Coronavirus: Resources and Rapid Response Task Force

October has arrived, which signifies two things: pumpkin spice lattes are back, and new California employment laws are here.

Despite a global pandemic and two COVID-19-related legislative shutdowns over the last seven months, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California legislature have concluded the 2020 Legislative session on September 30, 2020, with an outbreak of new employment-related laws for employers to grapple with. Not surprisingly, many are related to COVID-19.

Read the full alert here.

On September 14, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 2380 into law. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption for certain “essential” workers regarding diagnoses of COVID-19 for employment-related benefits, including workers’ compensation. To rebut the presumption, the employer will have to show by a preponderance of the evidence “that the worker was not exposed to the disease.” The bill also sets out that the amount of time the employee is incapacitated, including by self-quarantine, shall be considered as “on duty time.” Employees will not be required to use paid leave or any other contractual time off to cover the period of incapacitation. The law takes effect immediately, and is retroactive to March 9, 2020.

Read the full alert here.

The EEOC has issued helpful guidance on expectations for employers receiving remote working requests in the future, clarifying that an employer’s temporary shift to a remote environment does not create an obligation to accept future remote working requests.

Read the full alert here.

Another court—this time, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia—has ruled that economic losses due to governmental closure orders issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic do not constitute “direct physical loss,” and thus, are not covered under commercial property policies. The order, issued in Rose’s 1, LLC v. Erie Insurance Exchange, follows on the heels of a ruling issued in Michigan.

Read the full alert here.

New York nursing homes and health care providers are now susceptible to lawsuits and criminal prosecutions for care provided to patients and residents that are not being treated for COVID-19.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation revising the state’s Emergency Disaster Treatment Protection Act, which had provided legal immunity to health care and long-term care companies and professionals.

Read the full alert here.

Join Goldberg Segalla’s Sean P. Beiter and Christopher P. Maugans for an interactive webinar navigating labor relations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sean and Chris will discuss advice memoranda recently issued by the National Labor Relations Board and will look ahead to what labor relations may look like after the upcoming presidential election.

Click here for more information and to register.

Attorneys and professionals across our 22-office, 11-state domestic footprint spend each day advising clients in a variety of industries on evolving legal and regulatory matters related to the coronavirus pandemic. These attorneys—comprising our national Coronavirus Rapid Response Task Force—collaboratively advise clients on the most critical questions that face them today, from employment and labor matters to fast-evolving regulatory concerns and unanticipated liability claims and business litigation.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Our Coronavirus Employment and Labor Rapid Response Team exists to handle all of the most pressing issues facing employers in the unprecedented business environment created by the coronavirus pandemic. Led by senior attorneys from our Employment and Labor practice, this group provides daily counsel to a diverse client community on issues including workplace safety, changes to employment policies, interpretation of new state and federal laws and guidance, labor issues, layoffs and staff reductions, the defense of employment-related claims, and strategic communications to internal and external stakeholders.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Goldberg Segalla’s Global Insurance Services practice—home to one of the largest collection of senior insurance coverage attorneys in the nation—serves multiple leading insurers on national and regional coronavirus coverage panels. Our dedicated Coronavirus Coverage Team includes many senior coverage partners across our national footprint, allowing us to coordinate and ensure consistency in our approach to coronavirus claims, while avoiding taking any position in one claim or in one jurisdiction that could disadvantage a client in another.

Click here to learn more and access our team roster.

Goldberg Segalla has been on the forefront of the evolving coronavirus global health crisis, advising our clients through alerts and presentations as well as the broader legal, insurance, and business communities through publications in major outlets.

Click here for our latest news, analysis, and educational materials.