Larkin Hoffman Briefings

Margaret Vesel and Matthew Bergeron discuss the start of the Minnesota Legislature’s unique special session, including legislative votes to end Gov. Walz’s COVID-19 peacetime emergency and the myriad of policy and spending issues to be addressed in the coming week.

Larkin Hoffman’s Director of Government Relations  Margaret Vesel and attorney Matthew Bergeron sit down to discuss the end of Minnesota’s 2020 legislative session and preview the likely special session coming in June. They discuss the political dynamics at the Minnesota Capitol and give an overview of the policy and spending issues being discussed by Minnesota lawmakers.

The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was enacted on June 4th as a means of providing relief to PPP borrowers as to requirements that were considered to be onerous.  The podcast will review the provisions of the Act and identify potential opportunities and pitfalls created by the Act.  Just as PPP borrowers’ management of their employees and payrolls were heavily influenced by the loan forgiveness provisions of the CARES Act, this new Act may cause borrowers to revisit these issues and projections of loan forgiveness and repayment.

COVID-19 and the stay at home mandates have had a devastating impact on the business community. Many business owners are looking to their business interruption and other insurance to cover the losses but finding insurers are asserting various coverage issues and exclusions. Paul Smith and Chris Yetka shine a light on what to look for in your policies before you give up on financial help from insurers. This episode of Larkin Hoffman Briefings will discuss the various strategies all businesses should employ when assessing their insurance coverage.

Employers are legally required to make their workplaces “safe” for their employees and customers.  What does “safe” mean, given that no employer can guarantee a virus-free workplace?  What are the rules on screening employees, taking temperatures, and refusing to allow employees showing symptoms of COVID-19 into the workplace?  This session will talk about how to make the workplace safe, OSHA guidance, how to handle employee requests for reasonable accommodation for medical conditions that place them at higher risk if they become infected with coronavirus, whether employees should be required to sign waivers and more.

On May 18th, the SBA issued guidance on PPP loan forgiveness in the form of an application for such forgiveness. This podcast reviews and analyzes this guidance describing both opportunities and pitfalls. The SBA just released an application for loan forgiveness as the form of guidance on this area of issues. While some new issues were created, many areas of uncertainty have been clarified.

Phyllis Karasov and Dan Ballintine discuss the matters employers need to consider when re-opening businesses after the Covid-19 shutdowns.  Recalling only some employees, screening employees before they enter the workplace and dealing with employees who refuse to return to work are among the issues discussed.

Peter Coyle and Jacob Steen discuss the land use, government relations and regulatory environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.  They share examples of how Larkin Hoffman has been able to assist clients in overcoming the unique challenges presented by a statewide stay-at-home order and discuss the ways that the global pandemic has shaped the local land use and zoning approval process.

Many employers are recognizing the financial strain on their employees as they begin to plan for their businesses' future in these unprecedented times. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) contains a number of provisions that make it easier to receive unemployment insurance benefits and increases the amount of unemployment benefits which laid off and underemployed employees can receive. The CARES Act also allows self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and employees who are not otherwise eligible, to receive unemployment benefits. Employment attorneys Phyllis Karasov and Alex Beeby discuss these changes and provide insight into the support which the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is giving laid-off employees, employees whose hours or wages are reduced, and self-employed individuals and independent contractors.

Larkin Hoffman employment law specialist Phyllis Karasov and employee benefits specialist Mary Komornicka discuss the new employee benefit features in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in our latest COVID-19 Briefing series podcast. The CARES Act allows employers to make changes in its Section 401(K) and 403(b) plans to assist employees who are experiencing financial stress due to the current pandemic. The Act also provides for modifications to health insurance benefits and a waiver of the minimum distribution rules for retirement plans, through December 31, 2020.  Karasov and Komornicka will provide overall guidance on these provisions.