Coronavirus (COVID-19)

March 21, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

Immigration Information from Canada on Closure of Land Border with the United States

Effective 11:59 p.m. EDT last night, the Canada-U.S. land border closed to all non-essential travel. This closure will initially be in effect for 30 days. Non-essential travel includes travel for tourism or recreational purposes. Trade and commerce will continue. The definition of what constitutes “essential” travel remains open to interpretation. Minister Blair today referred to “essential” as serving and keeping Canadians healthy and safe. Read the official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Jet Stigter, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Law Blog.

March 21, 2020September 2, 2020 by Duane Morris

California Education Institutions Exempted from Statewide Stay-at-Home Order

Governor Newsom’s Stay-at-Home Order requires “all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.” The Order exempted “16 critical infrastructure sectors whose . . . incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, economic security, public health, or any combination thereof.”

We all intuitively know academic institutions fit this description, and the Order agrees: “Government Facilities” are included as one of those 16 critical infrastructure sectors, and the cited-to guidance in the Order confirms that this includes an “Education Facilities Subsector [that] covers pre-kindergarten through 12th grade schools, institutions of higher education, and business and trade schools. The subsector includes facilities that are owned by both government and private sector entities.”

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris attorney Bryce Young, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED blog.

March 20, 2020 by Duane Morris

Use of E-Signatures, E-Notarizations and Remote Notarizations to Close Transactions Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak

Following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, businesses and institutions have taken sweeping preventative measures to restrict or eliminate in-person meetings and gatherings. To prevent further interpersonal spread of the virus while carrying on scheduled transactions, businesses should understand the current legal landscape governing electronic signature, electronic notarization and remote notarization laws, regulations and issues at play.

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

March 20, 2020August 31, 2020 by Duane Morris

Amidst Coronavirus Chaos, Federal Student Loan Borrowers Catch a Break

As the coronavirus continues to impact jobs and financial stability across the nation, President Trump announced Friday that he will allow federal student loan borrowers to take a break from making their monthly payments without penalty for at least the next two months. The Education Department also announced that it would set the interest rates on all federally held student loans to zero until at least May 12.

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

March 20, 2020 by Duane Morris

USTR Grants Additional Section 301 Exclusions for Medical Products Due to COVID-19

The U.S. Trade Representative has announced expanded product exclusions following both the spread of COVID-19 and the trade deal signed with China in January 2020.

Both sets of exclusions are retroactive, and refunds may be sought for products previously imported within specific time periods. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has stated that “[t]o request a refund of Section 301 duties paid on previous imports, importers may file a Post Summary Correction (PSC) if within the PSC filing timeframe. If the entry is beyond the PSC filing timeframe,” but within 180 days of the liquidation action, “importers may protest the liquidation.”

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

March 20, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

NJ COVID-19 – NJEDA Launching a Jobs and Hiring Portal for Employers needing Employees

Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will be launching a COVID-19 Jobs and Hiring Portal to help employers who have critical hiring needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the first step is to gather details on employers’ immediate hiring needs.

NJEDA now has a live intake tool for employers with urgent COVID 19-related hiring needs to complete ASAP.

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

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020 by Duane Morris

COVID-19 Guidance for Vietnam-law Employers: Remuneration Focus

COVID-19 undoubtedly has impacted your business or workforce in some way. The past period has been full of challenges for all employers as we all face the actual influence of this difficult-to-control global pandemic. Clearly, this is a unique and rapidly-developing situation.

In Vietnam, the Prime Minister formally issued Decision 173/QĐ-TTg declaring that the corona virus is an epidemic (issued 1 Feb 2020 and effective on same date). With a focus on remuneration payment to employees during the epidemic season, this article is provided based on current laws and, where relevant and available, Government ad-hoc policy and guidance.

To read this full blog post by Duane Morris partner Giles Cooper, please visit the Duane Morris Vietnam Blog.

March 20, 2020 by Duane Morris

How Business Leaders Can Help Fight COVID-19

With 185 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 22 counties in Pennsylvania, state Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, is calling on business leaders to do their part to help stem the progress of the virus, including shutting down. […]

Jonathan Segal, an attorney with Duane Morris LLP, said there are numerous factors that a company must consider when dealing with the various COVID-19 preventative measures, and reminded business leaders to remember they are dealing with human beings.

His first recommendation is for companies to have a rapid response team to handle any coronavirus concerns. The team should be made up of a diverse group of leaders within a company – ideally with representation from human resources and someone with a health care background – to focus on ways to handle any cases of exposure, or possible exposure within the workplace.

To read the full text of this article, please visit the Lehigh Valley Business website.

March 19, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

Pa. Governor Wolf Mandates the Closure of Physical Sites for All but Life-Sustaining Businesses

Per the Philadelphia Business Journal, Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday afternoon ordered “all non-life-sustaining businesses” in Pennsylvania to close their physical locations beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday for an undetermined amount of time.

He also said enforcement for non-compliant businesses would begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

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

The state has provided a document to determine whether a business is considered a “life-sustaining business.”

March 19, 2020September 1, 2020 by Duane Morris

Heating Up: New Orleans-Based Oceana Grill Seeks Insurance Coverage for Coronavirus-Caused Business Interruption

In the first of what will likely be an exponentially growing tide of businesses turning to insurance coverage for financial relief from the economic downturn caused by the global coronavirus pandemic and response, on March 17, 2020, a restaurant filed a lawsuit seeking business interruption insurance coverage for alleged losses caused by executive orders issued by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. In Cajun Conti LLC, et al. v. Certain Underwriters, et al., the plaintiff-restaurant (“Oceana Grill”) filed its lawsuit seeking coverage under an alleged “all risks” commercial property insurance policy that Oceana Grill purchased from the defendant-insurer. Oceana Grill alleges that the policy provides “property, business personal property, business income and extra expense, and ordinance or law coverage” caused by “all risks” unless specifically excluded (unlike a “specified” or “named” “perils” policy, which provides coverage for loss resulting from specific, named risks).

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