COVID-19 Legal Resources & Response Team

Contacts: Robert Young, Terrence Briggs, Jacob Tosti

• Winter is Coming – Workplace Vaccine Mandates (November 16)
• New Mask Mandate Affords Employers a Right of Inquiry For Employees Who Ask For Exemption (November 5)
• New DOL Regulations Narrow The FFCRA’s “Health Care Provider” Exemption (September 15)
• Legal aspects of returning high-risk employees to work in Massachusetts (September 15)
• Webinar: Reopening Your Business in the Age of Coronavirus (May 20)
• How Does My Offer of Work Affect My Employees’ Unemployment Claims? (May 18)
• Mandatory Self-Certification and Industry-Specific Guidance For Massachusetts Essential and Phase One Businesses (May 18)
• Massachusetts’ Four-Phase Reopening Plan and Mandatory Workplace Safety Standards: Here’s What You Need To Know (May 12)
• What Massachusetts Businesses Need to Know about Masks in the Workplace (May 7)
• Lockdown Breakthrough? Remote Fulfillment Guidelines Permit Partial Re-Opening of Retail Establishments (May 5)
• Is a Business Liable if an Employee or Customer Gets Sick? (April 30)
• CDC Releases Reopening Guidance (April 29)
• National Emergency Enables Tax-Free Employee Relief Fund (April 28)
• Webinar: HR Strategy: Contingency Planning During COVID-19 (April 30)
• EEOC Releases “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws” (April 24)
• IRS Moving Quickly to Help Employers Get Advanced Payments (April 8)
• CARES Act Temporary Rule for Paid Sick Leave and Expanded FMLA (April 6)
• Labor Conditions Tied To CARES Act Loans To Employers With 500 to 10,0000 Employees (April 5)
• Employee Documentation for FFCRA Leave – IRS Guidance (April 3)
• CARES Act Retirement Plans – What Employers Need to Know (April 2)
• Expanded Unemployment Benefits Through the Federal CARES Act (April 1)
• Webinar: Cybersecurity Threats and Employment Law in a Remote World (April 1)
• Webinar: Worcester Chamber HR Roundtable: Employment Legal Issues in a COVID-19 Remote World (March 30)
• Health Insurance Enrollment Rules Eased Because of COVID-19 (March 25)
• New DOL Guidance Regarding COVID-19 and the Workplace (March 25)
• DHS Relaxes Form I-9 Verification Requirements for Remote Employers (March 23)
• New COVID-19 Paid Leave Laws – Here’s What You Need To Know (March 19)
• DUA Updates Website with COVID-19 Information (March 19)

Contacts: Rory Fazendeiro, Peter Martin, Sandra O’Neill

• Webinar: PPP Updates and Year End Tax & Financial Planning (December 1)
• IRS and Treasury Updated Guidance on Deductibility of Expenses Paid for with PPP Loan Proceeds (November 23)
• Part-Time Employees May Be Eligible for 401(k) Plans (November 4)
• Massachusetts Adopts Emergency Withholding Rules for Out-of-State Telecommuters During COVID-19 Pandemic (September 24)
• A Trap for the Unwary – IRS Denies Deductions for Expenses Paid with Forgiven PPP Loans (September 3)
• IRS issues guidance on Social Security tax deferral (September 1)
• Social Security Taxes Could Be Deferred for the Rest of 2020 (August 20)
• Campus Safety and COVID-19: Clery Act Requirements in 2020 (August 10)
• Further Changes to Paycheck Protection Program Necessary to Avoid Catastrophic Consequences at Forgiveness Stage (July 31)
• IRS Provides More Flexibility for Qualified Opportunity Funds in the Wake of COVID Crisis (June 22)
• Home Office Deductions During Coronavirus (June 15)
• PPP Flexibility Act of 2020 (June 9)
• First Look at the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application (May 15)
• New Guidance on the PPP Necessity Certification Provides Automatic Safe Harbor for Borrowers with Loan Amounts Under $2 Million (May 14)
• Webinar:  Strategy for COVID-19 Financial Relief: Restructuring Your Business Loans (May 7)
• PPP Loan Safe Harbor Date Extended One Week to May 14 (May 6)
• PPP Loan Applicants Directed to Assess (or Reassess) the Necessity for Loan Funds; SBA Imposes May 7th Deadline to Return Loans for Borrowers that Cannot Meet the New Standard (May 4)
• A Checklist for Loan Forgiveness Under the Payroll Protection Program (April 21)
• New CMS Regulations: Harbingers of the New Normal? (April 10)
• CARES Act Business Tax Provisions (April 3)
• CARES Act Payroll Protection Loan Program – US Treasury Issues Updated Guidance (April 2)
• CARES Act Provisions Assisting Health Care Providers’ Response to the Pandemic (April 1)
• CARES Act – Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection Loan Program Explained (March 31)
• Mass. Joins Fed – Personal Income Tax Filing Deadline Now July 15 (March 27)
• Key Provisions in the Proposed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (March 25)
• What Massachusetts Tax Relief is Available During the Coronavirus Outbreak? (March 25)
• Expanded Medicare Telehealth Benefits During the Public Health Emergency (March 25)
• How to Close Restaurant and Retail Businesses During Coronavirus and Plan for a Successful Reopen (March 22)
• Financial Support for Qualifying Small Business and Non-Profits Impacted by the Coronavirus Outbreak (March 19)
• Tax Relief to Mitigate COVID-19 Economic Costs (March 19)

Contacts: Rory Fazendeiro, David Mawhinney

• Webinar: New Contracts – Pandemic Impact on Contract and Transaction Due Diligence (October 27)
• Webinar: Contract Review – Identifying Weaknesses, Strengths and Gray Areas to Get Ahead of Future Disruptions (October 20)
• “Did Your Contract Anticipate the Arrival of Coronavirus?” published on CFO (March 5)
• The Coronavirus and the Doctrine of Force Majeure – How to Anticipate the “Known Unknowns” (February 20)

Contacts: Douglas Radigan, Jared Fiore

• Extending Liability Coverage By Providing Notice of Circumstances (May 7)
• As COVID-19 Surges, So Too Should the Use of Well-Crafted Contractual Arbitration Clauses (May 6)
• Webinar: Will Traditional Business Insurance Policies Apply to Claims Related to the Coronavirus? (April 7)
• Webinar: Deciphering Business Interruption Insurance in the COVID-19 Crisis (April 3)
• Will traditional business insurance policies apply to claims related to the Coronavirus? (March 19)

Contacts: Jonathan Hausner, Brian Grossman

• Massachusetts Commits $171MM for Programs to Help Tenants and Landlords Impacted by COVID-19 (November 17)
• Massachusetts Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium Expires and is Replaced by a More Limited CDC Order (October 20)
• Municipal Support for Local Economies in a Public Health Crisis May Include Regulatory Flexibility (May 7)
• Webinar: Re-Opening Commercial Operations: Considerations for Property Owners and Business Tenants as Massachusetts Restarts in a COVID-19 World (May 7)
• MA Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development Issues Regulations and Guidance on COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium (April 30)
• Massachusetts Pauses Residential and Commercial Evictions and Residential Foreclosures During the COVID-19 State of Emergency (April 21)
• Massachusetts Enacts Bill Including Provisions to Address Real Estate Permitting Challenges Posed by COVID-19 (April 3)
• Massachusetts Updates Essential Services List – See What Can Continue and What Must Stop (April 1)
• Governor Baker Issues Executive Order Concerning State Permits (March 27)
• Construction Projects: Preparing for Slowdowns or Project Shutdowns (March 24)
• Construction Orders in Place for Massachusetts, Boston and Cambridge (March 23)

Contact: Rebecca MacGregor

• When to Take Advantage of a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) (November 24)
• Webinar: Trust & Estate Planning in a Unique Year (October 14)
• Legal Considerations of Living Together in a Multi-Generational Home (October 13)
• Can I Withdraw Funds From My Retirement Account During COVID-19? (September 25)
• Gaining Access to Your College Student’s Records (August 31)
• Record Low Interest Rates Let You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too – Life Insurance, Investments & Intra-family Loans (August 12)
• Protecting Pets During the COVID-19 Pandemic (July 28)
• Trust Funding: the Overlooked Estate Planning Tool (May 11)
• Virtual Notarization and Witnessing of Your Documents During COVID-19 Emergency (April 28)
• Financial and Healthcare Decision-Making During a Crisis (April 10)
• The CARES Act Has Passed – Highlights for Individual Taxpayers (March 31)
• Planning for Incapacity: Identifying Authorized Health Care Agents for Incapacitated Patients (March 31)
• Proposed Emergency Notary Bill to Allow for Virtual Notarization (March 27)
• Coronavirus / COVID-19 and Estate Planning (March 13)

Contact: David Mawhinney

• Six Questions About Involuntary Bankruptcy (September 15)
• Getting Paid in Bankruptcy – Part IV, Employees (September 3)
• Getting Paid in Bankruptcy – Part III, Landlords, Leases, and Licenses (September 1)
• Getting Paid in Bankruptcy – Part II, Goods and Services (August 27)
• Getting Paid in Bankruptcy – Part I, Lender Claims (August 20)
• Webinar: 2020 Bankruptcy Bench Meets Bar: Part 2 (June 25)
• Webinar: Lender Liability During COVID-19 (May 12)
• Paying the Rent in Bankruptcy – An Overview of Chapter 11 for Commercial Tenants and Their Landlords (May 5)
• Lender Liability During COVID-19 (April 29)
• Webinar: “1st Look” at the Impact of COVID-19 on Business Bankruptcy Practice (April 27)

Contact: Maria Remillard

• Tis’ the Season: Holiday Co-Parenting During a Pandemic (December 2)
• What’s Love Got to do With It: When Unmarried Couples Live Like Married Couples (November 23)
• What’s Fair in Love and War: Divorce in a Volatile Market (October 7)
• Keeping Your Business Viable in the Event of a Divorce (September 8)
• Preparing for a Divorce During COVID-19 (May 18)
• Your Best Foot Forward – How to Prepare for Virtual Court Hearings and DCF Visits (May 7)
• Divorcing During COVID-19 (May 4)
• Child Support in Times of Uncertainty (April 1)
• Co-Parenting During the COVID-19 Pandemic (March 30)