News & Legal Updates Archive

Governors nationwide are taking unprecedented steps to mitigate negative impacts on businesses and their employees caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Most recently, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine followed their Illinois counterpart and announced that their respective state governments will be expanding coverage for unemployment benefits, effective immediately.

The U.S. House of Representatives has already amended the broad Families First Coronavirus Response Act legislation that provides new FMLA rights and paid sick leave for employees related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). The House had just passed the legislation with overwhelming support on Saturday, March 14, 2020.

The coronavirus crisis shouldn't be the end of your business, even if you had to temporarily shut down. To survive, you will need to preserve cash and proactively communicate with your lenders, vendors, landlords, employees, customers and insurance brokers.

It is not uncommon to receive calls from clients after learning of their customers negotiating with lenders and other creditors about balance sheet and liquidity issues, including planning for potential bankruptcy filings. Clients typically ask questions about collecting past due amounts or customers filing for bankruptcy protection. However, often unstated in these preliminary conversations, clients really want to know how they can protect themselves without losing the customer, particularly where that customer represents a significant portion of revenues

At a press conference on Sunday, March 15, 2020, Ohio’s Lt. Governor John Husted announced that Ohio will be making a series of changes to the unemployment compensation system to assist workers who are displaced as a result of the coronavirus spread.  

According to the National Restaurant Association, over 1 million restaurants operate in the United States. They employ over 15.6 million and were projected to generate sales of $899 billion in 2020. With outbreaks of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading throughout the country, the restaurant and hospitality industries have been hard hit.

In response to the unprecedented impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), on March 14 the  U.S. House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which is intended to provide a broad range of assistance to businesses and individuals. Specifically, for employers and employees the bill includes measures that will expand the FMLA and provide for emergency paid leave for employers of 500 or fewer employees. The bill would extend these protections through the end of 2020.   

CMS is issuing nearly daily updates regarding its actions to support American healthcare facilities and clinical laboratories in responding to COVID-19. 

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading across the globe, impacting work force availability, manufacturing and supply chains in a variety of industries. As the economic impact of the pandemic deepens, businesses would be wise to consider all manner of risk mitigation tools available.  One step is for businesses to consult with their insurance brokers and review their insurance policies to determine whether they have available business-interruption insurance in place to help potentially mitigate losses stemming from the pandemic.

The SEC has issued an order providing conditional regulatory relief to publically traded companies that may have been affected by the coronavirus. Subject to certain conditions, the SEC’s order provides qualifying companies an additional 45 days to file certain required reports that otherwise would be due between March 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020.

Last September, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that will require providers and suppliers undergoing Medicare enrollment or revalidation (referred to in this blog as “enrolling providers”) to disclose affiliations they or a wide range of their owners, leaders or professionals, have had within the last five years with any provider or supplier involved in a “disclosable event.”

Cybercriminals continue to exploit any opportunity to target the data of unsuspecting victims with malicious malware, even using a growing health crisis like the coronavirus pandemic as subterfuge.

It used to be that restructuring lawyers would pen (on a seemingly weekly basis) law review articles and other missives about how directors and officers of insolvent or near-insolvent companies must comply with stringent fiduciary duties to creditors. The state of the law at the time created uncertainties for directors and officers and lent itself to a proliferation on this topic. 

On March 6, a court in the Central District of California granted in part a joint request for a stay of litigation in UPL NA, Inc. v. Tide International (USA), Inc. as discovery efforts were being “severely impacted by the outbreak of coronavirus.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an interim guidance for employers regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19). This guidance may help prevent workplace exposure to COVID-19.

With proper planning, the current environment may create openings to deleverage bloated balance sheets, and to fix and extract value from broken or outdated business models.

With the outbreak of the coronavirus, automotive suppliers and customers have scrambled to keep the supply chain running.  While these efforts have succeeded with few exceptions so far, the ability of suppliers to meet customers’ needs remains in jeopardy in many cases while the virus continues to spread.

McDonald Hopkins LLC has announced the addition of Serena G. Rabie as an associate in the Business Restructuring Department of the firm’s Chicago office.

As the virus continues to spread, it is unclear the long-term ramifications it will have for businesses. One of the questions companies should be asking is, “Does the coronavirus outbreak fall within the operation of a force majeure clause?”

Nicholas Miller has joined the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins LLC, where his experience representing organizations of all sizes will enhance the firm’s Business Restructuring Department. 

The changes and issues facing both the automotive and aerospace industries are beginning to be felt in their supply bases, especially at the Tier 2, Tier 3, and lower levels. 

With the anticipated spread of the coronavirus, employers are looking for ways to continue operations and at the same time limit their employees’ risk of exposure to the virus. Employers may direct some employees  to work from home, while others employees may be furloughed, asked to work a reduced schedule, or may be sick.

McDonald Hopkins' Robert Triozzi will lead the Cleveland Marshall College of Law’s Criminal Justice Center new "Day One Project." The new initiative aims to provide crime suspects with the time and attention they need to adequately make their case for being released to a judge, time and attention that overtaxed public defenders can’t always provide.

On Feb. 21, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down a major decision reaffirming that a defendant’s tender of the full amount of the plaintiff’s claim moots the claim under Illinois law, including a putative class action lawsuit so long as the defendant tenders payment prior to the plaintiff filing a motion for class certification.

Unfortunately, being prepared for an emergency situation, including an active assailant situation, is a necessity in today’s day and age. In light of the horrific events that occurred yesterday at the Molson Coors Beverage Company corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, we would like to provide you with information on steps that employers can take to help mitigate the risk of workplace violence,

Perhaps the most important part of recording a mechanic’s lien to help secure your right to payment is the strict obligation to meet the applicable deadlines, and it is important to understand what those deadlines are and when the applicable clock starts to run.

Six cyber savvy tips on protecting your employees and your business from W-2 phishing scams and the ensuing identity theft, tax fraud, data breach notification obligations, lawsuits, regulatory investigations, and potentially fines and penalties.

In late 2019, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) into law. The SECURE Act contains a number of provisions that affect individuals as well as employers with respect to their retirement programs. Some of the provisions are required and some are optional. This article will address the potentially optional provisions of the SECURE Act affecting retirement plans and IRAs. 

It has become a constant internal battle for contractors: Do I comply with the strict claim notice requirements in my contract to avoid possibly waiving my claim, knowing that the owner may label me a “claims contractor” for sending such notices? Or do I withhold those claim notices in an effort to play nice during the project with the hopes that the owner will make things right at the end and risk waiving my claims by failing to comply with the claim notice requirements?

On Dec. 18, 2019, the SEC proposed an amendment to the definition of “accredited investor” which would expand the potential pool of institutional and individual investors that may participate in private securities offerings.

On Jan. 15, 2020, a Texas District Court granted a permanent injunction in favor of the provider, preventing CMS from recouping on an alleged $7.5 million overpayment until an administrative law judge hearing is set. This court opinion and overview of the appeal process may serve as a guide (or provide insight) for providers in other jurisdictions that are at risk for future overpayments and potential recoupment. 

McDonald Hopkins national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group co-chair Dominic Paluzzi has been honored by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of 30 attorneys honored as part of the “Leaders in the Law” Class of 2020.

The United Church of Christ News recently provided its readers an overview of insight from Patrick Shaw, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, provided during a webcast co-presented with McDonald Hopkins' Ryan Neumeyer. The webcast focused on confronting violence in houses of worship.

Employers can use the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recently released data on the fiscal year 2019 charge statistics to understand employment law risks and how to combat them.

A California resident has filed a putative class action asserting that a clothing retailer and its e-commerce platform failed to reasonably secure consumer personal information, resulting in a data breach that exposed more than 10,000 California residents’ personal information. This is the first lawsuit filed citing violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a new law effective as of Jan. 1, 2020

There are no legal requirements or OSHA regulations that require construction contractors to hold toolbox talks. That being said, conducting regular toolbox talks — whether  daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly — can help you comply with health and safety laws, including OSHA’s standards.

In late 2019, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) into law. The SECURE Act contains a number of provisions that affect individuals as well as employers with respect to their retirement programs. Some of the provisions are required and some are optional. This article will address the mandatory provisions of the SECURE Act affecting retirement plans and IRAs. 

In an article for Crain's Cleveland Business, McDonald Hopkins' Carl Grassi takes a look at the SECURE Act's impact on retirement and estate plans

Perhaps the most fundamental aspect of proper construction project documentation is to do just that—actually document the various aspects of the project (e.g., the agreement, changes to the agreement, notices, claims, and other major milestones). What should you document, how should you do it, and why? 

Update on the cost for copies of medical records in Illinois in 2020. The purpose of the charge is to allow the producing facility or practitioner to be reimbursed for all reasonable costs associated with copying the medical records, including the costs of independent copy service companies, as applicable. 

On episode 37 of MH Business Exchange, McDonald Hopkins attorney Michael Riley joins host Mike Witzke for a conversation about the impact of the SECURE Act on Estate Plans.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is requiring all ODOT prime contractors to become compliant with Proposal Note 031 (Prompt Payment) by entering and signing all previously made subcontractor payments (on open projects) by Feb. 1, 2020 and by entering and signing future subcontractor payments as they are made. 

Nicholas Schmidt has joined the Detroit office of McDonald Hopkins PLC as an associate in the Litigation Department.

Three attorneys at McDonald Hopkins have been recognized on the Illinois Super Lawyers list as being among the top attorneys in Illinois for 2020. Another four McDonald Hopkins attorneys were recognized on the list of Illinois Rising Stars. 

Business conditions in the U.S. will modestly improve or stay the course this year. That’s the prediction of 75% of the business executives who responded to the 10^th annual McDonald Hopkins Business Outlook Survey.

Adam J. Grais has joined the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins LLC, where his experience advising businesses and business owners on structuring transactions and in addressing complex federal income tax issues will enhance the firm’s Tax and Benefits Department.

McDonald Hopkins featured in article on cybersecurity trends in 2020 in The Shift, a digital publication focused on emerging technology. 

Colin Battersby was quoted in Corp! magazine discussing the potential for foreign interference in U.S. elections due to a data breach.

Certified Information Privacy Professional Nicholas A. Kurk has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as a member in the firm’s Chicago office.

As concern and fear of the coronavirus grows, many employers are wondering what, if anything, they should be doing to keep their workplace safe. McDonald Hopkins has information on workplace safety precautions during the coronavirus outbreak and guidance on ADA and FMLA concerns related to the illness.