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Tag: covid19
Waller | March 2020

Welcome to PointByPoint. Conversations, interviews and legal commentary for today's business professionals. In this episode, Waller’s Mark Peters talks with employment attorney Kierstin Jodway about two of the major federal stimulus packages related to the coronavirus and what it means for businesses. Here is a transcript of the conversation: Mark Kierstin, thanks for being with us today ...

Waller | March 2020

The Federal banking agencies recently issued an interim final rule (Regulatory Capital Rule: Revised Transition of the Current Expected Credit Losses Methodology for Allowances) permitting banks to mitigate the effects of the current expected credit loss, or CECL, accounting standard. Introduced in 2016 by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, CECL replaces the incurred loss methodology for financial assets and requires banks to recognize lifetime expected credit losses ...

Waller | March 2020

Now that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) has been signed into, law, small businesses may be wondering what they can do to get a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan into their bank accounts as soon as possible so they can pay employees. In case you missed it, check out our bulletin here for a detailed description of the terms and conditions of and eligibility for these very favorable loans ...

Waller | March 2020

On March 30, 2020, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued Executive Order No. 21, an order amending Executive Order No. 17 to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by limiting non-essential services and gatherings. The order expands the list of businesses and venues that perform close-contact personal services that are required to close to the public. The Order also amends the effective date in Executive Order No ...

Waller | March 2020

Zoom, the social platform which has become nearly ubiquitous in the past few weeks, has unintentionally introduced the world to a new term: “Zoom Bombing." Millions of people are struggling to maintain some semblance of normalcy as they continue to engage in personal and business interactions while simultaneously practicing social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic ...

Waller | March 2020

Beginning on March 24, the Department of Labor (DOL) has been steadily releasing information and guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). We have been reviewing those releases to find the important information employers need to comply with the FFCRA and have summarized our analysis below ...

Waller | March 2020

Just 24 hours after the President signed the CARES Act into law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the scope of its Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to include additional Part A providers and Part B suppliers. CMS outlined the program expansion in a fact sheet. The accelerated payments are intended to provide immediate cash flow relief to providers and suppliers focused on treating the flood of COVID patients ...

Waller | March 2020

Many governmental authorities across the country have ordered “nonessential” businesses to shut down because of the COVID-19 crisis. Many business owners are asking what that means for the business income losses that they are forced to endure and whether insurance will cover those losses. Most property insurance policies that offer business interruption coverage provide some form of “civil authority” coverage ...

Waller | March 2020

Rural and community hospitals could fill a major gap in a healthcare system that will likely be overloaded, in varying degrees, for at least the next 18 months due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Congress is in the process of passing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“the Cares Act”) that provides unprecedented relief designed to help business in general, but specific allocations for hospitals ...

Waller | March 2020

Is now a time to think a bit differently about an old topic? Let’s see. This short article does not make that decision for your business or client. It does provide the reasons to consider it. Until the aftermath of COVID-19 passes through the American workforce, businesses experiencing coronavirus-related economic hardships will face difficult decisions. These include whether to furlough or layoff employees—an already challenging question ...

Waller | March 2020

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, thousands of companies quickly reorganized to enable employees to work from home for the foreseeable future ...

Waller | March 2020

Two days after issuing its initial FAQ about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Department of Labor (DOL) has updated the list, including adding 23 new questions. We will have full coverage of the updated FAQ soon ...

Waller | March 2020

More and more states, counties and municipalities are issuing “stay-at-home” orders or directives recommending, and sometimes requiring: non-essential travel be limited; non-essential businesses temporarily close; or people generally remain at home ...

Waller | March 2020

Yesterday, the SEC issued updated guidance regarding public company reporting obligations in light of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) ...

Waller | March 2020

As of March 19, 2020, the requirement to receive a certificate of need (CON) prior to increasing bed capacity has been temporarily suspended byTennessee Executive Order No. 15(the “Order”) ...

Waller | March 2020

Late Tuesday night, the Department of Labor issued an official Frequently Asked Questions in regards to the recently passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act. READ NOW: Our complete Families First coverage Here are a few key takeaways: The effective date of the Act is April 1, 2020 ...

Waller | March 2020

Employers are grappling with increasingly difficult decisions as COVID-19 changes our labor force and the ways we work in profound ways. Below are various benefits-related issues and solutions to consider, amidst a rapidly shifting legislative environment: 401(k) loans and hardship distributions:Most 401(k) plans allow in-service withdrawals in the event of financial hardship ...

Waller | March 2020

Waller’s Financial Technology practice has been providing advice to processors, banks, ISOs, financial technology providers, merchants and other participants in the payment processing ecosystem for over forty years ...

Waller | March 2020

On March 23, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced updates to its survey process in response to COVID-19 (press release,press release, andmemo). Specifically, as authorized pursuant to section 1135(b)(5) of the Social Security Act, CMS is prioritizing certain surveys and exercising enforcement discretion for all certified provider and supplier types for the next three weeks ...

Waller | March 2020

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)adopted amendmentsto the accelerated filer and large accelerated filer definitions set forth under Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ...

Waller | March 2020

Given the rash of moment-by-moment challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is understandable that many companies have not been focused on what is likely coming when the crisis subsides: a flood of litigation related to the devastation left in the wake of the virus ...

Waller | March 2020

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken steps to make healthcare services more accessible through telehealth, particularly for those who are at high-risk of complications from the virus. CMS and commercial payors have opened a viable path for healthcare providers to continue to provide care to high risk patients and other patients and receive reimbursement for services to current and new patients ...

Waller | March 2020

As Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate the terms and conditions of a “Phase 3” COVID-19 bill, the implementation of a large-scale expansion of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Section 7(a) Loan Program appears to have widespread bipartisan support and should pass in some form in the next few days. The existing 7(a) Program currently operates to provide access to capital to small businesses that might not otherwise be eligible for bank loans ...

Waller | March 2020

On March 23, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an FAQ on Medicare provider enrollment relief, noting several key changes aimed at streamlining and expediting provider enrollment in light of COVID-19. Physicians and non-physician practitioners may now enroll and receive temporary billing privileges without certain fingerprint-based criminal background checks and site visits ...

Waller | March 2020

Sunday morning, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order limiting restaurants, bars and similar food or drink establishments to drive-through, carry-out and delivery service only. Read the order here. Restaurants, limited-service restaurants and wine-only restaurants can sell take-out and deliver alcoholic beverages and beer. There is no additional license or permission needed to deliver ...

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