated rulemaking that occurred in 2019. This regulation comes at an important time as institutions across the country are transitioning to varying forms of distance education due to COVID-19, albeit temporary or longer term.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorney Kristina Gill, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog.

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 by Duane Morris

Use of Federal Grant Funds During COVID-19: U.S. Department of Education Q&A

On April 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education published a Q&A that answers questions related to use of Department grant funds during the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with respect to compensation, travel, and conference costs that are otherwise allowable costs under applicable program statutes and regulations.

Read the factsheet at the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog post by Duane Morris partner Katherine Brodie.

April 9, 2020 by Duane Morris

Pennsylvania Governor Authorizes Emergency Management Officials to Seize Medical Supplies for COVID-19 Fight

On April 8, 2020, because of “a critical shortage of PPE, pharmaceuticals, and other medical resources,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an Executive Order to “Ensure the Efficient Allocation and Effective Use of Critical Medical Resources.” The order authorizes Pennsylvania emergency management officials “to commandeer and utilize all PPE, pharmaceuticals, and other medical resources required to respond to, provide care for those afflicted by, or otherwise prevent the spread of COVID-19 from all private, public, and quasi-public health care providers and facilities, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of PPE, pharmaceuticals, and other medical resources located within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” The order is effective immediately.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.