The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a series of memoranda that discloses the department’s enforcement priorities and provides public guidance related to the ongoing coronavirus crisis ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed and lowered revenues, creating an unprecedented period of fiscal uncertainty for borrowers of tax-exempt debt. Borrowers forced to navigate these conditions may request lenders defer scheduled debt payments to help weather the storm. Borrowers and lenders of tax-exempt debt must be mindful that a deferral of scheduled payments may endanger the debt’s tax-exempt status ...
On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a temporary rule regarding the implementation of the emergency paid sick leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave (“EFMLA”) requirements established by the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The DOL temporary rule covers significant ground in terms of delineating workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities under the FFCRA ...
The Novel Coronavirus continues to disrupt nearly every industry, including our own. In response to this and the various hardships and logistical headaches it has created, the SEC has issued certain exemptions affecting filing and delivery deadlines. For more information on this, see SEC Corona Virus Response. However, on April 2, the SEC announced that is not planning any similar actions regarding the implementation of Regulation Best Interest or Form CRS ...
On March 25, 2020, Governor Jim Justice signed into law House Bill 4925, which will take effect June 2, 2020. HB 4925 (W. Va. Code 18-2-25) provides that any student receiving home instruction pursuant to W. Va. Code 18-8-1(c), for at least one year proceeding the year proposing to be eligible, shall be eligible for participation in interscholastic athletic events and other extracurricular activities of public secondary schools serving the attendance zone in which the student lives ...
Although some industries have halted all non-essential work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many patent and trademark offices around the world have remained open and operational, largely due to electronic filing capabilities ...
Section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) (H.R. 748) offers a refundable credit against an eligible employer’s share of Social Security payroll taxes (6 ...
In a recent article, we discussed government efforts to combat fraud in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a number of government enforcement actions, including the marketing of coronavirus treatments;selling toothpaste, dietary supplements, creams and other products as treatments to prevent and cure the coronavirus; andprice-gouging on health and safety products. On March 31, 2020, the U.S ...
Building on previously announced waivers and emergency rulemaking, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional waivers on March 30, 2020, to provide hospitals, health systems, and many other providers with “maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ...
President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which will become effective on April 1, 2020 and expire on December 31, 2020. It includes guidance on which employees of private companies qualify for paid sick leave and Emergency FMLA Expansion to care for themselves and/or loved ones during the COVID-19 Pandemic. To discern if your employees qualify, please consult the flow chart below ...
Analysis: United States ex rel. Druding v. Care Alternatives, Inc. (3rd Circuit) • Winter ex rel. United States v. Gardens Reg’l Hosp. & Med. Ctr., Inc. (9th Circuit) In recent decisions this month, the Third and Ninth Circuits reversed defense victories predicated on the “objective falsity” standard under the False Claims Act (FCA). See United States ex rel. Druding v. Care Alternatives, Inc., No. 18-3298, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 6795 (3d Cir. Mar ...
On March 25, 2020, Governor Jim Justice signed into law House Bill 4497, which shall be known as The Alex Miller Law. The Alex Miller Law will take effect June 5, 2020, but the mandated requirements do not take effect until the 2021-2022 school year. Alex Miller, was a Roane County football player who collapsed and died during a high school football game. The Alex Miller Law (W. Va. Code 18-5-25c) requires defibrillators (AED devices) at certain events by the 2021-2022 school year ...
As U.S. hospitals and health clinics continue preparing for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patient surges, federal regulatory agencies are developing resources to help health care providers comply with myriad regulatory requirements. In this context, the U.S ...
In an effort to streamline the provision of COVID-19 patients’ Protected Health Information (PHI) to public health authorities, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently published practical guidance explaining the methods by which Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Covered Entities may disclose COVID-19 patient PHI to law enforcement, first responders, and public health authorities ...
Unclassified defense technical data that is properly secured with end-to-end encryption is no longer considered an export when it is transmitted outside the U.S., as of March 25, 2020. Access to the unencrypted data by an unauthorized foreign person, however, remains an ITAR-controlled export. This change resulted from an Interim Final Rule coming into effect from the U.S ...
A quick legal reference for banks supporting small businesses Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020, contains significant relief for small businesses affected by the national emergency declaration related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the aggressive actions taken by state governments across the nation to combat the spread of the virus ...
The current coronavirus crisis has created unprecedented challenges for those in the construction industry. While many states have exempted construction activities from their shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, projects have nonetheless been impacted and cash flow from owners or contractors may slow or halt. As a result, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers must be vigilant to protect their ability to receive payment on projects where cash flow might become problematic ...
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced a period for public comment on excluding medical goods from Section 301 China tariffs if they are needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The USTR notice was published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2020. The USTR previously granted approximately 200 exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for medical goods because they are needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S ...
Dinsmore Intellectual Property Partner Adrian Cyhan and Christopher Smith of Brooks Kushman wrote the following article, "Dawn of a New Era: Licensing Standards in the Coming Age of 5G" for The Licensing Journal. 5G: What’s the Big Deal? The advent of 5G cellular wireless technology represents a major advance in speed and bandwidth of wireless communications ...
The prospect of compliance disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to create a temporary policy outlining its enforcement discretion against certain regulated entities. As this is a federal policy, some entities may not enjoy the same enforcement discretion at their state and local level ...
The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020 and provides emergency relief for the American economy by imposing certain restrictions on eviction, forbearance for certain loans, and foreclosure relief for owners of single-family and multi-family assets secured by federally-insured mortgages. The following is a summary of the relevant provisions. A ...
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) is designed to help employees and employers by providing paid sick and family leave reimbursed through a refundable tax credit for private employers, in addition to other relief. The FFCRA provides two types of paid leave to covered employees: paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and expanded family and medical leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA) ...
With the onset of COVID-19, certain areas of academic and government-fueled research are exploding. However, universities and governments at all levels are also scaling down nonessential research tasks and limiting the enrollment of essential new human subjects or new animal experiments.[1] Similarly, private companies may be suspending or cancelling their research projects in an attempt to conserve financial resources and accommodate researchers working from home ...
On March 25, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly unanimously passed legislation providing emergency relief to Ohio municipalities, businesses, schools, and families related to COVID-19. Critical to civil litigants in Ohio, the legislation evolved to include emergency measures that will toll statute-of-limitations on forthcoming lawsuits and discovery deadlines in currently pending lawsuits ...
As the impact of the coronavirus continues to grow and develop, government watchdogs are on high alert for fraud and scams that may arise. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr asking him to establish a nationwide task force to monitor and investigate fraud under the False Claims Act (FCA) ...