By Jillian Tattersall, Chicago Employment Lawyer & Guest Blogger
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. The United States Department of Labor has provided the following useful succinct summary of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance:
Unemployment Benefits under CARES Act
Cyber Security Issues while working remotely.
Does your cyber liability insurance cover data breaches that occur while employees are working at home, using their personal devices such as tablets and laptops?
There’s no time like the present to look into this issue, with most employees telecommuting and hackers perhaps sensing new opportunities to do what they do—and in fact, cyber intrusions have been on the upswing in recent weeks.
Business FAQs about the COVID-19 Pandemic
Small and medium-sized businesses with up to 500 employees are required to provide employees with up to 14 weeks of leave, most of which must be paid, for circumstances related to COVID-19, under a pair of temporary pieces of legislation that passed Congress last month.
Starting April 2 and through December 31, 2020, the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act requires that employers provide up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave—which has been required to be offered, but not required to be paid, since the 1993 passage of the original legislation. And also from April 2 through the end of the year, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act requires two weeks of paid sick leave.
As Chicago area business litigation lawyers this is a question we frequently are asked.
Electronic Signatures are Enforceable under Illinois Laws.
E-Signatures are permissible and valid in Illinois under the Illinois Electronic Commerce Security Act (the ECSA).
What to do when your business is forced to close due to the CoronaVirus?
Does your business insurance policy cover the lost business due to the pandemic? Most businesses carry commercial property insurance, which often includes business income coverage provisions.
Recent events have caused our Chicago area business clients to raise questions as to what to do when their business is forced to close by Governor Pritzker’s “Stay-At-Home Order.” Business owners have some options they might want to consider.
As coronavirus puts workplaces and indeed whole states including Illinois into “shelter in place” mode, employers need to respond quickly and sensitively to a host of health-related issues that no one anticipated dealing with as recently as a few weeks ago.
COVID-19 Pandemic and Employment Issues
These questions apply less directly to the many employees who are able to work from home during the crisis, but those whose employers remain open and who need to be on site to do their jobs will have to strike a delicate balance with their employers between safety, and performance of one’s job duties (and continuing to get paid).
SBA Loans to Small Businesses affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
THERE IS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
Practically every small business is feeling the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world. The restaurant and hospitality industries have been hit the hardest, but every business has seen the adverse effects.
Did someone say force majeure?
COVID-19 Pandemic and Force Majeure clauses
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, force majeure is defined as “An event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled.” It is generally viewed as an unexpected event that prevents someone from doing or completing something that he or she had agreed to do. The term is usually applied to acts of God (such as floods and hurricanes), riots, strikes and wars. It is unclear, however, if the term includes an epidemic, such as COVID-19. That legal term for unforeseen circumstances resulting in non-fulfillment of a contract is likely to be invoked widely this spring and summer as businesses are unable to make good on commitments due to the corona virus crisis.
As Harvey Weinstein rape trial moves forward, has your Chicago area business kept up with the increased awareness of sexual harassment and moved forward with adequate policy and cultural safeguards to ensure that you’re not the next target of the #MeToo movement?
#MeToo Movement is changing business environment protections.
A survey conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, in conjunction with the software company SAP, found that one-third of U.S. workers and 38% of supervisors say they have changed their office behavior as a result of #MeToo.
Marijuana became legal in Illinois on January 1, yet licensed cannabis dispensaries are generally forced to operate like their street-corner, black-market counterparts in at least one respect: They are cash-only businesses because they have no access to banking services.
Illinois Cannabis Laws create new issues
That’s because federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, and classifies marijuana businesses as illegal. And since banking is regulated by federal law, banks technically could be subject to charges like aiding and abetting, or money laundering, should they make loans, provide credit or otherwise service these businesses.
