The COVID‐19 pandemic continues to create uncertainty in the global economy. Companies worldwide are facing unique legal and operational challenges as a result of the outbreak. As this rapidly changing situation evolves, companies are working to overcome disruptions in their daily business, to implement changes to their operations, to mitigate risk factors affecting their employees, and where possible, to resume business as usual. Gibson Dunn is equipped to provide strategic counsel and advise clients on how to best approach many of these key issues. We can develop and execute a comprehensive approach to guide clients through this complex and fast‐moving situation.
Gibson Dunn has created a multidisciplinary task force to assist our clients. Please feel free to reach out to any of the individuals identified below with questions or concerns. We are also providing ongoing regular communications to our clients and friends addressing the many issues outlined below.
We are closely monitoring the guidance issued by government health officials and global health organizations. Our firm's comprehensive business continuity plan and extensive technology resources allow us to continue providing excellent client service through these challenging circumstances. Our lawyers will remain well-equipped to assist clients with their ongoing needs without significant interruption.
Circumstances and information surrounding the pandemic are rapidly changing. Please follow the latest updates via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, by a 6–3 vote, the Supreme Court prevented the implementation of an OSHA rule that would have imposed a vaccine-or-testing regime on employers with 100 or more employees.
On December 15, 2021, New York City issued much-anticipated guidance on its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private sector employers, which goes into effect on December 27, 2021. Gibson Dunn lawyers provide need-to-know information about the mandate for affected employers.
On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) requiring most American workers to be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
On October 25, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission expanded its guidance on religious exemptions to employer vaccine mandates under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC emphasizes that whether an employee is entitled to a religious accommodation is an individualized determination to be made in light of the “particular facts of each situation.”
In this webcast, Jessica Brown and Lauren Elliot provide the latest information and note trends relating to workplace vaccination policies as of October 2021.
On September 24, 2021, the White House’s “Safer Federal Workforce Task Force” issued new guidance regarding vaccination requirements and other COVID-safety measures for federal contractor employees.
Writing for the Daily Journal, Winston Chan and Trisha Parikh discuss how private equity firms might be responsible for PPP fraud liability under the False Claims Act.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced several initiatives regarding COVID-19 vaccine requirements for U.S. employers. This alert provides a brief overview of the content and timing of the principal initiatives, and previews certain objections likely to be raised in legal challenges that some governors and others have said they will file.
On Thursday, August 12, 2021, the Supreme Court granted Gibson Dunn’s request for an extraordinary writ of injunction pending appeal and held that New York State’s eviction moratorium law (“CEEFPA”)—which bars landlords from commencing or continuing eviction proceedings against any tenants who self-certify that they are suffering a COVID-related “hardship,” with no opportunity for property owners to challenge those hardship claims—is inconsistent with fundamental due process principles.
Gibson Dunn lawyers examine supplemental guidance provided by courts regarding the four steps of analysis of the application of force majeure clauses, as discussed in decisions between March 2020 and August 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this update, Gibson Dunn’s lawyers look at the key employment law considerations our clients face across the UK, France and Germany connected to a return to the workplace in the near future, including: (i) ensuring a “Covid-secure” workplace’ and whether to continue to offer flexible working arrangements in the future; (ii) whether to implement an employee Covid-19 vaccination policy (and if so, whether it should be compulsory or voluntary); and (iii) vaccination certification logistics and the facilitation of Covid-19 testing for employees.
On June 14, 2021, a federal judge in Texas dismissed the lawsuit filed by employees and former employees against Houston Methodist Hospital challenging its policy requiring all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The holding may provide some degree of reassurance to employers that have decided to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Contact: Janet Vance
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Contact: Barbara Becker (Mergers & Acquisitions), John Pollack (Private Equity)
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Contact: Michael Bopp, Mylan Denerstein
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Contact: Christopher Chorba
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Contact: Reed Brodsky, Penny Madden, Benno Schwarz
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Additional Materials:
FAQs to Assist Small Businesses and Nonprofits in Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic
Contact: Jason Schwartz, James Cox, Mark Zimmer, Nataline Fleury
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Contact: Daniel Nelson
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Contact: Monica Loseman
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Contact: Helgi Walker
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Contact: Judith Alison Lee
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Contact: Ryan Bergsieker, Ahmed Baladi
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Contact: Brian Lane
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Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Monitor Blog
ISS Provides Policy Guidance in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic (April 9, 2020)
Delaware Governor Issues Limited Relief for Public Company Shareholder Meetings Impacted by COVID-19 (April 6, 2020)
Coronavirus Disease 2019 Update: Impact under Nasdaq Rules of SEC Relief to Affected Companies (March 12, 2020)
SEC Provides Conditional Regulatory Relief and Additional Disclosure Guidance for Companies Affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (March 8, 2020)
Contact: Marian Lee
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Contact: Andrew Lance
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