Did your company adopt a COVID-19 leave policy after passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)?  If so, now is a good time to revisit those policies after the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) revised its FFCRA regulations last month in response to a recent court decision.

Insurance Coverage Attorney Ryan P. Maxwell was quoted in the September 22, 2020 edition of Carrier Management.

Hurwitz & Fine’s Coverage Team has compiled a survey of known COVID-19 business interruption complaints filed to date.

The Joint Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, in a widely anticipated ruling, declined to consolidate all federal COVID-19 business interruption litigation into a single action.

A second court has now found that a typical property insurance policy does not provide business interruption coverage for COVID-19 losses.

The Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”) is the second COVID-19 loan program being offered to small- to medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the onset of the pandemic, but were either unable to take advantage of the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) or are in need of additional funding after already receiving a PPP loan.  There is one critical difference between the MSLP and PPP however; the MSLP loan is not forgivable and must be repaid.

Attorney V. Christopher Potenza was featured on the cover of the August 2020 edition of CLM Magazine providing insight on how the pandemic will impact the make-up and mindset of potential jurors.

New York Governor Cuomo recently issued Executive Order 205, which requires certain individuals to quarantine for 14 days upon arriving in New York if they are traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19

This alert summarizes some of the key differences between the office-based guidance issued on May 28 and the updated guidance on June 26.  Businesses should check the date at the top of the guidance to determine when it was last updated for their industry.

Attorney Katherine L. Wood was featured as a guest contributor to Step Out Buffalo Business's Business Blog on July 8, 2020.

Hurwitz & Fine's Insurance Coverage team was quoted in Claims Journal and Insurance Journal on July 7, 2020 for its analysis of the first COVID-19 decision last week by a trial court judge in Lansing, Michigan.

Attorney Lee S. Siegel was quoted in the Best's Insurance News & Analysis July 6, 2020 article.

The Hurwitz & Fine Coverage Team prepared a consolidated resource document comprised of legislative summaries for all proposed state and federal legislation to date concerning COVID-19 business interruption coverage.

The first substantive COVID-19 business interruption decision nationwide is a big win for insurance carriers. A Michigan state court holds that “direct physical loss of or damage to property” requires more than mere loss of use/access, and, as a bonus, that the virus exclusion unambiguously excludes coverage for the viral pandemic.

In Part 2 of this series, we will focus on the new EEOC guidance related to age, sex, and pregnancy discrimination issues that may arise as the result of the pandemic. 

With many regions now in Phase 3 of New York’s reopening plan, employers should be aware of potential claims they may not immediately view as COVID-19 related.

New York State Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) recently published a fact sheet—entitled COVID-19 & Workers’ Compensation Q&A—which suggests that many COVID-19 claims are likely to be approved.  The key take-aways from the fact sheet and best practices for employers are summarized in this alert.

As of June 4, 2020, outdoor and patio dining have re-opened in WNY as part of Phase 2 of the State’s re-opening plan. How should employers go about re-opening their outdoor dining spaces, and what should they know about the NYS Department of Labor Interim Guidance on outdoor dining? 

More than 350 Business Interruption lawsuits have been filed by policy holders against insurers in response to the pandemic. Attorneys Lee S. Siegel and Ryan P. Maxwell talked to Buffalo Business First in the June 5, 2020 edition on what could happen next.

The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was signed into law on June 5th, making the program's lending terms more favorable to small businesses.