Client Alerts

U.S. Importers who are able to demonstrate they suffered a significant hardship caused by COVID-19 can benefit from President Trump’s Executive Order extending the payment deadline on certain duties.  This Order is similar to an earlier announcement proposed by U.S Customs and Border Protection, which was later withdrawn due to opposition from some domestic companies.

Many employers are finding employee scheduling a challenge as they struggle with unpredictable employee attendance during the COVID-19 emergency. Some employees who are able to work are choosing not to for a variety of reasons, from fear of being exposed to the virus, to frustration that some of their co-workers earn as much money on unemployment as they earn working.

The COVID-19 virus has shaken employers and employees to their core. Unemployment is at the highest level since the Great Depression and as reported in the press, thousands of individuals gathered in Lansing to protest the April 9, 2020, executive orders that increased restrictions and extended the stay-at-home mandate to midnight, April 30, 2020.      

On April 16, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened the Portal for attestation and acceptance of the funding as required by the CARES Act and the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program.

On Monday, April 13, 2020, Oakland County announced that businesses and operations remaining open under the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-42 must take additional precautions to protect employees, effective Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 12:01am. 

While non-compete agreements are regularly used in the employer-employee context and enforcement disputes surrounding those types of agreements often make headlines, a lesser known, but certainly regular, use of non-compete agreements can be found in many other settings, including the sale of a business or other commercial transactions where one company or party agrees to restrictive covenants on a going forward basis.

On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) began to roll out the $30 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments authorized as part of the $100 billion in financial assistance to healthcare providers under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”).

In today’s environment, it is less likely – though not impossible – that federal agents will show up at your company’s door tomorrow. 

On April 14, 2020, the Michigan Strategic  Fund (“MSF”) Board approved the establishment of the Michigan Strategic Fund Awardee Relief Initiative (the “Initiative”)  for one year that allows the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (“MEDC”) to provide relief to companies that have loans or grants from the MSF.

Yesterday, April 9, 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-42, extending her “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Order through April 30. 

Nearly every state has now issued an executive order mandating that most businesses cease operating from their physical locations and that “non-essential” employees work from home until further notice.

The economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has business owners across the country scrambling to see if they have insurance coverage for their losses. In many cases, they are being advised by their brokers and insurers that the news is not good:  most standard insurance policies, they are told, do not provide coverage. 

Governor Whitmer extended Michigan’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order today, issuing more restrictions and instructing individuals and most businesses to “stay home” until April 30, 2020. 

On March 20, 2020, the due date for federal income tax returns and payments, ordinarily due April 15, 2020, was extended to July 15, 2020.

On March 31, 2020, the state of Washington passed a detailed law regulating the use of facial recognition software by state and local government agencies, Senate Bill 6280 (the “Act”). The Act is intended to promote the use of facial recognition services in a manner that benefits society, while prohibiting use that threatens civil liberties.

As most people associated with the cannabis business know, up until the Agricultural Act of 2018 (the Farm Bill), possession or sale of marijuana or cannabis has been illegal under federal law. There was an exception made under the Farm Bill for certain products coming under the new definition of “hemp”, in short, THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent.  

On Friday, April 3, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-36. This recent Executive Order focused primarily on the employment setting and also stressed that those who have been infected or in close contact with someone who was infected, stay home unless absolutely necessary and then, wear a mask. 

On April 2, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order No. 2020-35, suspending in-person K-12 instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order has a wide-ranging impact on public school districts, public school academies (charter schools), teachers and, of course, students and parents.

On March 31st, 2020, Mexico’s Secretary of Health published a resolution in Mexico Official Gazette ordering the stop of all business activities in Mexico that are not deemed “essential”.

On March 31, 2020, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued a temporary enforcement memo to address environmental compliance obligations in light of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s March 23, 2020 emergency COVID-19 response “Stay at Home” Executive Order, 2020-21 (Order).