Perspectives on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Task Force

As the White House extends its “social distancing” advisory through April 30, 2020, companies must find a path to conduct shareholder meetings while discouraging gatherings to curb the spread of COVID-19.

On March 30, 2020, in response to the continued spread of COVID-19, California Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-39-20, authorizing temporary adjustments to certain standards related to staffing and licensing requirements for healthcare facilities, providers, and professionals.

To sustain essential court services in California state courts, the Judicial Council, headed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, announced the adoption of Emergency Rules to the California Rules of Court, to immediately go into effect as of April 6, 2020. 

Yesterday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated and expanded its March 17th and 18th guidances on legal issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

On March 23, 2020, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, with the approval of the Secretary of Treasury, authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to establish and operate the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility.

COVID-19 has upended operations for licensed Massachusetts recreational and medical cannabis businesses. Recreational cannabis has been shut down for the time being. Medical cannabis continues, but with temporary new rules in place. 

In recent weeks, an increasing number of state legislatures have taken drastic measures to force the insurance industry to shoulder much of the burden of the economic downturn brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

In anticipation of the raft of earnings releases and analyst and investor calls that will take place in the next few weeks, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a public statement in which SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and Director of the Division of Corporation Finance William Hinman urge issuers to provide robust, forward-looking disclosures regarding the impact of COVID-19 in their upcoming earnings releases and analyst and investor calls.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently announced that it will provide a 30-day extension for many patent and trademark filing and fee deadlines to those personally affected by COVID-19.

The CARES Act authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to make up to $500 billion in loans, loan guarantees, and other investments for eligible businesses, States, and municipalities.

Below is a summary of the Main Street New Loan Facility and the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility, details of which were released by the Federal Reserve this morning. Arent Fox will continue to update, and expand on, this summary as more information becomes available.

In today’s episode, we talked with Barbara Wahl about “Force Majeure” and possible defenses that may be available to avoid performance under a contract due to Coronavirus and the Government Orders related to the pandemic.

As recently as March 27, the WHO was stating on its website that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that the novel coronavirus was airborne except in a handful of medical cases, such as when intubating an infected patient.

International Trade Partners Marwa Hassoun and Kay Georgi explain how FEMA’s new rule restricting the export of face masks, respirators, and other medical personal protective equipment works – how to get a license and what the penalties are.

On April 7, 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously passed the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Amendment Act of 2020.

The SBA has released additional guidance regarding the application of certain affiliate rules applicable to the PPP.

Over the past month, states and municipalities have been issuing stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19.

FEMA has exercised its delegated authority under the Defense Production Act to issue a temporary final rule to prohibit the export of five types of medical PPE that the US government previously identified as scarce and threatened material in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following chart has been compiled to provide New York employers with guidance as they weigh decisions about whether to approve an employee’s leave request(s) based on different common factual scenarios that may arise.

On April 1, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release announcing its publication of a Final Rule on the paid sick leave requirements and family leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

Turf magazine

In this webinar, members of Arent Fox’s COVID-19 Task Force provide an overview of Force Majeure and Related Common Law Principles. This includes analysis of the enforcement of force majeure, issues surrounding neutralizing key clauses, and critical bankruptcy questions.

While the April 15 deadline for filing federal and state tax returns has been extended, the April 10 deadline to pay California property taxes without penalty will stand for most California counties.

Massachusetts has amended its list of “COVID-19 Essential Services” and provided some additional guidance on its “Frequently Asked Questions” page.  The changes seem intended to clarify more businesses may remain open especially if they are important to the continued operations of an existing COVID-

On April 6 the Small Business Administration (SBA), after consulting with the Department of Treasury, published a set of Frequently Asked Questions relating to the Paycheck Protection Program.