The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), signed into law on Friday March 27, 2020, introduced the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”). https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548/text. The Small Business Association (SBA) launched the PPP on April 3, 2020, with an initial $349 billion in funding, and just 14 days later, by April 16, PPP lenders approved more than 1,661,000 loans totaling nearly $342.3 billion. https://www.sba.gov/document/report-20-14-flash-report-small-business-administrations-implementation-paycheck-protection-program-requirements. On April 24, 2020, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement…
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Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, in 1980 to provide broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. CERCLA holds various types of "potentially responsible parties" (PRPs) strictly liable for cleanup costs in two ways: 1. CERCLA allows the Environmental Protection Agency to compel PRPs to either pay for the EPAs cleanup costs or to perform cleanup…
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My contempt for the COVID-19 hysteria is well known. I am convinced that individuals and government entities are grossly overreacting in the absence or ignorance of fact, and I am not convinced that we could not have accomplished the same result as we have for less than the roughly 9 trillion dollars it’s costing. Regardless of what we did, we did those things, and continue to do them. Those things have unintended consequences that are ongoing. One thing that has…
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Congratulations to Jason Mackey who has been selected to the 2020 Virginia Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Jason Mackey has been with Setliff Law for 7 years and in that time has consistently demonstrated an ability substantially “beyond his years,” according to firm owner Steve Setliff. "His work on a day to day basis is outstanding—in…
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Maryland and Virginia have issued emergency orders that require most people to stay at home or otherwise prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people and shut down businesses deemed non-essential in an effort to mitigate and contain the spread of COVID-19. These orders, however, exempt businesses deemed essential by Maryland and Virginia. Businesses deemed essential include transportation and logistics companies as these companies are delivering food supplies and equipment necessary for everyday life. Maryland On March 18, 2020, Governor Larry…
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Everyone knows to wear a seat belt. Some cars even have sticker warnings, while other car systems flash warning signals when the car starts, but how many drivers adhere to these warnings? Who is at fault if someone doesn’t wear a seat belt and gets hurt? Is it the employer? Is it the employee? The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act (the “Act”) is the governing statute that controls how and if a claimant can recover from a workplace related injury in…
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Along with panic buying toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and hand soap, mocking the COVID-19 or “Wuhan” Coronavirus has become something of a pastime of mine. Efforts to cash in on the bad news are not limited to investments, snake oil, and hoarding food, we’re also seeing CNN podcasts and continuing legal education seminars on the subject. Not wanting to make light of what could be a very serious situation – eventually – I found myself wondering how this might actually…
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When evaluating alleged corporate misconduct, courts regularly look to the language of a company handbook when determining whether policies and procedures conform with (or violate) state and federal law. How confident are you in the text of your policy manual? Does your company handbook go too far? For example, does your company handbook limit how drivers may spend their downtime? If so, the policy should be reconsidered to avoid prospective liability. Case in point, in January, the U.S. Court of…
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On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued additional guidance regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Given the rapidly developing legal issues surrounding the Act, we are providing the DOL guidance to you. See attached FFCRA Employer Paid Leave Requirements and FFCRA Employee Expanded Family and Medical Leave Rights. The DOL guidance indicates that there will be an initial non-enforcement or trial period for the first 30 days -- as long as the employer is acting reasonably…
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Federal Tax Credits for Small and Midsize Businesses to Recover Costs of Coronavirus-Related Leave On March 20, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (Labor) announced that small and midsize employers can begin taking advantage of two new refundable payroll tax credits, designed to immediately and fully reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave to their employees. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom The Act will give all American businesses with fewer than 500…
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