The IRS issued a notice offering a special two-month deferral for federal income tax payments and federal income tax returns that are due April 15, 2020 (Notice 2020-18) (see our recent alert). This relief applies to all taxpayers, without requiring a written form (for example, no form 4868 or 7004 is required); the relief applies to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, LLCs, associations, and corporations ...
The CFTC recently published several no-action letters issuing temporary relief to certain market participants in response to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 ...
Thousands of disputes are dealt with by way of international arbitration every year and it is inevitable that when most countries started introducing social distancing measures, a number of arbitrations were either part heard or just about to start and will have been derailed, at least to some extent ...
COVID-19 and the sweeping government actions to curtail the effects of the virus have disrupted business activities across the globe, requiring businesses to carefully examine their existing contracts and in certain cases deliver important notices thereunder, such as notices of force majeure ...
The COVID-19 pandemic and the sweeping government action to curtail its effects across the globe has disrupted global supply chains and may continue to do so for quite some time. These constraints will strain project development timelines across the renewable energy industry ...
Last week, in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Premerger Notification Office of the Federal Trade Commission (the “PNO”) announced temporary e-filing procedures for the submission of HSR filings and a temporary suspension of early termination requests. Key Takeaways: As of March 17, 2020, the PNO and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will accept only electronic submissions of HSR filings (no paper or DVD filings) ...
As if businesses did not have enough to worry about during this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s times like these when cybersecurity risk is at its peak. Distracted employees may be psychologically vulnerable to attack, and shifting quickly and unexpectedly to a remote workforce can create technology and control risks. It’s a perfect storm for cyber risk ...
Due to the expanding impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), physical distancing and remote work policies have increased adoption by companies of electronic signature platforms such as DocuSign, Adobe Sign, SignNow, and others (hereinafter, the “platforms”) in handling internal approvals and also executing commercial documents ...
Several state and local governments have issued “shelter in place” orders and undoubtedly more will follow. All have various exemptions for “essential businesses” and many rely on exemptions outlined in the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) guidance on critical infrastructure workers ...
On March 24, 2020, Mexico’s Ministry of Health issued preventive measures, sanctioned by the President, that must be implemented by the public and private sectors for the mitigation and control of health risks associated with the disease caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus (COVID-19) ...
In the wake of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Congress sought to pass a stimulus bill designed to mitigate the negative impact on the U.S. economy of measures taken to slow the spread of the virus.Hopes of a quick passage of the bill dimmed on March 21, when the Democrat and Republican negotiators in the Senate could not agree on worker protections or stock buyback restrictions for businesses that received funding, among other issues ...
As the world changes in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, many employers will be forced to consider restructuring workforces, closing facilities and other employment-related options. But despite the unexpected nature of these difficult options, employers must nonetheless be aware of their notice requirements under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and state mini-WARN acts ...
In light of the recent economic developments stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers are evaluating their employee benefit plans and how employee and employer costs will be impacted. The following summary provides a list of questions we have been receiving from clients over the past week, along with action items to help employers address these issues. Health and Welfare Plans and Fringe Benefits 1 ...
Having begun as a fairly localized issue in the centre of China, the COVID-19 outbreak has spread rapidly across borders, significantly impacting the global economy and causing havoc in financial markets. The impact has been across all sectors, from transport and tourism to manufacturing, technology, energy, retail and beyond ...
Several state and local governments have issued “shelter in place” orders and undoubtedly more will follow.All of them have various exemptions for “essential businesses” and many rely on these exemptions as outlined in the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) guidance on critical infrastructure workers ...
FDA Takes Action to Increase U.S. Supplies in Response to COVID-19. The FDA took action to increase U.S. supplies to support the U.S. response to COVID-19 by providing instructions to manufacturers importing personal protective equipment and other devices. The FDA is engaging the import trade community during this pandemic to facilitate the entry of needed products, including PPE, into the U.S ...
FDA Warns Consumers About Unauthorized Fraudulent COVID-19 Products.The FDA issued a Consumer Update advising consumers to be beware of fraudulent coronavirus tests, vaccines and treatments. The FDA has seen unauthorized fraudulent test kits for COVID-19 being sold online. Currently, the FDA has not authorized any test that is available to purchase for testing yourself at home for COVID-19 ...
With the coronavirus outbreak, attention has been focused on the Defense Production Act of 1950 (“DPA”)[1], a statute dating back to the time of the Korean War, which authorizes the President in times of national emergency to: Make direct purchases and purchase commitments of critical supplies and services; Interrupt the normal flow of goods, even when under contract, by requiring U.S ...
The FDA revised its guidance on postmarket adverse event reporting for medical products and dietary supplements during a pandemic to apply the guidance to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The FDA acknowledges that companies, and the agency, itself, may be hit with workforce shortages during a pandemic at the same time that adverse event reporting for products deployed for the pandemic may increase ...
The U.S ...
The FDA issued immediately-in-effect guidance to accelerate the development of certain laboratory tests for the urgent need caused by SARS-CoV-2. The FDA provides recommendations, among others, for serological tests, puts forth a policy for states to take responsibility for tests, and announces enforcement discretion for commercial manufacturers using new commercially developed tests prior to the FDA granting an emergency use authorization, under certain circumstances ...
To help prevent disruptions in the food supply-chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA issued a temporary policy for Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) supplier verification onsite audit requirements. The policy states that the FDA will temporarily not enforce FSMA supplier verification onsite audit requirements if other appropriate supplier verification methods are used instead ...
On March 22, 2020, several federal financial institution regulatory agencies and state banking regulators issued an interagency statement encouraging all financial institutions to work constructively with borrowers impacted by the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) ...
In a unanimous decision, the Texas Supreme Court held on March 20, 2020 that an insurance policy’s omission of an express duty to defend “groundless, false or fraudulent” claims does not preclude application of the Eight-Corners Rule. InJanet Richards, et al. v. State Farm Lloyds, No. 19-0802, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex ...
Seemingly overnight, flights and hotels emptied, and state and local governments began ordering restaurants, gyms, bars, and other “non-essential” businesses to close or to significantly curtail operations. Unemployment skyrocketed, and businesses began calling out for relief. In response, the government has proposed multiple initiatives to help stabilize businesses hit hard by current events, especially those in the hospitality industry, many of which are also franchises ...
