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03.24.20
Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Procopio Senior Counsel Elaine F. Harwell, CIPP/US, CIPM As millions of people hunker down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have necessarily adapted approaches and begun to evaluate the various impacts and risks to operations. While their focus may rightly be on the health and safety of employees, privacy and cybersecurity risks should not be ignored. Below are tips, considerations, and updates for businesses during these unprecedented times: Be Aware of Heightened Cybersecur...
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03.24.20
The Governor’s Stay-At-Home Order Challenges California Employers
By Procopio Senior Associate Brook T. Barnes Every employer wishes their employees to be healthy and safe, and that has never been truer than during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Most employers also require many if not all employees to work at onsite business locations. So it was a shock to many California employers when nearly all state residents were recently ordered to immediately (and indefinitely) stay at home. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued that stay-at-home orde...
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03.24.20
Changing Spousal Support and Child Support During the COVID-19 Crisis
By Procopio Senior Counsel James A. Dooley The unprecedented shutdowns imposed to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus are taking a heavy economic toll, and there unfortunately is not yet any indication of when they will end. In the meantime, some former spouses are paying or receiving spousal support and child support in amounts that were calculated based on a level of income that is no longer there, and may not be for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, California law generally...
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03.18.20
Preserving Construction Claims in the Face of COVID-19
By Procopio Partner Mary A. Salamone With each passing day, it seems that there is no end in sight to the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 virus (commonly known as the novel coronavirus). Along with the heartbreaking human impacts, businesses in numerous industries are also being hard hit. The U.S. construction industry will certainly not be spared. This pandemic will deliver an unprecedented blow to the construction industry, unleashing a barrage of claims for delay and cost over...
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03.18.20
HIPAA: Disclosure of PHI during the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Procopio Partner Robert G. Marasco and Associates Rachael A. Harrington and Julian J.G. Lean There is perhaps no industry more impacted by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 than the health care industry. It’s natural for health care executives to focus on the immediate demands of diagnosis and care of patients and protection of their health care workers. It is worthwhile, however, to pause and recognize that lawmakers and regulators are making decisions that impact the health c...
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03.17.20
Insurance for COVID-19 Losses: Could There Be Coverage Hidden In Your Insurance Policy?
By Procopio Partner Cecilia O. Miller, Senior Counsel Ryan C. Caplan and Senior Associate Alexandra “Sasha” Selfridge As the world grapples with the human toll inflicted by the coronavirus known as COVID-19, the resulting financial toll, including shuttered businesses and cancelled events, is starting to come into focus as well. It is unlikely that any business will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic without suffering financial scars that, in turn, add to the already devastat...
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02.19.20
California Employers Must Compensate Employees For Time Spent During Exit Searches
By Procopio Partner Tyler M. Paetkau Yet another wage and hour obligation has been placed on California employers as a result of a recent court decision. On February 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of California held that time spent by retail store employees waiting for and undergoing an employer’s exit search is compensable work time. Friekin v. Apple Inc., 2020 Cal. LEXIS 547 (Feb. 13, 2020, Sup. Ct. Case No. S243805). The Supreme Court issued this decision in response to a certified ques...
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02.11.20
How to Avoid California Tax Burdens When Purchasing an Aircraft: Interstate and Foreign Commerce Exemption
By Procopio Senior Associate Jessica L. Lazur “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” No disrespect to Mr. Franklin, but California aircraft owners are fortunate that the assessment of sales and use taxes on the purchases of aircraft by state residents is anything but certain. Anyone in the market for an aircraft should be aware of certain exemptions from the California sale and use tax, in particular one specific exemption, the interstate and foreig...
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02.05.20
California Employers Receive Another Reprieve From AB 51’s Ban On Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
By Procopio Associate Stephenie M. Alexander A federal judge recently granted a preliminary injunction to block the State of California from enforcing AB 51 which prohibits employers from using mandatory arbitration agreements “covered by” the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). On Friday, January 31, 2020, Judge Kimberly J. Mueller of the United States District Court, Eastern District, issued the injunction for the duration of the court proceedings after previously issui...
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02.03.20
How the New U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal (Mostly) Expands Intellectual Property Protections
By Procopio Partner Victor M. Felix For the first time in nearly thirty years, the U.S. is entering into a comprehensive new trade agreement with the two countries with which it shares a common border, Mexico and Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the U.S./Mexico/Canada Agreement (USMCA) into law on January 29, 2020. Mexico has already ratified it, and Canada is expected to in the coming weeks or months. This replacement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) impacts m...
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