By Alicia J. Samolis The Rhode Island governor has issued several new orders that affect Rhode Island businesses. Importantly, all Rhode Island businesses are now subject to regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island department of health pursuant to Executive Order 20-32. Specially, businesses must: (a) Keep a cleaning log documenting the date, time and location of cleaning...
On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration released a supplemental Interim Final Rule that answered some of the questions being asked by many Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applicants and stakeholders. Further guidance on the loan program is anticipated, but this interim rule adds some additional clarity to the program’s parameters. One important...
On April 21, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would amend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) by providing approximately $480 billion in additional funding to combat COVID-19. The new relief package authorizes $310 billion to replenish the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which exhausted all...
The SBA has recently issued guidance (the “Guidance”) attempting to clarify the affiliation rules related to the “Paycheck Protection Program” loan (“PPP Loan”) under the CARES Act. Businesses can generally apply for a PPP Loan so long as such applicant, combined with its affiliates, has 500 or fewer employees or qualifies under another SBA size...
PS&H Partner Jim Hahn, a member of the firm’s Business and Banking & Financial Institutions Regulatory Compliance Practice Groups, was featured in the Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly recent article exploring “force majeure” clauses in contracts. Often considered part of a contract’s boilerplate language, the clause’s relevance has become the center of attention as the coronavirus continues to...
In our previously published client alerts regarding the coronavirus, we highlighted the importance of reviewing the terms of existing agreements in light of the threats posed by novel coronavirus COVID-19 (“coronavirus”). While businesses may not be able to easily change existing agreements, they should take steps to ensure that they are protected going forward. This...
As businesses contend with the uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), evidenced by warnings of an imminent recession and empty grocery store shelves, one potential source of relief is the force majeure clause found in many contracts. Force majeure provisions are included in contracts to excuse a party’s failure to perform due to unforeseeable...
With anxiety over a potential coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) pandemic spreading more quickly than the virus itself, people across the United States are being advised to take the common-sense approaches of washing their hands, using hand sanitizer, and coughing and sneezing into their elbows to reduce the risk of transmission. Business leaders should also...
The Rhode Island Supreme Court this summer ruled in Bacon Construction Co., Inc. v. Arbella Protection Ins. Co., 2017-350 (R.I. June 4, 2019) that a trial court did not err in finding that a subcontractor’s liability insurer was not obliged to provide coverage to the general contractor for personal injuries suffered dby a worker at a construction project, when...
By Russell J. Stein On Thursday, December 19th, the U.S. Department of Treasury released the long-awaited final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations (the “Final Regulations”). The Final Regulations and explanatory materials that span 544 pages, are quite extensive and give some needed clarity into how the Opportunity Zone tax rules work. This client alert is intended...
