Overview The CARES Act expands the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program administered by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”). EIDLs are loans available to small business borrowers that have suffered economic injury as a result of a pandemic or other disaster. It is important to note that provisions of SBA’s Section 7(a) loans are still generally applicable to EIDLs. In addition, the relaxed affiliation rules for Paycheck Protection Program loans do not carry over to the expand ...
News & Events
Executive Order 7U Shields Healthcare Professionals & Facilities from Civil Liability
Updated 4/8/2020 to Include Executive Order 7V On April 5, 2020, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 7U providing immunity from suit or civil liability to all healthcare professionals and facilities acting in good faith while providing healthcare services in support of the State’s COVID-19 response. This includes situations where death or injury occurs because healthcare professionals and facilities cannot provide the level or manner of care otherwise required due to a lack of resources att ...
EPA ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION POLICY IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19
On March 26, 2020, in an effort to balance the health and safety of the public, EPA and state staff and contractors along with the need to protect human health and the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, EPA announced that, for certain categories of noncompliance, the Agency would exercise enforcement discretion provided that certain conditions are met. The enforcement discretion policy, entitled “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program” (the “Policy”) ...
Federally Funded Expansion of Unemployment Benefits Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), providing for an estimated $2 trillion stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amongst the benefits provided by the CARES Act is Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”), Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“PUC”) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (“PEUC”). All three provisions provide additional federal funds to assist individuals who are unempl ...
SBA Issues Interim Final Rule for Paycheck Protection Program
On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued an interim final rule providing guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program under the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). The interim final rule addresses topics such as the eligibility of 1099 independent contractors, calculation borrowing amounts, interest rates, and loan maturity among other topics. The interim final rule can be accessed here. Based on the information contained ...
Office of Health Strategy – Certificate of Need (CON) Guidance for COVID-19 Response
The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy (“OHS”) has issued guidance intended to relax Certificate of Need (“CON”) requirements and allow healthcare providers the flexibility to take actions necessary to manage COVID-19 and support the State’s response to the pandemic. This guidance is summarized below, along with links to the various Executive Orders, Guidance Documents and required Waiver Request and Notification Forms. On March 14, 2020, Governor Lamont Signed Executive Order No. 7B, wh ...
Recap of Executive & State Agency Orders Related to Public Health
The continued spread of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the operations of healthcare businesses charged with ensuring the health and wellbeing of Connecticut residents. As a result, Governor Lamont and the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health (“DPH”) have issued numerous Orders and guidance impacting various aspects of healthcare delivery and other public-health-related matters. These Orders and guidance are summarized and linked below. On March 10, 2020, Governor Lamont ...
UKS COVID-19 – Executive Order 7S
Guidance for Municipalities Updated 4/7/2020 to include OPM issued guidance on Paragraph 6 Update 4/13/20 to include Executive Order 7W modifications to Paragraph 6 1.0 OVERVIEW On April 1, 2020, Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 7S, effective immediately, requiring municipalities to, among other things, enact a temporary program for relief from collection of property taxes, utility charges, and assessments (“Taxes”), extend certain filing deadlines for some municipal taxpayers ...
DOL Regulations Concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On April 1, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) went into effect. Since then, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued temporary regulations to effectuate the FFCRA, including regulations pertaining to the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Expanded Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”). The regulations formally implement major topics previously addressed in the DOL’s Q&As that were issued in March, available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/w ...
Tax Alert: Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
Updated April 8, 2020 On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “Act”). The Act provides a number of tax benefits to individuals and businesses. Cash Rebates: Coronavirus recovery rebate checks of up to $1,200 for individual taxpayers ($2,400 for married couples filing jointly) will be issued, with an additional $500 payment for every child. The payments are reduced by $5 for each $100 a taxpayer’s adjustable gross income ...