COVID-19 Viewpoints

On March 23, 2020 the SEC issued a statement warning about the risks of insider trading posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This alert describes two types of relief loans available to small businesses suffering due to COVID-19: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and SBA EIDL loans.

As a follow up to our recent blog post, FDA User Fees: Highlights from FDARA & Our Forecast for the Next Round, President Trump signed the bipartisan over-the-counter (OTC) monograph teform bill into law on March 27, 2020.  The passage of the OTC monograph reform bill is a surprise addition into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the third COVID-19 stimulus bill enacted since the pandemic began. The reform legislation represents the first significant update to federal oversight of OTC drug products since 1972. It enables the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to quickly respond to safety concerns and keep pace with innovation in hopes of protecting consumers from unsafe drugs and permitting manufacturers to market new products more expeditiously. 

K-12 schools, colleges, and universities around the country have shuttered their doors—most, for the rest of the academic school year—in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Educational institutions are in uncharted waters, but most are rising to the occasion to provide engaging and robust online curricula to keep students educated and entertained.

The COVID-19 global pandemic presents unique legal and practical challenges for companies across all industries, including with respect to privacy and cybersecurity risks and protections. Join Mintz, ML Strategies, and one of our industry partners, The Crypsis Group, for a webinar addressing these critical issues and the dynamic and evolving cybersecurity threats.

On March 25, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a temporary policy relating to enforcement of regulatory requirements for face masks and respirators during the COVID-19 crisis. Since the public health emergency began, the United States has experienced a shortage of masks, respirators, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) which are critically needed for health care workers caring for COVID-19 patients in all states. FDA previously created emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for NIOSH-approved disposable respirators for use in health care settings and imported non-NIOSH-approved disposable respirators, but the temporary enforcement policy represents an attempt to open the manufacturing, importation, and distribution flood gates to make more masks and respirators available as quickly as possible.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the numerous travel bans and “shelter in place” orders which have been recently announced, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will extend certain filing deadlines by 60 days.

Congress has now passed the CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT OR CARES ACT – Federal government’s Phase III response to the health and economic impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump has pledged to sign the Act into law immediately.

As New York State announced that it had confirmed over 2,300 cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law new requirements for New York State employees affected by the virus.  The new law was swiftly enacted in light of the urgent public health and economic crises facing the state, and goes into effect immediately.  It mandates that New York employers offer paid sick leave and job protections for workers quarantined as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Due to the national emergency declaration resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, several states have closed and/or restricted services at DMV offices, precluding millions of people from applying for a REAL ID.  Accordingly, on March 26, 2020, Acting Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Chad Wolf, announced that the deadline for enforcement of the REAL ID Act would be extended by one year to October 1, 2021.

While many companies around the world are coping with a global pandemic, some are facing additional challenges in light of a looming deadline triggered by the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).  Citing #covid19 concerns, a coalition of more than 60 such companies made a plea this week to California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra (“AG”) to delay the AG’s enforcement of the CCPA.

Read about the SEC’s guidance on disclosures, including those related to COVID-19 and financial reporting issues, as well as on securities trading in light of the pandemic.

This alert discusses what companies outsourcing critical business process functions to India should do in light of the Indian government’s order that telecom, IT, and other technology companies should, as far as possible, work from home.

Read about the SEC's new Guidance on Manual Signatures Required under Rule 302(b) of Regulation S-T as a Result of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

On March 23, 2020, the New York Senate proposed legislation that would forever waive rent payment obligations and mortgage payment obligations due from certain residential tenants and small business commercial tenants for 90 days in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the nationwide COVID-19 emergency, state boards of pharmacy across the country are authorizing waivers of specific provisions of pharmacy laws and implementing policies to address potential staffing shortages and emergency dispensing of pharmaceuticals. Here's a high-level overview of the various actions being taken by state boards of pharmacy.

Adding another layer of complexity to sensitively marketing in the COVID-19 environment, YouTube announced on March 11 that it will permit certain creators to monetize (i.e., enable ads on) content relating to coronavirus.  Companies and brands should review their approach in this pandemic, including refining YouTube content exclusion parameters and policing their ad environments, if they do not wish to risk association with potentially undesirable videos. 

Read about the SEC’s extension of conditional relief from filing deadlines and mailing obligations as a result of COVID-19 to July 1, 2020.

Although it may not seem like it, there are privacy-related issues to discuss beyond COVID-19.   Before the state of emergency, we saw the first complaint under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) filed in a California federal court.  This action, styled as Fuentes v. Sunshine Behavioral Health Group, LLC, Case No. 8:20-cv-00487 (C.D. Cal. March 10, 2020)[LINK TO PDF], arose from a data breach, which allegedly exposed highly sensitive personal and medical information of thousands of patients of Sunshine Behavioral Health Group (“Sunshine”).

Yesterday, we blogged on how scammers are trying to monetize on the COVID-19 health crisis for their personal gain. Though the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a consumer update yesterday saying that there is still no approved vaccine or drug to prevent or treat this disease, companies have continued to market products that claim to prevent, treat, or even cure COVID-19 in an attempt to “help” or profit from distressed, vulnerable Americans. While the FDA is working tirelessly to review possible vaccines, treatments, and cures, Americans should avoid endangering their health or lives by self-medicating. Per the FDA, self-medicating with any new product on the shelf (real or virtual) could not only lead to adverse effects but also could interfere with crucial medications. We are closely monitoring whether Congress will take specific actions on these increasingly prevalent issues in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.