
Higher Education Reopening Dilemma Mirrors Other Businesses
By Greg Chabon UPDATE: Monday, August 17, 2020 After one week of having started the Fall 2020 semester with some in-person classes and students in residence halls, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has terminated its in-person classes and will be offering online-only learning. This after experiencing multiple “clusters” of Covid-19 on campus…

Are You Covered? States Enact Invisible Shields to Combat COVID-19 Liability
Without federal guidance providing healthcare providers, businesses, and other entities protection against COVID-19 liability, a number of states have decided to proactively enact legislation to narrow liability related to COVID-19. Although approaches differ across jurisdictions, more and more states are stoking their own legislative fires and crafting their own liability limitations to counter the potential…

Virginia Enacts Nation’s First Statewide COVID-19 Safety & Health Measures: What Employers Need to Know
By Mason Freeman Employers have been grappling with how to re-open their workplaces during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Federal OSHA has provided some guidance on what standards apply, but has not enacted any specific standards to guide employers through re-opening. The Commonwealth of Virginia has taken steps as the first state to enact its own…

The Push and Pull as Idaho Reopens
By Nikku Khalifian Beginning June 13, Idaho became one of the first states to allow all businesses throughout the State to reopen. With this expansion in reopening, Idaho, and many other states throughout the nation, have seen statewide and regional spikes in COVID-19 case counts. Although the Stay Healthy Order moved the State into Stage…

State Reopenings: A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words, or Is It?
By Greg Chabon, Marty Stern, Nikku Khalifian, Katie Zimmerman, Elizabeth Stell, Bob Silverman This week marks a stunning (literally) transition in our three-month COVID-19 State Closure/Reopening Project. Every state in the country is now squarely in the process of going green — reopening all sectors of their economies, with at last count about 20% of…

FCC and CISA Tell Governors Communications Services Essential to COVID-19 Response – Why Now, What Does It Mean?
By Bob Silverman and Marty Stern In a surprise move, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai joined up last week with Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher Krebs to write to the governors of the 50 states as well as U.S. Territories (including the District of Columbia mayor)…

NC Struggles with Science, Politics, Increasing Infections, Social Distancing, and Poultry
By Greg Chabon Continuing in its role as something of an anomaly in the South, North Carolina continues to try to balance scientific and health data, political pressure, an increasing COVID-19 infection rate, and recent poultry plant infections in its quest to slowly reopen its economy. Governor Roy Cooper recently made national news by refusing…

Returning to Work: Legal Issues Checklist
By Sara Tucker In speaking to various groups about legal and liability considerations in returning to work and safely reopening their businesses, we put together this Returning to Work Checklist as a resource for businesses considering whether to reopen. The Checklist provides a framework for what the reopening process will look like for their business,…

Return to Work Employment Considerations FAQ
Check out this FAQ from Womble Bond Dickinson partners, Richard L. Rainey and Beth Tyner Jones, which addresses top-of-mind questions they have been asked on business reopening employment-related considerations. The Questions covered include: What can retail businesses do if an employee refuses to return to work? How should employers handle temperature screening logistics? How should…

Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Stay at Home Order
By Katie Zimmerman On May 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin issued a 4-3 decision in the Wisconsin Legislature v. Palm case, which declared Wisconsin “Safer at Home” Order, Emergency Order No. 28, unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable. The decision, however, specifically stated that it does not apply to Section 4.a. of the Emergency Order…
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