Posted April 10, 2020 with Tags Nonprofits, COVID-19, COVID-19 for Nonprofits
How Can Nonprofits Hold Board and Member Meetings During a Pandemic?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, here's how nonprofits should be approaching board and member meetings.
Tag: COVID-19
Posted April 10, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19, CDC
CDC Issues New Guidance on Safety Measures for Critical Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Potential Exposure to COVID-19
On April 8, 2020, the CDC issued new guidance advising critical infrastructure workers (essential workers needed to maintain the services and functions that communities depend on daily) to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and certain precautions are implemented to protect them and the community.
Posted April 9, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19, Tax Credits
How Employers Can Take Advantage of Tax Credits under the New FFCRA Legislation
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) creates, for the first time, a federal requirement to issue paid sick leave and paid FMLA benefits for most private employers with fewer than 500 employees. To help offset the cost, the legislation permits employers to claim tax credits on qualifying paid leave wages, certain health plan expenses, and the employer's share of Medicare taxes.
Posted April 9, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19, Workers' Compensation
Employers: How to Handle the New Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Law That Extends Greater Protection to Front-Line Employees
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a workers’ compensation bill on April 7, 2020, to help first responders, healthcare workers and daycare workers who contract COVID-19 in the workplace. Here's what employers need to know about handling these claims.
Posted April 7, 2020 with Tags COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19, AI in hiring, Employers
Amidst Increased Video Interviews, Employers Must Keep Law in Mind
Since shelter-in-place and self-isolation orders have become the norm around the country, more employers are utilizing video interview tools in lieu of interviewing candidates in person. These tools allow HR and hiring teams to continue to assess talent with little interruption. But Nilan Johnson Lewis labor and employment attorney Mark Girouard urges companies to keep certain legal requirements in mind before turning on the cameras.
Posted April 6, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Nonprofits
CARES Act Loan FAQs for Nonprofits, Foundations and Small Businesses
The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on April 2, 2020, released an Interim Final Rule regarding how the agency will implement the “Paycheck Protection Program” of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act also expands the SBA’s long-standing Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL). We address some Frequently Asked Questions as to why nonprofits, foundations, and small businesses should be paying attention to these CARES Act loan programs.
Posted April 3, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, HIPAA, COVID-19 Health
HIPAA Enforcement Update: Disclosures Made by Business Associates During COVID-19
On April 2, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a HIPAA enforcement update regarding disclosures made by Business Associates (BA) during COVID-19.
Posted April 3, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 Products
How Manufacturers and Retailers Can Protect Themselves from Product Liability Exposure During COVID-19
The pandemic has forced many product manufacturers and retailers into unchartered territory. As COVID-19 progresses throughout the United States, it is affecting everything from the workforce, to supply chains, to even the availability of recall remedies. During these times of rapid change, it may be difficult for companies to remain diligent on product safety issues. However, product manufacturers and retailers can take a few steps to ensure they are protecting themselves not only now, but in the long-term, from product liability lawsuits or fines from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Posted April 3, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers
DOL Issues Temporary Rule Interpreting Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On April 1, 2020, the Department of Labor issued a temporary rule interpreting the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”) found in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The unpublished rule includes over 80 pages of discussion followed by specific guidance on key aspects of the FFCRA’s paid leave requirements, including the scope of exemptions for small employers, calculations of leave benefits for part-time employees, and notice and certification requirements. For the most part, the regulations mirror the FAQs recently released by the DOL.
Posted April 2, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers, Remote Depositions, Video Depositions
Tips on Remote Video Depositions
As life has been upended by COVID-19, we are quickly adapting to an intensified “on-line” world. Among other uncertainties, we have been thrown into a swirl of technological challenges surrounding the practice of law.
Posted March 30, 2020 with Tags Tax, COVID-19, Employers, COVID-19 for Employers
Employers & Businesses: COVID-19 Disaster Assistance Payments Are Exempt from Tax
The President declared a national emergency in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic triggering Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. Thus, disaster assistance/relief payments are not taxable to the recipients if they meet certain requirements.
Posted March 30, 2020 with Tags Health Care, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare, CMS
Telehealth Expansion During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In response to COVID-19, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has broadened access to Medicare telehealth services on a temporary and emergency basis for the duration of the Public Health Emergency.
Posted March 27, 2020 with Tags Business Litigation, Contracts, UCC, Business Transactions, COVID-19, Buinsess Law
Managing Customer Credit Risk During the COVID-19 Crisis
As the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, businesses are facing nearly unprecedented risk that their commercial customers, who may have been transformed from financially strong to seriously distressed in a matter of days, will be unable to continue paying for goods and services.
Posted March 25, 2020 with Tags Nonprofits, COVID-19
Can Nonprofits Use Their Endowment Funds to Assist Communities in the wake of COVID-19?
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact all corners of life both locally and nationally, we have received questions from our nonprofit clients regarding the use of their endowment funds to help support their targeted communities. In addition to a quick review of Minnesota’s endowment fund law, we provide some action items to consider when faced with these spending decisions.
Posted March 20, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, Employers, New York Employers, COVID-19 for Employers
New York Employers: New COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law Explained
On March 18, 2020, the New York State Assembly passed and Governor Cuomo signed into law a response to the novel coronavirus that provides certain employees sick leave and job protection in the event they are subject to quarantine or isolation due to an order by a public health official. The new law also expands protections to certain employees under the New York Paid Family Leave and the New York disability benefits law to provide some measure of salary continuation during a quarantine or isolation order period.
Posted March 19, 2020 with Tags Employers, COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19
COVID-19 FAQs for Employers: Requirements for Federal Paid Sick Leave & FMLA
On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The new law requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide paid FMLA and paid sick leave related to the current pandemic. We address some of the major requirements of the new law.
Posted March 19, 2020 with Tags Employers, COVID-19 for Employers, California Law, COVID-19
COVID-19 FAQs for Employers: Update on CA’s WARN Act
Update March 19: via emergency order, California modified notification requirements under the state’s mini-WARN Act retroactive to March 4, 2020, and extending through the duration of the emergency
Posted March 18, 2020 with Tags Employers, COVID-19 for Employers, COVID-19
COVID-19 FAQs for Employers: Update on Temporary Closures, Layoffs, and Leaves of Absence
In the last few days, Minnesota has closed schools, restaurants, theaters, fitness centers, and other gathering places (Emergency Executive Orders 20-02 and 20-04). Minnesota has also started to provide much-needed relief to Minnesota employers and employees facing the immediate loss of work because of COVID-19 (Emergency Executive Order 20-05), including making unemployment benefits immediately accessible rather than requiring a one-week waiting period for out-of-work individuals. Below, we answer some frequently asked questions we have received since these orders were issued.
Posted March 18, 2020 with Tags COVID-19, HIPAA
HHS Announces Limited Waiver of HIPAA Sanctions During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will not sanction or issue penalties against hospitals failing to comply with certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Posted March 17, 2020 with Tags Nonprofits, COVID-19
Minnesota Nonprofits and COVID-19: Special Considerations for Unemployment Insurance
With Emergency Executive Order 20-05, Minnesota Governor Walz provided much-needed relief to Minnesota employers and employees facing immediate loss of work because of COVID-19. The March 16th Order waives the one-week waiting period before individuals can be considered eligible for unemployment and relaxes otherwise strict requirements to maximize the chances that unemployed and underemployed workers receive benefits quickly