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New Guidance on Health Plan Coverage of OTC COVID-19 Tests

By Stephanie H. Grant posted 01-13-2022
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Individuals who purchase over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 diagnostic tests for personal use during the public health emergency will be able to seek reimbursement from their health plan. The federal government has issued guidance in the form of FAQs that implement this new policy. Here are some highlights of the FAQs: Health plans must provide coverage for OTC COVID-19 tests purchased for a participant’s personal use on and after January 15, 2022, and during the public health emergency. Health plans are not required to provide coverage of OTC COVID-19 tests for employment purposes, and the health plan may require the participant to sign an attestation ...
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OSHA Issues Standard on Vaccine or Testing Mandate

By Jonathan P. Kok posted 11-08-2021
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On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing for all workers at most companies with 100 or more employees. Scope and Application With limited exception for certain health care employers and government contractors, the ETS applies to employers under OSHA’s jurisdiction that have 100 or more employees. To determine whether they are covered, employers must count employees across all of their U.S. locations, regardless of employees’ vaccination status or where they perform their work. This includes employees who perform ...
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SBA Issues Final Rule for PPP Loan Review Decision Appeals Process

By Gaëtan Gerville-Réache posted 10-25-2021
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The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a new final rule (Rule) addressing the procedures for borrowers of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to appeal final SBA PPP loan review decisions to the Officer of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). According to the Rule, a borrower may appeal a “final SBA loan review decision,” which is described as an official written decision by the SBA finding that the borrower was ineligible for a PPP loan; was ineligible for the PPP loan amount received or used the PPP loan proceeds for unauthorized uses; is ineligible for PPP loan forgiveness in the amount determined by the lender in its full approval or partial ...
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Commercial Landlords and Tenants–Pause Before Filing a Damages Lawsuit in District Court

By Joseph Doerr posted 06-16-2021
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Landlord-tenant lawsuits a/k/a summary proceedings or eviction lawsuits have been around for over 150 years in Michigan and, for the most part, the laws have not changed. But in the last 50 years, the district courts have taken over and the unique laws and rules have become second nature. Five years ago, I wrote an article opining that the legislature should amend the summary proceedings act to eliminate the arbitrary $25,000 damage ceiling in district courts. This would allow landlords and tenants to resolve more disputes in one lawsuit, as opposed to two ( i.e ., a possession lawsuit in district court and a damages lawsuit in circuit court). Unfortunately, ...
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COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act Signed into Law

By Max J. Newman posted 04-06-2021
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On March 27, 2021, President Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act of 2021 , Pub L No 117-5, 135 Stat 249 (2021). It was a culmination of the bipartisan efforts of Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Grassley (R-IA) to extend key COVID-19 bankruptcy relief provisions under the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) from their original March 27, 2021, sunset date to March 27, 2022. The CARES Act provision that increased the maximum debt threshold for Subchapter V small business debtors from $2,725,625 to $7,500,000 will continue for another year, thus allowing more small businesses to reorganize under the ...
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American Rescue Plan Act: Key Provisions

By Yezi (Amy) Yan posted 03-18-2021
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After months of debate regarding the federal government’s third round of COVID-19-related economic stimulus, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), Pub L No 117-2, 135 Stat 4 (2021), into law on March 11. As we summarize below, the ARP will provide federal dollars through a wide range of channels, including individual stimulus checks, funds for state and local governments, COVID-19 testing and vaccines, education, small businesses, and anti-poverty programs, including three expanded tax credits. $1,400 Individual Stimulus Checks Among the funds distributed by the ARP, the largest portion, more than $400 billion, is allocated ...
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Nine Things Employers Should Know About the COVID-19 Vaccine

By Maureen Rouse-Ayoub posted 02-10-2021
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COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed and administered throughout the United States. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director has indicated that the agency is not considering a statewide coronavirus vaccine mandate. Nonetheless, many employers wonder whether—and when—their companies can require employees to take advantage of the vaccine. There is currently no law or regulation directly addressing whether employers may mandate vaccination for COVID-19, but employers can gain some insight from companies’ ability to mandate the flu vaccine. Generally speaking, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) does not prohibit employers ...
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Consolidated Appropriations Act Provides Relief for Small Business via Chapter 11

By Brendan G. Best posted 02-01-2021
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With the passage of the new Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the Act), Pub L No 116-260, 134 Stat 1182 (2020), many struggling but viable small businesses temporarily unable to pay rent can now file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, get four months of rent relief, and confirm a reorganization plan that allows payment of the arrearage over three to five years. Here are the bankruptcy highlights from the Act: Subchapter V small business debtors get an additional 60 days (for a total of 120 days) grace period to begin making rent payments. This, combined with the ability to pay postpetition rent arrearage over time in a plan, will give many small businesses ...
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Michigan Legislature Continues COVID-19 Unemployment Benefit Expansion

By Alexis F. Johnson posted 10-19-2020
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The Michigan Legislature acted quickly to vote in new legislation putting temporary pandemic measures in place for Michigan’s unemployment system following the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling invalidating a number of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. On October 14, 2020, the Michigan Legislature approved more than a dozen bills related to COVID-19, including SB 886, which received unanimous support from both the house and senate. The bill provides much needed relief for both employees and employers affected by COVID-19-related employment issues by temporarily amending the Michigan Employment Security Act in the following important ways: Unemployment Arising ...
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Changes Affecting Employers After MSC Ruling Against COVID-19 EOs

By Jaclyn R. Giffen posted 10-15-2020
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The Michigan Supreme Court’s opinion in Midwest Inst of Health, PLLC v Governor of Michigan (In re Certified Questions from the United States Dist Court) , No 161492 , ___ Mich ___, ___ NW2d ___ (Oct 2, 2020), stripped Governor Whitmer of her authority to issue executive orders under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 (EPGA). Effective October 2, 2020, all of the governor’s orders entered after April 30, 2020, are void and unenforceable. The immediate effect of the court’s ruling was confirmed on October 12, 2020, when the court denied a motion filed by Governor Whitmer and the director of the Department of Health and Human Services ...
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Executive Orders: Is It All Over?

By Arthur H. Siegal posted 10-06-2020
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So, is it all over? In a word. No. On Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a series of opinions which dealt with the Governor’s authority and powers under two laws – the 1976 law and the 1945 law. Earlier decisions under the 1976 law and the Supreme Court Friday all agreed that the 1976 Act had a 28 day limit and that the Governor could not extend that on her own. As to the 1945 law, the Court rejected the challenges to arguments about reading the two laws as one and that somehow it was limited to responding to riots, it was limited to emergencies covering less than the whole state, that public safety (addressed) was different than public health (not) ...
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Michigan Supreme Court Rules Against Governor’s Executive Orders

By Matthew T. Nelson posted 10-05-2020
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Late Friday afternoon, October 2, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an opinion in Midwest Inst of Health, PLLC v Governor of Michigan (In re Certified Questions from the United States Dist Court) , No 161492 , ___ Mich ___, ___ NW2d ___ (Oct 2, 2020), that states that the statutes Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been relying on as the source of her authority to issue executive orders either do not authorize the Governor’s actions or are unconstitutional. Despite the dramatic nature of the decision, it has no immediate legal effect. The short version: the Governor’s executive orders remain in effect for the time being, but there is going to be a lot ...
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DOL Clarifies FFCRA Regulations

By Joshua P. Lushnat posted 09-28-2020
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On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) revised its regulations in response to a court decision invalidating several provisions of the DOL’s final rule implementing the emergency family leave and paid sick leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The decision, from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, struck down the DOL’s original regulation regarding (1) the requirement that employers actually have work available for employees in order to be eligible for leave, (2) the broad definition of health care provider under the final rule, (3) the requirement that employees obtain employer ...
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Mich Exec Order No 2020-166 Renews COVID-19 Employee Protections and Changes Quarantine Requirements

By Brett J. Miller posted 08-14-2020
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On Friday, August 7, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Mich Exec Order No 2020-166 , which changes the quarantine requirements for those who test positive or are symptomatic and for those who have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive or is symptomatic. The order, effective immediately, rescinds Executive Order No. 2020-36 but renews its prohibition on employers from discharging, disciplining, or retaliating against employees who stay home when they or their close contacts are sick, with some modification. Specifically, section 2 of the order requires that any individual who tests positive for COVID-19 or who displays one or more of the ...
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What to Know About the 2020 No-Fault Changes

By Zachary Garris posted 07-02-2020
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The Michigan Automobile No-Fault Law, which first went into effect in October 1973, underwent major changes in May 2019. Some of those changes were implemented in June of 2019, but the most important changes go into effect on July 1, 2020 . Those changes will have a significant impact on both the injured person and the at-fault driver in an injury incident involving a motor vehicle. Here is why this matters—the type of Michigan No-Fault insurance coverage that you select will have a significant effect if you or a loved one are injured in a motor vehicle crash, struck by a car on a motorcycle, or hit by a car on a bicycle or as a pedestrian. Purchasing car ...
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Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Posing a Risk to Labor Market

By Amany Kasham posted 06-24-2020
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​ On June 22, 2020, President Trump signed a presidential proclamation entitled Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak , which extends the April 22, 2020, proclamation regarding the entry of certain immigrants and adds new restrictions for nonimmigrant workers who “pose a risk of displacing and disadvantaging United States workers during the [coronavirus] recovery,” including H-1B, H-2B, J, and L nonimmigrant workers. Effective June 24, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. EST the proclamation will limit entry into the United States of any alien seeking entry pursuant to any of the following nonimmigrant ...
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U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Rescission of DACA Program

By Amany Kasham posted 06-24-2020
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​ On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program protects undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, known as “Dreamers.” The 5-to-4 decision , Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the Univ of California, No 18–587, ___ US ___, ___ S Ct ___ (June 18, 2020), was written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and joined by the court’s four liberal justices. The decision means that Dreamers across the country will continue to have temporary protection from deportation. The Supreme Court held that the government’s effort to ...
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The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act: What You Need To Know

By Mary Kay Shaver posted 06-17-2020
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Eviction Moratorium and Administrative Order on Summary Proceedings

By James E. Schaafsma posted 06-16-2020
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Residential Eviction Moratorium On June 12, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-118 , which extended the moratorium on most evictions in the state until June 30 at 11:59 p.m. The primary justification for the executive order is the protection a home provides from the pandemic for self-quarantined and isolated persons. As with the prior executive orders on eviction, this order prohibits the following: removal of a tenant (or land contract vendee, or “a person holding under” either) from “residential premises,” including under an eviction order or writ of restitution, unless they “pose[] a substantial risk to another person or an imminent ...
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