COVID-19 Legal and Business Resources
We recognize this is a time unlike any other. In order to do what we can during this precarious period, we will be preparing a number of materials designed to help both businesses and individuals with the various needs they may have. We will continue to add materials, so please check back. Pease contact us if you think we can assist you.
We will get through it together. We hope these materials can help you.
Employers should take a moment to review the new CDC guidance, summarized here, to prepare themselves for how to handle workers who test positive for COVID-19 and/or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Omicron has changed the game- employers should prepare for when, not if, they need to isolate or quarantine employees.
With COVID-19 vaccines readily available to most Americans and more and more employees returning to the workplace, employers are being forced to decide what their vaccination policies will be for workers. One of the primary components of this decision-making process will involve understanding what employers can legally require their employees to do. We are here to help!
While small businesses are fighting to survive, some landlords are also struggling. Empty spaces and tenants requesting lease abatements while maintaining mortgage, tax, maintenance, and salary obligations is proving tough for some landlords. This has created a tenant opportunity in some spaces for lower rates and better terms as landlords come to understand the pandemic commercial real estate market.
Are you waiting until the end of your 8-week or 24-week loan period to review our resources on loan forgiveness? If so, this blog is for you! Here are the 3 things to do now for forgiveness.
The SBA recently released its new version of the forgiveness application following some recent legislative changes to the terms of the program. Below are the highlights. Refer to our step-by-step forgiveness application instructions for more details on completing your application.
Businesses are opening back up after nearly 3 months of sheltering in place. We are obviously so pleased to be able to move forward, but for all businesses, there are a lot of questions about how to open safely and compliantly.
We know how important it is to get timely information on the PPP program, so we created this step-by-step guide to help you through the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application.
My business was approved for a PPP loan, and we'll be putting employees back onto payroll that had been laid off. How will this work with the changes to unemployment from the CARES Act? Will employees still be eligible for unemployment if we have to lay them off again after the 8-week loan period? Will they still be able to get the extra $600 per week?
Employment attorney, Chisa Chervenick, answers several questions about the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and loan forgiveness.
Q: I just hired a new employee. Are their wages considered eligible payroll expenses under the PPP loan? Is forgiveness limited to the wages of former employees only?
A new hire’s wages fall under the definition of payroll costs eligible for forgiveness. Had Congress intended to exclude these wages, it likely would have done so expressly alongside exclusions for wages paid to employees principally residing outside of the U.S. However, there are still outstanding questions about the forgiveness process as we await more guidance from the SBA. We provided some initial guidance about forgiveness here, but there will be more coming.
Daily DeWine Briefing Recaps
Recap of the press conference given April 27 by Governor Mike DeWine, Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton, and Lt. Governor Jon Husted:
DeWine asks everyone to keep in mind:
You’ve done an amazing job staying at home.
Coronavirus is still here. It’s just as dangerous as it’s ever been. It’s still living amongst us.
The tools that we’ve used to slow it down are still the same: distance, distance, distance; washing hands; sanitation of surfaces; masks. We’re going to have to continue to use these things.
Recap of the press conference given March 25 by Governor Mike DeWine and Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton:
Retail businesses must set a number of people that can be inside at one time
Setting up a panel to resolve disputes on what is an essential business
Weddings and funerals: not prohibited under order, but please postpone large gatherings like the ceremony/reception. We have to postpone things to avoid putting other family members at risk.
Dr. Acton: “We’ve got to even clamp down more.”; “We’ve got to stay home and we can’t go the other direction right now.”
867 confirmed cases, 15 deaths, 223 hospitalizations, 91 ICU; 51 median age; 60 counties (of 88)
Recap of the press conference given March 25 by Governor Mike DeWine and Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton:
PPE: national stockpile share is not enough. If you can donate PPE, please do so: N95 masks, gloves, gowns, face shields or goggles
Bill working its way through General Assembly: passed by Senate and House will take up tonight.
704 confirmed cases, 10 deaths; testing still limited; median age 51; 333 female, 371 male; 182 hospitalized; 75 in ICU; 24 from long term care facilities; 116 healthcare workers;
Recap of the March 24, 2020 press conference held by Governor Mike DeWine and Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton:
Social media campaign: #InThisTogetherOhio
Working on hospital capacity across the state daily: beds, PPE
EOC: Emergency Operations Center- Dr. Acton’s health team has been merged into this team- working with hospitals daily on logistics
Modeling teams have been formed around the state and are sharing notes to model logistics needs and planning as we prepare for what’s coming; private sector also involved in modeling and preparation/getting ready for this
Recap of the March 23, 2020 press conference held by Governor Mike DeWine and Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton:
Dr. Acton: We’re on the “sharp way up” on the curve; we’ve only seen the tip of this.
Day cares: effective Thursday, special temporary pandemic license required for providers to stay open; priority placement for children of healthcare workers, first responders, etc.; parents can find list of licensed providers and enroll at jfs.ohio.gov/cdc
The following is a recap of Governor Mike DeWine’s press conference on March 22, 2020.
Time is of the essence, and we have to buy that time. Dr. Acton Health Director’s Order: Stay at home order for all Ohioans effective Monday at 11:59 p.m. through April 6th. Allows exceptions for essential activities, for health and safety, for necessary supplies and services, for outdoor activity (walk dog, go on hike) with social distancing measures, essential work, and to take care of others
Notes from Governor Mike DeWine’s press conference on March 21, 2020
DeWine: the government can only do so much- how well we follow the CDC recommendations and separate ourselves and how much we say no to non-essential activities will determine our future- it will determine how many of us die. We have been invaded by an enemy, and the enemy cannot move forward without our help. Everyone must ask themselves every night if they did everything they could to stop the spread. Everyone must take this seriously and stay home.
A recap of today’s press conference from Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine.
DeWine: We continue receive notifications from employees about businesses that aren’t complying with guidelines; DeWine “implores” employers to comply. If employers don’t comply, he will err on the side of protecting people. “The bad behavior, the reckless behavior, must stop.” “The protection of life is the most important obligation that I have.” The warning comes on the heels of California and New York shelter-in-place orders and other states’ decisions to close all “non-life-sustaining” businesses.
Notes on Ohio and National Briefings
Ohio:
Dr. Amy Action: Nearly 40% of all hospitalized coronavirus patients in the U.S. are between 20-54 years old. We are on the “upsweep” of the curve. Every day and every person matters – you need to stay home.
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