In this ACC Docket article, Washington D.C.-based member Lakshmi Sarma Ramani explains why force majeure clauses should be reviewed closely by nonprofits to ensure such clauses can be relied upon in the event contract performance (including payment obligations) becomes impossible.
Since our last update, there have been several important changes to the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act. On June 5th, Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPFA), effectively amending the PPP by modifying certain provisions related to loan forgiveness and loosening guidelines for borrowers. Also, in an on-going effort to support PPP borrowers, the Treasury Department has issued additional guidance, including new interim final rules and additional FAQs.
Below are the key points of each:
Many U.S.-based life sciences companies outsource their clinical trial needs to laboratories outside of the U.S., including labs located in the European Union (EU). Others conducting clinical trials in the U.S. may be involved with the collection and processing of EU patients’ data in some other capacity. Despite the benefits of such international cooperation, these arrangements trigger an array of compliance obligations for U.S. companies under a number of EU laws[1], including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its rules pertaining to data processing activities.
Over the past few days, Governor Charlie Baker’s office has released guidance for employers on its phased reopening of the Massachusetts economy. The plan to reopen includes a carefully planned, four-phase approach which addresses which businesses can open when, and what requirements those businesses must follow in order to resume operations. Each phase will last a minimum of three weeks or longer, before transitioning to the next phase, though public health trends may require the state, or certain regions, to revert back to previous phases.
Outside GC's immigration team shares important immigration-related developments below:
Although the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) received additional funding on April 24th, many small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis still report difficulty with navigating the application process. The Treasury Department has responded by issuing more PPP-related guidelines and information on its CARES Act assistance page.
A non-solicitation clause is a provision in a contract generally prohibiting the hiring (or attempting to hire) of one of the other party’s employees or contractors. It can be thought of as an “anti-poaching” provision. Often, vendors will add such a provision to keep its customers or clients from poaching the vendor’s employees in an attempt to avoid using the vendor by bringing the vendor’s expertise in house. When this happens, the vendor loses not only a key employee, but also, in many case, a client.
When the federal government announced the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) several weeks ago, making available $349 billion for loans to small businesses impacted the COVID-19 health crisis, borrowers scrambled to submit loan applications in accordance with the “first-come, first-served” process. On April 16th, PPP funds were depleted, leaving many small businesses empty-handed. In response to the continued need, the government has approved additional funds for both the PPP and the SBA’s other loan program that can be used to reduce the impact of COVID-19, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program ("EIDL Program”).
