Blogs

Employment Law

COVID-19 FAQS for Employers

As most everyone in the world by now is aware, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is sweeping the United States and rocking the economy. The federal government and nearly all 50 states have declared states of emergency. Many schools and businesses are closed or operating remotely. The pandemic creates unique issues for employers and…

March 19, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Trump Signs Law: U.S. Workers Get Expanded FMLA Leave and Paid Sick Leave

Yesterday, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) became law when President Donald Trump signed it. The Act will provide significant relief to a wide swath of workers across the country, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. In particular, the Act provides millions of U.S. workers with up to twelve weeks of FMLA leave (the “FMLA Expansion Act”), with most of it paid, and as much as two weeks of paid sick leave (the “Paid Sick Leave Act”) for personal or family…

March 19, 2020

Construction

Force Majeure in Commercial Leases: Doctrine of Impossibility and Business Interruption Insurance

My most recent article provided a short explanation of force majeure provisions in commercial leases and how landlords and tenants will need to carefully review the language to determine if any obligations by either party can be excused due to the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But as is typical with this crisis, facts on the…

March 18, 2020

Business and Financial Services

House Amendments to Families First Coronavirus Act – Mixed Bag for Employee Leave Benefits

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) with bi-partisan support in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, March 14, 2020. The Act provided for expanded FMLA benefits (the “FMLA Expansion Act”), for reasons related to government quarantine orders, employee exposure to the coronavirus, and care of family members who are affected by the coronavirus or resulting school or daycare closures. The Act also provided both full- and part-time…

March 18, 2020

Real Estate

Coronavirus Force Majeure and Real Estate Leases

The coronavirus pandemic will affect us in many ways, and we all must be responsible with public health the primary concern, but what do we do with respect to our binding agreements? What do you do when you simply cannot perform for reasons outside of your control? In this post I will briefly review some actions to take from the perspective of a commercial real estate owner or tenant. In addition to assessing risk, following public directives with respect to employees and limiting liability,…

March 16, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Early on Saturday (March 14, 2020) morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation it dubbed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”), designed to provide significant relief to a wide swath of workers across the country, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Of particular note, the Act would provide the vast majority of U.S. workers with up to twelve weeks of FMLA leave (the “FMLA Expansion Act”) and as much as two weeks of paid sick leave (the “Paid…

March 16, 2020

Real Estate

Assignment and Consent Standards in Commercial Leases

Assignment provisions in commercial leases are heavily negotiated and very important to both landlords and tenants. This article presents a brief overview of the assignment provision in commercial leases, both office and retail. Assignment provisions in commercial leases are heavily negotiated and very important to both landlords and tenants. When a tenant’s interest in a lease is assigned, the tenant is transferring its entire leasehold interest and 100% of the leased premises to a third…

March 6, 2020

Employment Law

Marijuana & the Workplace

As state laws and public opinion regarding marijuana continue to evolve, employers are confronting a variety of uncertainties about their drug policies. This article discusses marijuana laws and the ramifications of such laws for employers in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. When and where is marijuana use legal? As of February 2020, 32…

February 21, 2020

Construction

How is the Local Office Leasing Market Doing a Year After the Amazon HQ2 Announcement?

The Northern Virginia office market had a total vacancy rate of 18.3% in the fourth quarter of 2019. This represents a continuing gradual strengthening of the market as it was the eleventh consecutive quarter with positive net absorption. That said, vacancy rates are still higher than before the great recession ten years ago. Much of…

January 16, 2020

Business and Financial Services

Ownership Interests in an LLC – The Options are Endless!

Limited liability companies are entities chartered by the states, that are governed by a contract – typically called an Operating Agreement – among the owners. As a result, the members or owners of the LLC have great flexibility in creating the entity exactly like they want (purple unicorns!), but this can also result in important…

October 29, 2019