Category Archives: COVID-19
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Welcome Back to Work! Here’s a Swab Test and a Questionnaire about Your Health (Gastrointestinal Issues Included)
As states begin easing COVID-19 restrictions and allowing employees to return to work, both employers and workers are reckoning with countless new concerns the return to normalcy presents. For employees, the questions focus largely on safety. What if I catch the virus from an asymptomatic coworker? Why is my coworker coughing? Do I still have to come in if I’m immunosuppressed? ... Read More
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Client Alert: D.C. Council Declined to Vote on First-of-Its-Kind Legislation Requiring Certain Insurers to Retroactively Cover COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses; Other States Are Still Considering
On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, the D.C. Council declined to vote on a portion of the Coronavirus Omnibus Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, called the Business Interruption Insurance Amendment Emergency Act, which would have required every business interruption and loss of use or occupancy insurance policy currently in force in the District of Columbia be read to cover business ... Read More
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Client Alert: A Summary of Legislative Efforts to Compel Insurers to Pay COVID-19 Related Business Interruption Losses
Small businesses across the country debilitated by the COVID-19 crisis are searching for solutions to shrinking revenue due to nationwide stay-at-home orders. Many businesses believe their insurance should cover their losses, evidenced by a growing wave of litigation against insurance carriers. Small businesses claim that without insurer payouts, they will be unable to re-open and re-hire laid off employees after ... Read More
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OSHA Issues General and Industry-Specific Guidance For Operating During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
As businesses look to adapt their workplaces to provide for safer operation during this public health emergency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released industry-specific guidance to help the construction, manufacturing, package delivery, and retail industries protect their workers and customers from the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). The guidance builds on OSHA’s previously issued 10 Steps All Workplaces Can ... Read More
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Client Alert: Sorting Through The Various COVID-19 Relief Programs and Conflicting Guidance on Loan Forgiveness
Small businesses and charities may be sorting through the various programs recently enacted and signed into law, trying to figure out which one is best. While each business or charity is unique and no one option is best for all, bets can be hedged and more than one program may be utilized. The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) enacted through the ... Read More
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Emergency COVID-19 Legislation Requires D.C. Employers to Comply with New FMLA and Sick Leave Requirements
While much attention has been paid to leave benefits made available under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), the corresponding legislation enacted by the Council of the District of Columbia has gone largely unnoticed. However, the District’s orders contain a different set of requirements, and failure to comply could have serious implications for D.C. employers. D.C. employers should be ... Read More
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No Visitors Allowed: Potential Legal Ramifications of Restricted Visitors Policies In the Midst of COVID-19
The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, has wreaked havoc on the nation and has had far-reaching effects across the globe. The trail of destruction left in its wake will no doubt have lasting implications on multiple industries for the foreseeable future and none has felt the impact more than the healthcare industry. Doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, and non-medical related staff remain on ... Read More
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Client Alert for Commercial Landlords: “Control The Space” and Pre-Bankruptcy Contractual Termination of Lease
When the economy weakens, as with the unprecedented effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic, certain office and retail tenants will be unable to satisfy their lease obligations, vacate or file bankruptcy. Landlords should anticipate the consequences of these developments and some may choose to be proactive rather than reactive, and one way is to consider sending notices of default and ... Read More
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Client Alert: OSHA to Consider Employer Good Faith when Non-Compliance Results from COVID-19 (Coronavirus) or Restrictions Relating to COVID-19
On April 16, in a memorandum entitled Discretion in Enforcement when Considering an Employer's Good Faith Efforts During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration acknowledged that COVID-19 and the workplace restrictions imposed in response to the virus may present significant difficulties for employer compliance with OSHA standards. Accordingly, OSHA outlined when during this coronavirus ... Read More
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National Survey of COVID-19 Medical Malpractice Immunity Legislation (as of April 15, 2020)
The below survey of federal and state legislation, guidance, and executive action provides information regarding enacted and proposed legislation and executive orders issued to provide immunity protections for liability, in certain respects, to health care professionals, facilities, and volunteers in the course of their treatment of individuals during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declared national and state ... Read More
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Client Alert: New CDC Guidance for Essential Employees Exposed to COVID-19
In an effort to ensure the continuity of essential operations while maintaining a safe work environment, the Centers for Disease Control issued guidance for when critical infrastructure employees may be permitted to work following a potential exposure to COVID-19. A potential exposure means household contact or non-household contact of six feet or less with a person with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, ... Read More
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Client Alert: Estate and Business Succession Planning During the Coronavirus Quarantine
As efforts to contain the coronavirus continue throughout the United States and across the globe, Jackson & Campbell remains committed to the safety and well-being of our clients, employees, and the communities in which we live and work. Although our physical office is closed to the public, we continue to service new and existing clients - not just by offering ... Read More
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Client Alert: OSHA Guidance on COVID-19 in the Workplace
As businesses deemed essential continue to operate during the coronavirus outbreak and other businesses make plans to reopen when conditions allow, it is important for employers to keep in mind the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recently issued Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, available here or at www.osha.gov. The guidance is not a standard or regulation. It creates ... Read More
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Client Alert: Additional Help For Individuals From The Tax Code
The COVID-19 pandemic was designated under the Stafford Act as a national emergency on March 13, 2020. By doing so, the federal government opened a new area for tax-free help to those impacted directly by the disease, or indirectly due to the shelter-in-place directives. Section 139, enacted after 9/11, allows employers, or really anyone so inclined, to provide “qualified disaster relief ... Read More
TAGGED: Tax Law, COVID-19, Families First Act, CARES Act, Stafford Act, Section 139, reimbursements
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Client Alert: The Families First Act, the CARES Act, and IRS Guidance for Employers
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FAMILIES FIRST ACT), Public Law No. 116-127 (March 18, 2020), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES ACT), Public Law No. 116-136 (March 27, 2020) provide relief to employees and employers (including nonprofits) during this pandemic. The relief provided by the FAMILIES FIRST ACT is in the form of additional paid ... Read More
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Client Alert: The Impact of COVID-19 on Commercial Leases – Force Majeure and Curtailed Court Operations
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability of many businesses to satisfy payment and other obligations under leases and other contracts. As tenant income has precipitously dropped over the past few weeks, often as a result of government mandated closures or restrictions on operations, landlords and tenants are taking a hard look at “force majeure” provisions in leases. First and ... Read More
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Client Alert: Internal Revenue Service Suspends Certain Collection Actions
On March 25, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) introduced its “People First Initiative” in which it will suspend certain tax collection activities currently ongoing and limit the number of new collection actions. These limitations will run initially from April 1, 2020, through July 15, 2020. The implication from the IRS is that the July 15th end date ... Read More
TAGGED: irs, People First Amendment
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Client Alert: Order of the Governor of the State of Maryland, Number 20-03-23-01
Governor Hogan issued an order on March 23 updating his office’s order of March 19 prohibiting large gatherings and closing certain facilities and non-essential businesses. The amended order urges Marylanders to stay home and asks employers to adopt work-from-home policies. It is not, however, a shelter-in-place order. The amended order provides a non-exhaustive list of essential businesses that are not required ... Read More
TAGGED: maryland, Employment Law, COVID-19, Governor Larry Hogan
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Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On March 18, 2020, the 118th Congress of the United States signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which will go into effect on April 2, 2020. The primary details of this newly enacted law are as follows: EMERGENCY FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE EXPANSION ACT (Section 3101) Applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees, but more than 25 ... Read More
Jackson & Campbell Coronavirus/COVID-19 Updates
At Jackson & Campbell, P.C. dependability is the cornerstone of our successful attorney-client relationships. Underlying our dependability is the care we have for our clients and their legal needs. We are sharing this message to assure you that we are keeping up with the rapidly changing news regarding the health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus. One of the biggest ... Read More
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The Council of the District of Columbia Approves Emergency Bill Expanding Foreclosure Protections
On March 3, 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia approved an emergency bill amending certain portions of the Housing Finance Agency Act to extend the Agency’s Reverse Mortgage Insurance and Tax Payment Program (ReMIT). ReMIT is a pilot program crafted to address seniors facing foreclosure on a reverse mortgage by providing subsidy payments (up to $25,000) to help ... Read More
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