Build Consumer & Employee Confidence

Issue 6.21

May 22, 2020

Join us on May 28 for our next webinar

RETURN TO WORK SAFELY:

THE PLAN FOR CONTACT TRACING

THURSDAY, MAY 28 | 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

The State of Delaware is partnering with University of Chicago to implement a contact tracing program with the assistance of the Delaware National Guard. If your business plans to test employees, the safety of your workforce will be improved only if you have an effective contact tracing program in place. As an employer, you may have questions about your role and responsibility with contact tracing. On May 28, DHSS Kara Odom Walker and Major General Michael Berry will join us to lay out:

What is contact tracing
Why it's important
How it works
How it will be implemented

Sponsor: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield DE

Apply for Expanded Outdoor Seating

Food and drink establishments are now permitted to apply to expand their outdoor seating for serving

food and drinks. To do so, they must submit a proposal to the city/town (or county, if in unincorporated location) in

which their business(es) is located. Learn more and apply

In Need of PPE?

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS TOOLKIT

As your business plans for reopening in the recovery, you might be looking for sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE), identifying other businesses to partner with for certain recovery tasks, finding additional funding, and more. Learn more

BUILD CONSUMER & EMPLOYEE CONFIDENCE

Based on the general guidelines for all businesses in the Phase 1 guidance released on May 15, the Division of Small Business along with the Division of Public Health developed the COVID-19 Customer Protection Standards.

Businesses following the Standards can get a free window cling to put at their front entrance – one per location – as a way to show customers that they are working to follow the State’s safety guidelines.

Learn more

Download the checklist

PPP Loan Forgiveness

Application Released

The Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and detailed instructions for the application.

Read the press release.

See FAQs as of May 19.

The form and instructions include several measures to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers, including:

Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs using an “alternative payroll covered period” that aligns with borrowers’ regular payroll cycles
Flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred during the eight-week period after receiving their PPP loan
Step-by-step instructions on how to perform the calculations required by the CARES Act to confirm eligibility for loan forgiveness
Borrower-friendly implementation of statutory exemptions from loan forgiveness reduction based on rehiring by June 30
Addition of a new exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction for borrowers who have made a good-faith, written offer to rehire workers that was declined

Download the forgiveness application

AstraZeneca advances response to global COVID-19 challenge as it receives first commitments for Oxford’s potential new vaccine

The Company has concluded the first agreements for at least 400 million doses and has secured total manufacturing capacity for one billion doses so far and will begin first deliveries in September 2020. AstraZeneca aims to conclude further agreements supported by several parallel supply chains, which will expand capacity further over the next months to ensure the delivery of a globally accessible vaccine.

AstraZeneca today received support of more than $1bn from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting in the fall. The development program includes a Phase III clinical trial with 30,000 participants and a pediatric trial. Read more

Message from the President

A CNBC story from last weekend identifies several changes that could define the “new normal” in the way we shop for food. Contactless payment, prepackaged food instead of deli counters, curbside pickup or home delivery, “dark grocery stores” you never enter, and greater subscription services for everything from locally grown fruits and vegetables to other routine items, are all possible, permanent changes.

The COVID-19 virus has left its mark on Delaware and U.S. agriculture, and consequently, the supply of food. This is immediately evident when we visit the grocery store, farmer’s market, or roadside fruit and vegetables stand. Earlier this week, we heard about food supply chain disruptions in Delaware and the challenges consumers and restaurants will face in the coming months. You can watch the webinar and download slides here .

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY:

A Delicate Balance for Delaware

Though enabled by law to collect unclaimed property m onies from its companies, Delaware must balance what it can do with what it should do. And it is all further complicated by the economic stress that both the State faces from the disruptions of coronavirus and that companies also face with operations closed and revenues in decline. Read more

COVID-19: The Legal Consequences of Significant Disruption on Your Contracts

When negotiating contracts, it is easy to dismiss certain provisions as “boilerplate,” thinking that these terms are standard within the industry, are non-negotiable, and can safely be ignored. However, such assumptions often are not true, and unwary businesses can find themselves in deep distress once the agreement has been signed and problems arise. One such term, especially relevant now, is force majeure . Read more