COVID-19 cases are down and vaccinations are up, but 2021’s developments continue at a fast and furious pace. With a new administration in place, new legislation taking effect, and the ever-changing considerations of a pandemic-era workplace, employers may find their heads spinning with where to focus and how to build priorities. Below are some of the top areas that are requiring additional thought and focus these days. 1 ...
Below are 10 important things to know about the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) Loan Forgiveness Applications and the detailed instructions for the revised and updated applications posted on May 24, 2021, as well as other forgiveness procedures as updated by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act” or “PPP2 Act”) ...
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released updated and expanded guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic’s interactions with federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws. The majority of the new guidance is directed at inquiries regarding vaccination status, vaccine incentives, and accommodations ...
The challenges of addressing COVID-19, government closure orders, the Paycheck Protection Program, Main Street Lending Facilities and digital banking made this past audit season more challenging than most. Not surprisingly, it has given rise to quite a number of potential significant deficiencies.1 Significant deficiencies that are not addressed will no doubt become “material weaknesses ...
While overdraft litigation risks have threatened the financial services industry for some time, recent class action lawsuits have trickled down to community banks. One place in particular where exposure has expanded is the increased willingness of plaintiff’s counsel to challenge the use of form account agreements and disclosures, including reliance on Regulation E’s model consent form ...
Although the State of Michigan announced several weeks ago that employers would be permitted to require employees to return to “in-person” work, the emergency rules issued by MIOSHA prohibiting in-person work remained in place. Those emergency rules were rescinded earlier today and replaced with a new set of emergency rules that will remain in effect until October 14, 2021 ...
In early April as the statewide vaccination rate began to rise and major population centers across California began to see significant decreases in positive COVID cases and hospitalization rates, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the State plans to reopen in full on June 15, 2021. As of the date of this Alert, California has one of the lowest number of COVID cases per 100,000 people and the fourth lowest number of COVID hospitalizations in the United States ...
Florida has joined a growing wave of states offering individuals, businesses and other organizations significant protections against Covid-19-related legal claims. But how does Florida’s new law — “Civil Liability for Damages Relating to Covid-19” (codified at section 768.38, Florida Statutes) — work? And what do businesses need to know — and do — now? The law’s practical effect Begin with the law’s practical effect ...
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sweeping new laws and regulations having a tremendous impact on California workplaces were enacted in California in 2020 and 2021. Included, among numerous others, are laws imposing health and safety obligations on employers, regulations requiring employers to quarantine employees and provide wage replacement for employees exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace, along with mandated job-protected paid sick leave and extended paid family leave ...
Welcome to the tenth issue of the 2021 edition of Unprecedented. The big news from the past two weeks was the Center for Disease Control’s announcement of new guidance allowing fully vaccinated individuals to go unmasked in nearly all circumstances. The announcement was unexpected and sent governments and businesses scrambling to respond. Some governments, like my home state of Pennsylvania, reacted the same day to conforming their own requirements to the new CDC guidance ...
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is scheduled to meet on May 20, 2021 to review proposed revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) on COVID-19 Safety in the workplace that were originally adopted in November, 2020. The rules are expected to be readopted with the revisions and sent on to the Office of Administrative Law for an abbreviated five-day public notice and comment period as an emergency action before taking effect ...
On April 27, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced revised guidance for Interim Final Rule, CMS-3401-IFC related to Long-Term Care Facility Testing Requirements and the COVID-19 Focused Survey Tool. CMS published the initial interim final rule with comment period on Aug. 25, 2020 ...
On May 11, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new rule that will require long-term care facilities and residential facilities serving clients with intellectual disabilities to educate and offer COVID-19 vaccines to residents, clients and staff. This new requirement will closely align with current requirements for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in long-term care facilities ...
On April 27, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced revised guidance for Nursing Home Visitation. CMS issued its initial guidance in March 2020, via memorandum QSO-20-14-NH. Under this memorandum, all visitation by visitors and non-essential health care personnel was restricted, except for situations involving compassionate care, such as end-of-life ...
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On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Second Draw Loans” (“Second Draw Rules”). These rules announced the implementation of section 311 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act”) ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many novel challenges and questions for employers, from administration of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) leave to managing performance of remote workers. For healthcare providers, these challenges and questions have been only one of many burdens of operating during a pandemic. As vaccines become more widely available, the pandemic raises new challenges, some unique to employers in the healthcare industry ...
Unpacking the Economic Aid Act and American Rescue Plan Act: Consolidated First Draw PPP Interim Final Rule, New First Draw PPP Loans, and Increases to First Draw PPP Loans On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program as Amended by Economic Aid Act” (sometimes referred to as the “Consolidated First D
On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Second Draw Loans” (“Second Draw Rules”). These rules announced the implementation of section 311 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act”) ...
The Ohio COVID-19 Indoor Air Quality Assistance Program allows eligible private employers to receive reimbursement for eligible inspections, assessments, maintenance, and/or improvements to indoor heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to help control the spread of COVID-19. Employers are not eligible for this program if any other federal funding has been supplied for the same purposes ...
The U.S. Department of Labor announced the Essential Workers, Essential Protections Initiative on April 26, 2021. The Initiative is designed to educate workers on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ...
The COVID-19 Pandemic has wreaked havoc on the mortgage servicing industry, putting significant strain on both mortgage servicers and their borrowers ...
If the COVID-19 pandemic affected the value of your property, Ohio Senate Bill 57 (S.B. 57) may offer you (or your triple-net lease tenant) a chance to reduce your Ohio real property taxes not available under prior law. Property tax valuation complaints in Ohio counties can be filed only once in each three-year interim period, and property values are determined as of January 1 of the tax year. Because the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S ...
On April 28, 2021, President Biden addressed a Joint Session of Congress unveiling his proposals to invest in and restructure the American economy. In his address to Congress, President Biden formally announced his American Families Plan (the “AFP”) which combines $1 trillion in spending with $800 billion in tax cuts and credits for low and middle-class families, and targets high-income earners and corporations to fund all of the costs over a 15-year period ...
Acting under its new Debt Collection Licensing Act licensing administration and enforcement authority granted by SB 908, the DFPI Commissioner issued a public statement on April 9th reminding all future license applicants under the Debt Collection Licensing Act of California’s renter protections associated with COVID-19 rental debt ...
