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Round Two of the PPP Up and Running as of Today

Big news for new and certain existing borrowers interested in obtaining loans (or additional loans) under the Paycheck Protection Program: starting today (January 11), the PPP is once again open for business. But there are caveats. (Read More)

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Non-Essential Travelers Arriving in Southern California Now Subject to Mandatory Quarantines

Nationwide COVID-19 hotspot: that’s the unenviable title currently held by the County of Los Angeles. In response, L.A. is among several other Southern California counties discouraging non-essential travel by imposing a mandatory quarantine order upon certain travelers. (Read More)

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$900 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package Is Now Law

Last week, Michelman & Robinson, LLP reported on the $900 billion COVID-19-related rescue package passed by Congress. As was explained in some detail here, the legislation is designed to deliver long-awaited financial assistance to small businesses, as well as to the millions of unemployed Americans in need. By its terms, the bill will also provide, among other things, housing assistance, funds for schools and colleges, and money for COVID-19 testing and vaccines, including distribution. (Read More)

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Paycheck Protection Program: The Sequel

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, passed this week by Congress and, as of this writing, awaiting President Trump’s signature, provides $900 billion in COVID-19-related relief. That includes additional Paycheck Protection Program money—some $280 million in all that some have dubbed “PPP2.”

If and when the 5593-page bill becomes law (Trump has suggested he might veto the legislation if Americans in need do not receive larger direct relief payments), small businesses will be able to avail themselves of another round of potentially forgivable loans. This is true whether or not they previously obtained PPP proceeds. Michelman & Robinson, LLP explains. (Read More)

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Taking the Shot: Can You Require Your Employees to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19?

As has been headline fodder for days, COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and are on the way to the general public. This is big news for employers. Over the next three or four months, many of your employees and contractors will become eligible to receive vaccinations. And this begs the question: should you—and can you—require your workforce to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

Subject to the exceptions discussed below, Michelman & Robinson, LLP has taken the position that the answer to both queries is a resounding “yes.” We believe that getting vaccinated should become an essential term and condition for all employment—this given the overwhelming public health benefit and business continuity that is sure to come if and when employees nationwide are immunized against COVID-19. (Read More)

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What Employees Need to Know About the $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package

The $900 billion COVID pandemic relief package passed as part of the broader Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, includes some very important details relevant to employment and the workplace. Michelman & Robinson, LLP highlights what employers need to know. (Read More)

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New Cal/OSHA Mandates in Effect That Require Immediate Employer Attention

As employers continue to grapple with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic upon the workplace, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has adopted emergency temporary standards (ETS) that went into effect on November 30, 2020. The ETS, which will last for at least 180 days and are subject to extension, require most California employers to act immediately on several COVID-19-related fronts, including the implementation of written COVID-19 prevention programs that satisfy specific criteria. (Read More)

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New Statewide Stay-at-Home Orders in Effect as COVID-19 Surges

Nearly nine months since the first stay-at-home and “safer-at home” orders were issued in California, residents in the Golden State are once again subject to government-mandated restrictions in another effort to flatten the curve—this as COVID-19-related infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths throughout the state are at record highs. In response to the winter surge of the novel coronavirus and the resulting shortage of beds in intensive care units from San Diego in the south to the Bay Area in the north, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced new regional stay-at-home orders that will, as of this writing, impact 28 counties that encompass 84% of California’s population (that is more than 33 million people). (Read More)

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Congress Working Toward $908 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package

This month, as COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and death rates soar, and businesses large and small and out-of-work Americans continue to feel the weight of the ongoing pandemic, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have been working on a compromise coronavirus aid package worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $908 billion.

Certainly, a follow-up relief plan would be welcomed by those suffering through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, in the wake of the CARES Act (including the Paycheck Protection Program), there has been no consensus on additional financial aid at the federal level. But now, it appears the impasse may be breaking as Congress faces increasing pressure to do something as the nation stares down a seasonal surge in COVID-19 cases and the resulting economic fallout. (Read More)

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Direct Physical Loss and Business Interruption Coverage in the Wake of COVID-19

Just over a week ago, Michelman & Robinson reported on the countless entities nationwide that are being denied the benefits of business interruption coverage their insurance policies provide—this despite the losses they are suffering due to COVID-19-related shutdowns and disruptions to business. While our prior alert focused on the failure of carriers to conduct thorough and proper investigations before denying these claims, here we discuss a recent judicial decision that pertains to a frequent basis for the refusal of coverage: the concepts of “direct physical loss” to property, as well as the “virus” exclusion that many policies contain. (Read More)