Publications

I. Introduction On April 28, 2020, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced that the Small Business Association would be conducting a “full audit” of any loans over $2 million made pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) before those loans can be forgiven. The PPP was created as part of the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 […]

Temporary Acceptability of Expired List B Identity Documents for Form I-9 The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has issued a temporary policy change as of May 1, 2020 regarding Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, List B identity documents.  Given that it may not be possible to renew state driver’s licenses, ID cards, and other acceptable […]

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), signed into law by President Trump on March 27, 2020, provided an initial appropriation of $100 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to provide aid to “eligible health care providers” fighting […]

On April 30, 2020, the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that it had settled a criminal antitrust case against a group of physicians that has resulted in the payment of a $100 million penalty. Medical providers, take notice. This action by the DOJ was brought against the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research […]

COVID-19 presents several challenges for colleges and universities. As states issued increasingly stringent stay-at-home orders, schools moved students out of dorms and canceled in-person instruction. Most schools have reimbursed housing costs, but few have reimbursed tuition. Students at Columbia University recently filed a putative class action seeking tuition reimbursement, Bennett v. Columbia University, 1:20-cv-03227 (S.D.N.Y.). […]

The Sixth Circuit recently decided a case that provides important clarification about Title IX and due process. In Doe v. Case Western Reserve University, case no. 19-3520, a student sued Case Western University after he was found responsible for committing “non-consensual sexual intercourse.” The student said the school violated his due process rights, violated Title […]

Greetings, Court Fans! As we noted a few days ago, the Court issued three new decisions early this week, including in a much-anticipated Second Amendment case (the first such case to reach the Court in a decade). We’re now back to summarize those decisions. There’s a lot to unpack, so we’ll jump right into it. […]

On April 30, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released an Interim Final Rule (the “IFR”) that, among other things, limits the amount of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans that any single “corporate group” may receive to an aggregate of $20,000,000. The IFR applies to any PPP loans that have not been fully disbursed […]

In the wake of the closed economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court has issued three decisions covering aspects of patent, trademark and copyright law that you should know about. Lost Profits Available in Trademark Cases Without Willful Infringement Resolving a split in the U.S. appellate courts, on April 23, the United States […]

Background On March 27, 2020, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (the “Cares Act”) into law. The Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”), one of the CARES Act’s featured relief programs, is a loan guarantee program administered by the United States Treasury (the “Treasury”) and Small Business Administration (the […]

Wiggin and Dana Partner Jody Erdfarb has contributed to the newly published Health Information Technology Contracting Toolkit for the American Health Law Association (AHLA), which was released on April 29, 2020. According to AHLA, the toolkit “provides many useful resources, including sample agreements and checklists, government guidance, and other publicly available resources, to help HIT […]

On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule (85 FR 23459), effective June 29, 2020, that significantly expands the existing restrictions on exporting, reexporting, and retransferring items to China, Russia, and Venezuela for military end users or military end use, without a license.  Specifically, […]

On Monday, April 27, 2020, the U.S. Treasury and SBA released the Interim Final Rule on Additional Criterion for Seasonal Employers (the “April 27 Guidance”). The April 27 Guidance expands the time period at which seasonal employers can look in order to (i) calculate average monthly payroll expenses and (ii) determine whether a seasonal employer […]

Greetings, Court Fans! We’re back with the three lagging decisions from last week. But first, we’ve got three more decisions to pass on, which were handed down today. In New York State Rifle and Pistol Assn. v. City of New York (No. 18-280), the first Second Amendment case to reach the Court in a decade, […]

Greetings, Court Fans! It was a busy week at the Court this week, as The Nine released opinions on two separate days, something it usually doesn’t do until June. Unfortunately, given their length and complexity, we’re only able to bring you full summaries of Monday’s cases today: Ramos v. Louisiana (No. 18-5924), holding that the […]

On April 24, 2020, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (the “Enhancement Act”) into law, providing, among other things, more than $250 billion in additional unrestricted funds for the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) and an additional $60 billion for smaller lending institutions, with $30 million earmarked for lenders […]

A Wiggin and Dana COVID-19 client alert titled “Immigration and Compliance Briefing: Presidential Proclamation to Temporarily Suspend Entry into the U.S. of Certain Immigrant Applicants” was published by The National Law Review on April 23, 2020. The original alert was co-written by Partner Najia Khalid and Associate Ashley Moore. To read the article on The […]

Presidential Proclamation – Effective Thursday, April 23 at 11:59 p.m. ET. A Presidential Proclamation was issued on April 22 to suspend for 60 days “the entry into the United States of aliens as immigrants” (meaning applicants at the final stage for green cards who are outside of the U.S. and seek to become permanent U.S. […]

Private equity- and venture capital- backed businesses who are sorting through Paycheck Protection Plan eligibility requirements should be sure to check if any of their lenders or investors is a Small Business Investment Company (an “SBIC”). Companies who have received debt or equity capital from an SBIC may be able to ignore the troublesome Small Business […]

On April 17, 2020, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development materially revised its previously issued “Safe Workplace Rules for Essential Employers.” Now, all employees working at every workplace that remains open during the COVID-19 pandemic must wear a face mask or face cloth covering at all times. Employers are required to provide masks […]

On April 14, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released an Interim Final Rule regarding, among other things, the eligibility of individuals with self-employment income to receive SBA-backed forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was enacted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (the “CARES Act”). This […]

Wiggin and Dana Partner Paul Tuchmann‘s article titled, “INSIGHT: Senator’s Insider Trading Allegations Can Be Proved”, was published on April 16, 2020 by Bloomberg Law. To read the entire article, click here.

In March 2020, Wiggin and Dana Partner Carolyn Reers was published in the Trust Quarterly Review, Volume 18, Issue 1 (pages 17-22). Her article – entitled, “In with the New” – touches on Connecticut’s new Public Act No. 19-137, which came into effect in January 2020 and adopted the Connecticut Uniform Trust Code. To read […]

Last month, OSHA published guidance concluding that work-related, confirmed cases of COVID-19 are recordable illnesses. Now, however, recognizing the difficulty of tracing COVID-19 exposure to the workplace, OSHA has updated its guidance to relieve many employers of the duty to record these cases. Subject to some exceptions, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion and declining to enforce the […]

Property/Business Interruption Insurance Litigation in the U.S involving business interruption losses (principally involving whether such losses have arisen in connection with physical loss to property, and whether various exclusions for virus and pandemic apply) is proliferating. Some of the recently-filed cases are noted below. Five cases v. Travelers and CA Governor (CA) – Mark Geragos, […]

In the last nine quarters alone, since January 2018, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers most U.S. economic sanctions programs, has imposed $1.28 billion in civil penalties on foreign companies, or on U.S. companies based on the conduct of their foreign holdings/subsidiaries.[1]  The U.S.’s aggressive assertion of authority to […]

Greetings, Court Fans! Two more decisions in argued cases this week, both 8-1 opinions on narrow grounds, though in widely different contexts. But it was the Court’s sharply divided 5-4 decision granting an emergency stay application that garnered the most attention. In Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee (No. 19A1016), the Court stayed a […]

Paul Tuchmann’s op-ed article, “Insider Trading, the STOCK Act, and Senator Burr’s Trades: Material Non-Public Information,” was published in The National Law Review on April 10. To read the piece on The National Law Review‘s website, click here.

Wiggin and Dana Clients, Consistent with its prior notices, the IRS has now extended the due date for the second 2020 quarterly estimated federal income tax payment, otherwise due on June 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020. Thus, both the first and second quarterly estimated federal income tax payments will now be due on July 15, […]

On April 9, 2020, the United States Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury Department”) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) announced new details of their joint “Main Street Lending Program” that is intended to provide additional financing for small- and medium-sized businesses impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. […]