To say that most businesses were not prepared for the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic would be quite an understatement. Although several Asian countries had lived through and learned from the SARS and swine flu outbreaks, nobody was really prepared for what 2020 had in store. U.S. citizens hadn’t lived through anything remotely similar since the 1918 [...]

The global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is going into its second year now, and millions of small and large businesses are feeling the squeeze. Some had no choice but to furlough or lay off millions of employees or shut down operations indefinitely. In fact, 9 million U.S. small businesses may shut down this year if stimulus [...]

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, partially expired as of December 31, 2020. The Act required employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons directly related to COVID-19. As of [...]

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently signed the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020. The Act prevents residential evictions, foreclosure proceedings, credit discrimination and negative credit reporting related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act also extends the Senior Citizens' Homeowner Exemption and Disabled Homeowner Exemption and adds to New York State's efforts to [...]

Effective September 30, 2020, all New York state employers are required to provide their employees with either 40 or 56 hours of sick leave as follows: i. Employers with 4 employees or fewer with a net income of less than $1 million in the previous tax year must provide employees at least 40 hours of [...]

On April 3, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed the Fiscal Year 2021 state budget bills, part of which implemented changes to the New York Home Care Worker Wage Parity Law (“Wage Parity Law”). The Wage Parity Law contains minimum hourly compensation thresholds for home care aides employed in New York City and the surrounding areas, who perform [...]

Another important practice to apply at this time for New York State businesses is to review your commercial property insurance policies. It is critical that as a business-owner you understand what coverage is provided by your policy regarding business interruption. Your insurance broker can best explain your coverage benefits to you, including whether your business [...]

In times like these when new legislation is constantly being released by both the Federal government and New York State, it may be difficult to understand what your requirements as an employer are. As we had summarized earlier, the Federal government signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which included two new [...]

As the Department of Labor (DOL) provides updates to their rules and regulations amid COVID-19 changes, they offer resources for clarification. On April 1, 2020 the DOL released a Temporary Rule as an update to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family [...]

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the United States Legislature passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). It was subsequently signed by President Donald Trump. The $2.2 trillion stimulus bill should help mitigate the negative impact and economic fallout of COVID-19. The CARES Act holds key provisions relevant to both individuals and businesses. [...]