As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Senate passed multiple phases of federal Coronavirus relief legislation, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), the third phase of the legislation.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

Leaving businesses scrambling, the European Union Court of Justice invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield on July 16, 2020. Late last week, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published twelve Frequently Asked Questions on the judgment.

On Thursday, July 23, 2020, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar officially renewed the declaration that a Public Health Emergency (PHE) exists in connection with COVID-19.

On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidated reliance on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield program for the transfer of data from within the EU to entities within the U.S.

On June 16, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2020-24D, which provides several circumstances that will now constitute “good cause” for refusing suitable work during the pandemic. 

As companies continue to adjust to the realities of working from home and remotely connecting with their employees, customers, and management, the once-theoretical consideration of business continuity planning became a reality that had to be addressed immediately.  Failure to adequately plan, and to sufficiently monitor those initial plans, can subject directors to potential liability for breaching their fiduciary duties. 

On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the Flexibility Act), which made some key changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Now that employees are returning to work and businesses are reopening their doors to customers, many businesses are searching for ways to limit liability relating to potential COVID-19 infections.  To that end, some employers are considering whether to require COVID-19 liability waivers for their employees, customers, contractors, and other visitors to their facilities. 

A board’s core duties to employ reasonable and effective oversight of management and business operations are even more important in this unique COVID-19 era

On May 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application form.

The SBA and the Treasury updated the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) FAQs on May 13, 2020, creating new guidelines surrounding the requirement in the PPP loan application that a borrower certify in good faith that “[c]urrent economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant” (the Need Certification).

Establishing and maintaining a unified medical staff is not without its challenges and hurdles. This Health Care Alert outlines some considerations health systems should evaluate when contemplating a unified medical staff structure.

The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that Georgia could not copyright annotations to its official state law code.

The Small Business Administration and the Treasury updated the PPP Frequently Asked Questions on April 23 and suggested that certain businesses that have already obtained PPP loans should repay their loan in full by May 7 if they cannot demonstrate that as of the date of application, the loan was necessary to support their ongoing operations due to the current state of the economy.

On April 24, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released its fourth Interim Final Rule titled “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes: Paycheck Protection Program – Requirements – Promissory Notes, Authorizations, Affiliation, and Eligibility."

On April 23, 2020, the Court ruled that, while it was an important factor for courts to weigh, willfulness could not be an "inflexible precondition" to recovery in a case of infringement of a federal trademark.