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Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we find ourselves in challenging times and understand that our current circumstances are unique and filled with uncertainty. Overcoming this challenge requires preparation, strategy, decision-making and execution.
Bowditch stands ready to fully support our clients in a collective effort to confront and overcome this crisis. Towards that end, we have established a multi-disciplinary Task Force that is equipped to handle the myriad of challenges faced by our clients in these difficult times.
We are counseling our clients on crisis management and legal issues across a multitude of industries and disciplines, including, labor and employment; hotel, restaurant and hospitality; workplace safety and OSHA compliance; corporate governance; supply chain disruptions; force majeure and other contract clauses; privacy and cybersecurity; real estate, construction and landlord/tenant issues; insurance coverage and recovery; bankruptcy; and regulatory compliance.
Should you have any questions or need guidance on COVID-19 and its impact on your business, please contact your Bowditch attorney or one of the attorneys listed below. We encourage you to visit this page regularly for new content.
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT
Contacts: Robert Young, Terrence Briggs, Jacob Tosti
- 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)
BUSINESS & FINANCE (INCLUDING NONPROFITS & TAX)
Contacts: Rory Fazendeiro, Peter Martin, Sandra O’Neill
- 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)
- 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)
INSURANCE, DISPUTE RESOLUTION & LITIGATION
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)
REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Contacts: Jonathan Hausner, Brian Grossman
- 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)
ESTATE PLANNING & BUSINESS SUCCESSION
Contact: Rebecca MacGregor
- 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)
BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
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)
FAMILY LAW
Contact: Maria Remillard
- 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)
Partners
Associates
Publications
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Client Alert: New DOL Regulations Narrow The FFCRA’s “Health Care Provider” Exemption
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Client Alert: Six Questions About Involuntary Bankruptcy
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Peter Martin and Jake Tosti write “Restructuring Practices the Legal Way” for Worcester Medicine
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Julie O’Neill and Maria Remillard write “Keeping your business viable in the event of a divorce” for the Worcester Business Journal
Events & Recordings
News
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David Felper quoted in The MetroWest Daily News’ “MetroWest teachers concerned laws don’t keep them safe in the classroom”
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Rebecca MacGregor quoted in Forbes’ “Need A Loan? Tax Rules Now Let You Borrow From Family At Ultra Low Interest Rates”
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Bob Young quoted in MetroWest Daily News’ “Restaurants face labor challenges as they move to reopen amid pandemic”
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Bob Cox Interviewed by the Worcester Business Journal for “Leadership in a time of crisis”
Commercial Real Estate Insight & News
Bowditch Launches COVID-19 Initiative to Counsel, Support and Guide Clients in Uncharted Times
Katherine Garrahan quoted in The MetroWest Daily News’ “Municipalities seek to help restaurants with outdoor dining options”
Jonathan Hausner, Samantha McDonald, Mary Feeney, and Brian Grossman write, “COVID-19 Legal Impacts Far-Reaching for RE” for The Real Reporter
Katherine Garrahan and Bob Cox write “Broader state authorization, municipal flexibility needed to help businesses survive” for Worcester Telegram
Don’t Tax Yourself
Bowditch Launches COVID-19 Initiative to Counsel, Support and Guide Clients in Uncharted Times
A Trap for the Unwary – IRS Denies Deductions for Expenses Paid with Forgiven PPP Loans
Record Low Interest Rates Let You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too – Life Insurance, Investments & Intra-family Loans
Rebecca MacGregor quoted in Forbes’ “Need A Loan? Tax Rules Now Let You Borrow From Family At Ultra Low Interest Rates”