By: Thomas V. Rohan Over the last three months, Davis|Kuelthau has been asked to prepare many liability waivers (“exculpatory clauses”) to be signed by their customers in order to insulate the clients from damage claims relating to potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus. That assignment may seem simple enough, but, in fact, there are a whole...
By: Laurie E. Meyer As states and municipalities relax safer-at-home measures, stores, restaurants, offices, manufacturers, and other employers across the country are either re-opening for business or returning their employees from remote work. Despite the best of intentions to comply with seemingly ever-changing laws, orders and agency guidance,...
By: Lisa Kleiner Wood and Ethan C. Geis As states begin to reopen and loosen restrictions on public gatherings and business closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, business managers, event coordinators, and property owners are seeking to get back to a semblance of normalcy. However, at least in the near term, it appears that business will...
By: Lawrence J. Glusman On June 16, 2020, the SBA released a revised PPP loan forgiveness application form and instructions, along with a brand new “EZ” version and instructions. The forms implement provisions of the recent PPP Flexibility Act of 2020 (signed into law on June 5, 2020) and address criticism that the original forgiveness...
In new guidance issued on June 17, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) adopted the CDC’S position that antibody test results “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace” because “an antibody test at this time does not meet the ADA’s “job related and consistent with business necessity”...
In the midst of the global pandemic, the United States Department of Education (DOE) updated its Title IX guidance and recently issued accompanying final regulations. In 2017, United States Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos revoked Obama-era Title IX guidance. On May 6, 2020, Secretary DeVos released the final regulations relating to...
On June 15, 2020, in a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status. This decision comes five years after the Court legalized same sex marriage. The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision was authored by...
On June 3, 2020, the Senate passed H.R. 7010 (previously passed by the House on May 28, 2020) entitled the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the “PPPFA”). Once signed into law by the President, the PPPFA will amend the CARES Act in several meaningful ways. The highest profile change is to the definition of “covered period”...
By: Timothy J. Feldhausen Contracts with customers, vendors, or other parties are a normal part of doing business. Most businesses are party to numerous contracts and although it may seem that contracts are fairly standard documents, the reality is that each individual document is its own legally binding arrangement. The parties to contracts...
By: Abby S. Busler The Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) has issued 60 pages of detailed guidance to reopen businesses, health care facilities and providers, schools, transit, and other industries. This guidance also provides information regarding testing and data to assist with exposure and risk concerns for those industries. The following is...
