The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently declared that a nationwide emergency continues to exist that warrants extension and expansion of Emergency Declaration No. 2020-002 under 49 CFR § 390.25, issued on March 13, 2020, expanded on March 18, 2020, extended and further expanded on April 8, 2020, and once again further extended on May 13, 2020, continuing the exemption granted from Parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) for the fifty States and the District of Columbia through June 14, 2020.

Late on May 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration published information on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness process, including the Forgiveness Application and some much needed clarification on questions that have perplexed borrowers since the PPP debuted in the CARES Act on March 27, 2020.

In this interview, Denver Partner Katherine Vaughn speaks with William Bortles, Principal Accident Reconstructionist at Kineticorp, to learn more about telematics and passenger vehicle infotainment systems.

If your small business is minority-owned, you may consider taking advantage of various programs dedicated to increasing your opportunities of being successful in this competitive marketplace. Becoming formally certified as a minority-owned business by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) may give you an edge in marketing your business to potential customers and even reduce your competition for public contracts.

The long-standing case law in Nevada was that a common carrier owed a heightened duty of care to its passengers, at least for transportation-related risks. Cases following this traditional rule reasoned that a common carrier must exercise extraordinary care because "the passenger places himself or herself in the care of that common carrier and is unable to use his or her own faculties to prevent or avoid accidents and so is forced to rely on the common carrier to ensure that accidents are avoided."

The overwhelming authority nationwide suggests that commercial motor vehicle drivers are held to the same standard of care as all other drivers – ordinary negligence. However, that has not stopped plaintiffs’ attorneys from aggressively asserting that “professional drivers” should be held to a higher standard of care.

A New York State judge has denied a motion by a Nassau County diocese to dismiss 44 complaints filed against it under New York’s Child Victims Act (CVA), rejecting the church’s argument the law violates the Due Process Clause of New York’s constitution.

On April 3, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Fiscal Year 2021 New York State budget. Of great significance for all New York employers is the amendment this budget makes to the state’s Labor Law to include a new permanent requirement for sick leave.

If your business has employees outside the United States, and you applied for and received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds on the basis of the U.S. employee head count, you may want to consider checking your math.