When asked when raising prices crosses the line into illegal price gouging, NYS Attorney General Letitia James opined, invoking Justice Potter Stewart’s (in)famous Jacobellis v. Ohio opinion, “there’s no definitive answer to that question, but you know it when you see it.” Most states have price gouging laws on the books in one form or […]
On Thursday, April 16, 2020, the $349 billion that the CARES Act allocated to the Small Business Administration was depleted. The following message, “[t]he SBA is currently unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. Similarly, we are unable to enroll new PPP lenders at this time,” was […]
On April 9, 2020, the Federal Reserve published new lending opportunities, essentially placing an additional $2.3 trillion into the economy as another answer to the COVID-19 pandemic under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. The Main Street lending program, one of the new opportunities, provides $600 billion to small and medium-sized businesses that make […]
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The purpose of the CARES Act was to help America’s economy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the CARES Act is over 800 pages and has many different benefits, two loans that the Small Business Administration […]
On March 21st. Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.9 directing the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) to create emergency regulations to provide some much-needed cushion to New Yorkers who have suffered financially as a result of the Covid-19 emergency and response. On March 24, DFS promulgated the new regulations with the aim of […]
The Federal coronavirus stimulus bill, which was just passed, contains relief for small businesses who are facing uncertain times. One provision that’s getting a lot of attention is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is specially designed to help out small businesses. This program is an expansion of the existing SBA 7(a) loan program, and […]
In 2011 the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act was placed into effect and amended in 2015. The Act requires New York businesses to give specific wage notices to employees at least 7 days prior to any change, unless the business issues a new paystub. Another example of the requirement is that businesses must provide […]
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about how COVID-19 is impacting our clients’ businesses. Today, let’s talk about something called “force majeure” and what it might mean for your business contract. So what is force majeure? It’s basically a term in contract law and it can be used to excuse a party’s obligations under […]
We’ve seen some confusing material out there from other sources, and we want to be sure that our readers understand the interplay between the New York State and Federal components of the paid leave/Family First laws. Please see our earlier post about paid leave in the age of Covid 19. https://wladislawfirm.com/the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act-and-new-yorks-paid-leave-law/ How Does New York’s […]
Governor Cuomo has signed an executive order that enables any notarial act to be performed utilizing audio-video technology[i]. Executed on March 19, 2020, Executive Order 202.7 implements the foundation for contracts requiring notarization to be executed during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. 202.7 allows any notarial act that is required under New York law to be […]