COVID-19 Response Resource Center: Timely Counsel for your Business

This week, Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 169 moving North Carolina to Phase 3.0 COVID-19 restrictions. The new Order is effective Oct. 2, 2020 at 5 p.m. through 5 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2020.

Highlights of the new Order include:

• Large outdoor venues with seating greater than 10,000 may operate with 7% occupancy for spectators. 
• Smaller outdoor entertainment venues, like arenas or amphitheaters, may operate outdoors at 30% of outdoor capacity, or 100 guests, whichever is less. 
• Movie theaters and conference centers may open indoor spaces to 30% of capacity, or 100 guests ...

On Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revisions to their original regulations on paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). These revisions are in response to the Aug. 3, 2020 decision by a federal court in New York that invalidated portions of the original regulations. Most significantly, the revisions provide a new, narrower definition of who qualifies as a “health care provider” for purposes of the FFCRA.

Under the FFCRA, two types of paid leave were made available to employees working for an employer with fewer than 500 ... Read More 

On Aug. 8, 2020, President Trump issued a memorandum calling for the Secretary of Treasury to allow for the deferral of payroll tax withholding on the employee portion of certain payroll taxes. This memorandum is separate from the ability of employers to defer their own payroll tax obligations under the CARES Act and is intended to provide stimulus to the economy by temporarily boosting take-home wages. On Aug. 28, 2020, the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2020-65, allowing employers to defer payroll tax withholding, but requiring all ... Read More 

This week, Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 163 moving North Carolina to a “Safer at Home” Phase 2.5. The new Order is effective Sept. 4, 2020 at 5 p.m. through 5 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2020.

Highlights of the new Order include:

• Mass gathering limits will increase to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors from the current limits of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors.
• Playgrounds may open.
• Museums and aquariums may open at 50% capacity.
• Gyms and indoor exercise facilities, such as yoga studios, martial arts, and rock climbing, as well as skating rinks, bowling alleys, and fitness or ...