Shareholder Distancing
Shareholder Meetings in the Age of “Social Distancing” and COVID-19
Written by Blake Baron
Background
On March 13, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published guidance to assist public companies, investment companies, shareholders and other market participants affected by COVID-19 in connection with their upcoming shareholder meetings. The SEC explained that this guidance was designed to allow these companies to continue to hold their meetings, including through the use of technology, and engage with shareholders under social distancing circumstances, while still complying with the federal securities laws.
Shareholder Meetings – The Impact of COVID-19 and the Natural Transition to Virtual Meetings
Generally, public companies and investment companies are required to hold annual meetings of security holders, with the federal securities laws requiring the delivery of proxy materials to the voting shareholders. Over the past few years, more and more companies have been transitioning to either complete “virtual” shareholder meetings or “hybrid” meetings, which avoid the need for in-person shareholder attendance. Continue reading “Shareholder Distancing”
COVID-19 Client Communication
As the COVID-19 crisis rapidly evolves, the health and safety of our employees, clients and our communities remain our highest priority. We wanted to share with you what we are doing as a firm. We have instructed attorneys and staff in all of our offices to work remotely (with rare exception for certain critical functions). This is happening seamlessly as part of our business continuity plan. We have been working round-the-clock in counseling clients on today’s mission-critical issues, from employment to immigration to tax, as it relates to the outbreak of COVID-19. Like you, we are constantly monitoring the situation, and we will provide additional updates in the coming days and weeks as appropriate. In the meantime, we want you to know that our thoughts are with you and your families, and we hope that you remain healthy and safe.
In an effort to support you during these uncertain times, we have assembled a firm-wide COVID-19 response team from all of our practice areas. For the coming weeks, and starting today in this alert, we intend to send a consolidated communication alert on a regular basis that touches on breaking news and relevant items that could affect you or your business across a range of topics. If there is anything else that we can do to help you during this challenging time, please do not hesitate in reaching out.
Coronavirus Business Interruption
Written by Jean Pierre Nogues and Daniel M. Hayes
Escalating health concerns, governmental restrictions, empty shelves at retailers, supply chain disruptions, and wild gyrations in the financial markets. The COVID-19 virus and steps taken to reduce its spread are impacting more businesses in more ways each day.
In order to put yourself in the best position to weather this storm and recover as quickly as possible, it is vital that you consider and fully understand the defenses you or your business partners may have under your contracts, and whether you have any insurance coverage for your COVID-19 losses. Continue reading “Coronavirus Business Interruption”
Federal Tax Payments May Be Delayed 90 Days
Written by David Wheeler Newman Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that individual taxpayers may defer payment of tax bills up to $1 million for ninety days, interest and penalty free, as part of a coronavirus stimulus bill announced by the administration on March 17. According to the Secretary, the $1 million limit is intended to provide relief to small businesses and pass-through entities like partnerships … Continue reading Federal Tax Payments May Be Delayed 90 Days
Telecommuting? Buckle Up
Are Your Employees Telecommuting Now? COVID-19 and Cybersecurity Concerns for Businesses
Written by Jeremy Mittman and Susan Kohn Ross
A topic of immediate concern to businesses that has not received a great deal of attention (but should) is cybersecurity. There are unscrupulous people out there who will try to take advantage of the situation! This is especially worrisome with the increased usage of telecommuting to facilitate business continuity.
Within the Dept. of Homeland Security sits the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA which is “responsible for protecting the Nation’s critical infrastructure from physical and cyber threats.” CISA, through its National Cyber Awareness System, released Defending Against COVID-19 Cyber Scams, see here for the full text. In short, beware of emails with malicious attachments and hyperlinks. Also be careful about social media pleas, texts and calls having to do with COVID-19.
The NCAS recommends:
Best Practices for Maintaining Employee Privacy Regarding COVID-19
Written by Jeremy Mittman and Susan Kohn Ross
The situation surrounding COVID-19 is, to the say the least, fluid and scary. The ultimate outcome of the disruption to the business community is also unclear. There are nonetheless a couple of topics we can talk about right now with some degree of certainty on which businesses may want to focus as we all struggle to deal with the very human toll of this pandemic. One is employee privacy and is addressed in this edition. The cybersecurity topics worthy of immediate attention will be covered in a subsequent blog post.
We start here with the confidentiality obligation of employers regarding information about the health of their employees. If someone on your staff becomes infected, as a general proposition, as the employer, you may not share that information with other employees. The Centers for Disease Control published an Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers, and stated: “If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, employers should inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Since COVID-19 has spread to many different countries, the privacy laws in those countries also need to be considered. For example, the European privacy law – the GDPR – addresses privacy around health data, plus local public health authorities in those countries will have their own protocols to follow.
Continue reading “Best Practices for Maintaining Employee Privacy Regarding COVID-19”
Ninth Circuit Ends Lawsuit Involving Copyright Protection for Characters, Leaving Plaintiffs in a Bad Mood
Written by Robert H. Rotstein
On March 16, 2020, the Ninth Circuit ended a lawsuit alleging that Disney’s Inside Out infringed plaintiffs’ alleged copyright in characters known as “The Moodsters.” Daniels, et al., v. The Walt Disney Company, et al., Case No. 18-55635 (9th Cir. Mar. 16, 2020). The Court elaborated on the standards governing character protection and enunciated a rigorous standard for pleading “idea submission” claims in federal court.
Plaintiffs’ five characters are color-coded anthropomorphic emotions, each representing a different emotion. Between 2007 and 2009, Plaintiffs allegedly pitched The Moodsters to Disney. In 2015, Disney released Inside Out, a film that centers on five anthropomorphized emotions that live inside the mind of an eleven-year-old girl. Continue reading “Ninth Circuit Ends Lawsuit Involving Copyright Protection for Characters, Leaving Plaintiffs in a Bad Mood”
Three New Coronavirus Developments for Employers
Written by Jeremy Mittman and Stephen Franz
There are several new developments at the federal and state level regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its impact on California employers and workers. The United States House of Representatives passed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” (H.R. 6201), tentatively creating new paid leave obligations related to the coronavirus for many employers. Moreover, two California government agencies have issued important new guidance on coronavirus and its impact on employers and workers: The California Labor Commissioner’s Office issued an FAQ Memo and the California Employment Development Department (EDD) also issued relevant guidance.
Continue reading “Three New Coronavirus Developments for Employers”
COVID-19 and the Trade Community
There are a bunch of other things going on when it comes to international trade, but the most concerning topic right now is the coronavirus or COVID-19. From a purely business continuity perspective, we are receiving lots of inquiries around the following question: “Can we get out of our contracts by invoking the force majeure clauses?” Such a clause allows parties to cancel contracts when events occur which are both beyond their control but also totally unexpected. A typical illustration would be an “Act of God.” First, make sure your contract includes a force majeure clause, because if not, that could present a significant uphill and costly battle. Given the widespread losses which are likely to result, it is reasonable to anticipate companies of any size will, so to speak, “stick to their guns” in trying to “spread the pain.”
Assuming such a clause is present in your contract, what does it say? An example of one recently presented includes among its examples: “… strikes, riots, floods, storms, earthquakes, fires, power failures, natural disasters, pandemics, insurrection, acts of God, or for any cause beyond the control of” the named party. Is that language sufficient to permit cancellation under the current circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak? Probably so, since it mentions pandemics and the World Health Organization has labeled the outbreak as such, but would this language have been broad enough to cover the situation a month ago? Maybe not. Continue reading “COVID-19 and the Trade Community”
CCPA: More Regulatory Changes Proposed
By Susan Kohn Ross and Timothy Carter
On March 11, 2020, the California Attorney General (CA AG) issued additional revisions to the proposed regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CA AG published a redline against the earlier proposed regulations highlighting the latest changes. A copy can be found here. The latest modified draft regulations are subject to a public comment period which ends on March 27, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (PDT). Information about where to submit comments can be found at the end of this Alert.
While many of the latest changes consist of technical corrections or clarifications, there are some significant modifications, all are effective on July 1, 2020. Below, we summarized the key changes: Continue reading “CCPA: More Regulatory Changes Proposed”
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