As anticipated, on April 5, 2020, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-38 suspending “strict compliance” with the required response periods under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).

As anticipated, on April 2, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-35 (the “Order”) regarding the provision of K-12 education in Michigan for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order No. 2020-36, requiring certain individuals to stay at home even if they were otherwise allowed to leave home for work as a critical infrastructure worker, and prohibiting employers from taking adverse action against employees who stay home in compliance with the order.

The Order suspends the requirement of the Open Meetings Act that members of a public body be physically present at meetings of the public body, and the limitations of the Open Meetings Act as to when members of a public body may participate in meetings of the public body remotely. 

These new filing and payment deadlines follow in the wake of the Internal Revenue Service’s postponement of certain federal filing and payment deadlines to July 2020. 

On April 1, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) posted a temporary rule containing temporary regulations regarding the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).

The CARES Act amended the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 to increase the eligibility threshold for businesses filing under new subchapter V of chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code from $2,725,625 of debt to $7,500,000.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting government actions have raised a number of questions regarding compliance with ongoing disclosure requirements.

The new guidance focuses on the extent to which the “health or safety emergency” exception permits disclosure of PII in connection with COVID-19 emergencies.  

The guidance addresses several topics concerning the paid sick leave (under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act) and the expanded family and medical leave (under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act). 

For the $10 million grant program, the MEDC has partnered with Local Economic Development Organizations in 15 regions of the state to administer the grants. Each organization will be using the same or similar application forms and processes for selection and administration.

How can cash-strapped companies quickly and effectively resolve their business disputes in the wake of this global pandemic? One promising option – if both parties will agree to it – is expedited remote arbitration.

While the Stabilization Act prohibits the forgiveness of any principal amount of a loan to a State or municipality, it ties the interest rate on such loans to “the risk [related to such debt] and the current average yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturity.” This provision could serve to calm the recent volatility in the relationship between U.S. Treasury yields and that of State and municipal debt.

The Act expands employee benefit plan opportunities through the relaxation of certain requirements (including under the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) for retirement plans, health plans and certain medical reimbursement accounts. Plan sponsors should carefully review plan documentation to consider implications on their benefit offerings and administration.

The update is designed to help employees and employers understand their rights and obligations concerning paid leave.

The CARES Act clarifies that a covered employer is not required to pay more than $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate for each eligible employee who takes leave provided by the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (i.e., leave to care for children due to school closures or unavailability of childcare as a result of COVID-19).

A significant feature of the CARES Act is the loan program known as the Paycheck Protection Program. Applicants can receive loan proceeds to be used for the payment of eligible payroll costs including compensation, medical or sick leave, group health care benefits (including insurance premiums), interest on debt obligations incurred before the covered period, and rent, mortgage and utilities payments during the covered period. 

A significant feature of the CARES Act is the loan program known as the Paycheck Protection Program. Applicants can receive loan proceeds to be used for the payment of compensation, commissions, health care costs, interest on debt obligations, rent and utilities as well as other traditionally allowable uses.

The Act authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make loans, loan guarantees, other investments and subsidies to provide liquidity for losses incurred as a result of coronavirus to air carriers, U.S. businesses, states and municipalities. 

The CARES Act includes many provisions for small business, including the paycheck protection program, economic injury disaster loans (EIDLs) and emergency grants, loan payment subsidies, and education, training and assistance grants to small business development centers, women business centers and minority business centers.

During the ongoing pandemic, businesses and individuals should be wary of social engineering cyber-attacks designed to exploit confusion and anxiety in this especially stressful time.

The Governor has encouraged businesses to donate essential medical supplies and personal protection equipment to local health care providers to be used in their COVID-19 efforts.

With many school districts and intermediate school districts continuing to provide services, whether through virtual learning or meals for needy families, we have compiled the available guidance to date as to what public education employees might fall within the exceptions.

All individuals living in Michigan must stay home and refrain from gathering in public or in private with people outside their household.

Miller Canfield has prepared a tracking chart of how various courts have responded to this crisis.

The practical impact to many commercial tenants – particularly small businesses without significant cash reserves – is that they will have difficulty paying employees and vendors, let alone making rent and loan payments. This should concern both landlords and creditors who hold their mortgages.

The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”) requires covered employers to provide advance notice of “plant closings” and “mass layoffs” that resulting in an “employment loss” at a single site of employment during any 30-day period. In addition to the statutory provisions, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued regulations establishing basic definitions and rules for giving notice.

Work Share allows employees to share available work at reduced hours and receive partial unemployment benefits. For example: If an employer were faced with laying off 3 critical full-time employees, it may be more beneficial for the company to reduce the hours of each employee and allow each to collect partial unemployment insurance benefits which correspond to the reduction in the employee's hours.

All California State's residents were ordered to stay home or at their place of residence, except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.

All Illinois residents are ordered to stay home or at their place of residence, except for "Essential Activities, Essential Governmental Functions, or to operate Essential Businesses and Operations."

Paid leave requirements under the FFCRA—the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, providing for paid sick leave, and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, providing for expanded family and medical leave—are effective on April 1, 2020.

All Ohio residents were ordered to stay at home or their place of residence unless they are engaged in essential activities or essential governmental functions, or to operate essential businesses or operations, until April 6, 2020.

Although many business owners associate bankruptcy with going out of business signs and empty store fronts, a new bankruptcy law that went into effect in February 2019 is geared towards providing owners with debt relief while allowing them to continue operating their businesses.

If the employees' employment has actually been terminated, then a COBRA qualifying event will have likely occurred and the employees should be provided the option to elect continuation coverage pursuant to COBRA (or potentially other state continuation laws). However, in the context of many layoffs, leaves of absence, furloughs, and other reductions in force, a termination of employment does not actually occur. In such cases, the health insurance coverage analysis is more convoluted. 

The notice applies only to federal income taxes, including self-employment tax. It does not apply to any other federal tax, nor does it apply to any state or local income tax. A number of states separately are providing their own announcements of deferral of filing and payment.

The deferred filing date does not prevent a taxpayer that has overpaid its income tax from filing prior to July 15, 2020, for a refund of the overpayment.

This summary focuses on force majeure provisions in commercial leases; however, landlords and tenants should realize that commercial real estate will feel the effects of COVID-19 in many other ways.

Categories of small business eligible under the program are those detailed in Executive Order 2020-09, including restaurants and other places of public accommodation offering food or beverages for on premises consumption; bars, breweries, distilleries and other places of public accommodation offering alcoholic beverages for on premises consumption; theaters, cinemas and indoor and outdoor performance venues; libraries and museums; gymnasiums and fitness centers; licensed casinos, racetracks and millionaire parties; and other places of public amusement.

Employers with employees taking physical proximity precautions due to COVID-19 will not be required to review the employee's identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence. However, employers must inspect the employee's identity and employment authorization documents remotely (e.g., over video link, fax, or email, etc.) and obtain, inspect, and retain copies of the documents, within three business days.

The definition of who is deemed to be an "essential worker" may change daily. Therefore, we advise all employers to use common sense in light of the advisory.

Miller Canfield provides the resources, legal and business advice to help clients respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and plan to recover strong.

The legislation establishes paid leave and enhances access to unemployment insurance for employees.

Measures aimed at monitoring how the virus spreads may inevitably require processing "personal data," including health information about individuals who may have been exposed or infected with the virus. We highlight key data privacy considerations to keep in mind.

Employers who have been ordered to close or limit their operations due to an Executive Order will not be charged for unemployment benefits that their employees receive between March 16 and April 15, 2020.

While remote-work technology can provide opportunities to improve employee working conditions and facilitate ongoing work during this crisis, it can also create potential liabilities for businesses. Businesses adopting these policies should keep several key issues in mind.

As a result of COVID-19 and its effects, including government-ordered shutdowns and advisories, many businesses will voluntarily and involuntarily close or significantly reduce operations. Each business should assess what sources of funds might become available to cover losses and mitigate adverse financial effects, including insurance.

All immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments scheduled on Monday, March 16, 2020, onward have been cancelled. Once the posts are able to resume regular consular operations, appointments will be made available and individuals will be able to reschedule.

Going forward, the IRS intends to use issue-based examinations, updated forms and requests for guidance to promote voluntary compliance, to focus resources on the highest-risk research issues and to achieve examination consistency.

In light of the increasingly alarming spread of COVID-19 in the United States, employers and businesses need to be prepared for the potential COVID-19 pandemic.

Miller Canfield has assembled a rapid-response team to address client needs surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We are currently assisting clients as they develop their business continuity plans and prepare for the possibility of mass worker outages.

For international supply contracts, Article 79 of the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods ("CISG") may govern and determine if, and under what circumstances, a party affected by COVID-19 may be excused from performance.

The rule overturns the NLRB's 2015 decision in Browning Ferris Industries and significantly narrows the circumstances in which two employers will be found to be joint employers of a group of employees.   

With the expected spike of absenteeism, wage and hours problems can arise during a pandemic. Employers must always keep their obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") in mind in dealing with these issues.

Employers covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) must allow an eligible employee to take leave due to a serious health condition of the employee or to care for the employee’s close family member with a serious health condition. While COVID-19 shares flu-like symptoms, it is known to cause severe illnesses, complications, hospitalizations, incapacitation, and even death. Thus, it is possible that infection by COVID-19 may involve a serious health condition, requiring covered employers to provide eligible employees with FMLA job-protected leave.

The increasing fear around COVID-19, which was first detected in China, can lead to stigmatizing Chinese or other Asian individuals. However, according to the CDC, just being Chinese or Asian does not increase the chance of contracting or spreading COVID-19. Treating an employee adversely because of his or her race or national origin solely out of fear of pandemic virus implicates the non-discrimination obligation imposed on employers by Title VII and the ELCRA.

Employers are advised to plan and be prepared to respond to COVID-19 in designing and implementing an infectious disease outbreak response plan.

Employers and plan fiduciaries should take careful note of a recent ruling issued by the United States Supreme Court which may prompt increased Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") litigation and otherwise alter the landscape of ERISA challenges. 

Several factors need to be considered, depending on the nature of the supply contract involved.

Employers may begin using the updated Form I-9 now. After April 30, 2020, employers must use the updated Form I-9.

New U.S. Treasury rules expanding the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review foreign direct investment in the United States take effect on Feb. 13.

Brexit finally arrived on Jan. 31, 2020, and we are now in the period during which the UK and EU will negotiate the final rules governing their future. During this transition period, the UK and EU will continue to recognize IP rights without change. When the transition period ends on Dec. 31, 2020, some changes to IP rights will come into effect in the UK and EU.

Recent decisions indicate that the Board will continue to emphasize the need to give management more room to exercise discretion

It is extremely important that employers notify Miller Canfield immediately if they wish to file any H-1B CAP petitions. Miller Canfield must conduct a complete and thorough evaluation of the employee's eligibility for H-1B CAP sponsorship, as well as register the employer under the new electronic registration process, prior to the opening of the initial registration period on March 1, 2020.

This alert summarizes the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 ("SBRA"), the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need ("HAVEN") Act, and the Family Farmer Relief Act.

The final rule sets out the standards to determine joint employer status that can arise in two potential scenarios.

The new California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA") became effective on January 1, 2020, providing new rights and protections for consumers and their data privacy.

Employers, plan sponsors, and plan administrators ring in the New Year with new recordkeeping and administrative challenges for 2020 and beyond. The SECURE Act is publicized as the most significant change to the laws governing employer-provided retirement plans since the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

'Tis the season of making resolutions for the new year. Here are the top three things you can do to ensure that you protect and enhance the value of your trademarks and brands in the coming year.

On 20 July 2018, the Sejm enacted an “Act on the transformation of the right of perpetual usufruct of housing properties into freehold ownership”, which provided for the conversion of perpetual usufructs of housing properties to freeholds as of 1 January 2019. One year on is a good time to reflect on how the Act is working out in practice.

Higher education institutions and other athletics organizations should start considering how the changes could affect their relations with student-athletes.

The issue of supervision of the construction process by the architect is regulated both by public-law norms and private-law norms, specifically by the Construction Law of 7 July 1994 and the Copyright and Related Rights Act of 4 February 1994, respectively. This state of affairs often leads to interpretive confusion.

Our interdisciplinary P3 team works with clients nationwide and locally to solve their most pressing legal issues by creating innovative solutions.

Importers of List 4A Chinese-origin products should consider submitting exclusion requests.

Many vendors who dealt with the Sears debtors before they filed for bankruptcy can expect to be sued soon to recover a preferential transfer.

Employers should review their applications, handbooks, and other policies to determine whether they include limitations periods shorter than 180 days, as such policies will no longer be enforceable for claims of discrimination, harassment or retaliation brought under Title VII. 

The rule will increase the minimum salary required for an employee to qualify for most exemptions (administrative, executive and professional) from the current level of $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 per week ($35,568 per year).

If your commercial contracts involve Incoterms, now is a good time to check those provisions to confirm that the correct term is being used and also to determine whether they are impacted by the update.

Investment advisers advising hedge funds and other private funds and their investors in Michigan may be exempt from registering with the Bureau. 

The changes introduced by the Amendment should speed up the process of obtaining environmental decisions, and reduce its costs. As a result, the time it takes to get the necessary permits to start a project in Poland should become shorter.

Employer-plan sponsors must review plan provisions/procedures related to hardship distributions to determine what actions are required to ensure administrative and operational compliance.

The overall effect of the proposed rules, if enacted, will be limit the degree to which unions and employers can prevent elections through unilateral action or by agreement.

Design patents continue to be an important strategic tool to protect innovation and the ornamental design of commercial products.

Nike acknowledges that Leonard provided a "rough draft" of a logo, but maintains that Nike registered a different logo that was created by a team of Nike designers on a "work-for-hire" basis.

These two trademark cases join two patent cases that the Supreme Court will hear during its next term.

For the most part, the new discovery rules more closely track the federal discovery rules. In some instances, however, the changes impose even greater obligations on parties than the federal rules.

Importers of List 3 Chinese-origin products should consider submitting exclusion requests by September 30, 2019.

Miller Canfield attorneys have acted as evaluators in some of Amazon's earliest evaluations of its new Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation Program, and we are thoroughly familiar with the process and procedures.

The tariff increase applies to Chinese-origin products that are covered by a subheading or product description listed in Note 20(f) or 20(g) to Chapter 99, Subchapter III, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

Employers should notify Miller Canfield immediately if they wish to request Premium Processing Service for any remaining H-1B cap-subject cases.

Leonard claims that Nike perpetrated a fraud on the U.S. Copyright office when it registered—without Leonard’s consent—a stylized claw logo that incorporates Leonard’s initials and jersey number. Leonard claims to have conceptualized the logo in college and refined it by late December 2011.

This article and flow chart are designed to help school districts analyze the accounting and legal issues raised by this new fiduciary guidance.

New guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reaffirms that business associates must have proper HIPAA compliance practices, safeguards and documentation in place in order to avoid costly penalties.

The decision marks a victory for trademark licensees as it cements the rights of licensees of trademarks regardless of the rejection of the agreement in bankruptcy.

Affected companies must immediately cease providing U.S. Items as part of Huawei Group Transactions, assess whether reliance upon the Temporary General License is warranted, and implement proactive procedures to ensure compliance with this Department of Commerce action.

Employers should notify Miller Canfield immediately if they wish to request premium processing for eligible H-1B cap-subject cases requesting change of status.

U.S. companies need to pay close attention as to how this Executive Order can affect their business.