On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law. Its key provisions include an Employee Retention Credit, which allows employers to recoup certain wages paid to employees who are not providing services due to a suspension of operations related to COVID-19, and the creation of a temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. Both of these mechanisms provide ways for businesses to avoid layoffs by implementing temporary shutdowns or reductions in hours.

Since announcing the Paycheck Protection Program, a component of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act or CARES Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has released both the loan application and additional guidance for prospective borrowers. The Program makes available $349 billion for loans to small businesses to help prevent their collapse during the COVID-19 public health crisis. 

If you intend to apply for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (the “Program”), it is essential that you begin taking steps to do so NOW, including familiarizing yourself with the following key SBA updates:

A critical component of the government’s newly passed stimulus package, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act” or “Act”), is the new Small Business Administration (SBA) loan program called the Paycheck Protection Program (the “Program”). Created under Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act, this Program will make available $349 billion for loans to small businesses to help prevent their collapse during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Over the past few weeks, as the crisis around COVID-19 has escalated, the federal government has taken steps to empower medical providers to continue caring for patients, wherever they might be, in response to social distancing and self-quarantine directives. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the agencies tasked with administration and enforcement of HIPAA regulations, have issued several bulletins which provide guidance to Covered Entities and Business Associates around maintaining patient privacy when using telemedicine practices to treat patients during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

During the pending COVID-19 crisis, many employers are considering layoffs to make sure they can keep their companies afloat. However, because the duration of the crisis is unknown and may be temporary, employers may wish to consider other cost-saving measures that are designed to be temporary and reversible in the event that the economy bounces back sooner rather than later. This article will address some of the cost-cutting strategies that Massachusetts employers can use in lieu of layoffs which will ensure that employers have an available workforce to call upon once business rebounds, and also save jobs.  

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which will go into effect on April 1, 2020, provides Coronavirus-related emergency paid sick leave and emergency family and medical care leave to eligible employees.  Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a “Questions and Answers” to address some preliminary questions related to the new FFCRA.  Earlier today, the DOL published a workplace poster which covered employers must distribute to current employees.  The posting requirement may be met by emailing or direct mailing this notice to employees, posting the notice on an internal or external website, or by physically posting the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises. 

In this new reality, which I (not so fondly) refer to as “quarantine-ville,” most workers have been mandated to work from home. For the lawyers of Outside GC and Patent GC, working from home is a core element of our business model; but for most, this arrangement is brand new territory. Since we’ve been doing this with great success for the past 18 years, we’d like to share some tips to help improve your productivity, and perhaps more importantly, help keep you sane.

In this ACC Docket article, Washington D.C.-based member Lakshmi Sarma Ramani reviews 3 issues that nonprofit organizations should consider when conducting internal investigations of claims that could lead to potential litigation.