Wisconsin Supreme Court Declares Safer at Home Order Invalid and Unenforceable – Now What?

The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the state’s stay-at-home order on May 13, concluding that Secretary of Health Services Andrea Palm overstepped her statutory authority when she issued the Safer at Home Order on April 16, 2020. The lawsuit, filed by the Wisconsin Legislature, challenged the validity of the Safer at Home Order on technical grounds, arguing that, because Secretary Palm did not comply with the statutory rulemaking procedures, it was unlawful. The Court agreed and struck down the order, which, among other things, prohibited nonessential travel and shuttered nonessential businesses through May 26, 2020.

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

Maryland Governor to Lift Stay-at-Home Order; Limited Businesses Permitted to Reopen, Subject to Local Orders

On May 13, 2020, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that effective Friday, May 15, 2020, at 5:00 p.m., he will lift the stay-at-home order that has been in place in the state since March 30, 2020, and will permit certain businesses to reopen with limitations. The announcement marks the launch of stage one of the state’s three-stage recovery plan that Governor Hogan announced on April 24, 2020.

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

 

Pennsylvania Plan Allows Reopening of Construction, Vehicle Dealerships and Real Estate Industry

While Governor Wolf extended the “Stay at Home” order until June 4, 2020, by amendment to his earlier order, he also updated guidance on opening businesses in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is employing a regional and industry-specific approach to reopening “non-life-sustaining” businesses.

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

Pennsylvania Extends Stay-at-Home Order Until May 8, but Eases Some Restrictions

On April 20, Governor Tom Wolf extended Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order until May 8, 2020.

The governor indicated he would be using a region-by-region approach that is data-driven and will include strict social-distancing measures as he considers reopening parts of Pennsylvania.

However, he announced three actions that offer some flexibility to businesses, including permitting curbside pickup of orders at state liquor stores, allowing auto sales online and opening what he said were limited construction activities statewide. More specific guidelines will be released at a later date.

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

Florida Governor Clarifies Terms of First Statewide Safer-at-Home Order

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.

Major Retailers Furlough Employees

Some of America’s most prominent publicly traded retailers announced that they would furlough bricks-and-mortar employees as the economy has frozen due to stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

[…]

According to the United States Department of Labor report on weekly claims that was issued April 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims during the week ending March 28 was 6,648,000, which is an increase of 3,341,000 from the previous week’s level. In California, the state’s Employment Development Department reported 878,727 unemployment-insurance claims for the week ending March 28. Claims for the week ending March 21 were reported at 186,333. According to Dominica Anderson, partner and team lead for Fashion, Retail and Consumer Branded Products at law firm Duane Morris LLP, much uncertainty remains regarding the future of brands in the apparel industry.

“When you look at the financial impact, I’ve read that reports show some companies are self-reporting that they may take up to a 15 percent hit, others are speculating they will have an 85 percent reduction in profit. Those are pretty big swings,” she said. “In the near future, we’re going to see a larger number of the unemployment applicants from the fashion industry.”

To read the full article, visit the California Apparel News website.

Florida Governor Issues Statewide Order Restricting Activities Outside the Home

State and local responses to the COVID-19 pandemic seem to be changing by the day. Case in point: On March 30, Florida’s governor issued a stay-at-home order of sorts, but only for four counties in South Florida. On April 1, though, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order No. 20-91, the most sweeping, statewide edict concerning Florida’s response to COVID-19 to date.

Though comprehensive in terms of geographical scope, the extent to which the order will fully yield the benefits of a true “stay-at-home” order remains to be seen, since it does not order all Florida residents to actually stay home or “shelter in place.” Instead, Executive Order No. 20-91 mandates that “all persons in Florida shall limit their movements and personal interactions outside of their home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities.” (Emphasis added.)

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

Florida Governor Issues Stay-at-Home Order—But Only for Southeast Florida

On March 30, 2020, the Office of the Governor of the State of Florida issued Executive Order 20-89, the most recent step taken by Governor Ron DeSantis to deal with the spread of COVID-19 throughout Florida. The order essentially directs the counties comprising South Florida (and neighboring Monroe County) to restrict public access to nonessential businesses and facilities until at least April 15, 2020. While other states adopting “stay-at-home” orders have done so on a statewide basis, this order is limited to four counties in southeast Florida. Despite calls for the governor of the country’s third-most populous state to implement the restrictions across the state, he has not done so—yet.

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

Annual Meetings When Your Stockholders Cannot Actually Meet

Millions of stockholders of Delaware corporations are currently under some form of “stay-at-home” restrictions, and applicable guidelines from health officials limit gatherings to no more than 5-10 people, each of which have to be at least 6 feet away from one another.  These safety protocols, while necessary, make it essentially impossible to convene annual stockholders’ meetings as has been traditional–in person.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Richard Renck, please visit the Duane Morris Delaware Business Law Blog.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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