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COVID-19 Crisis: Finney Law Firm succeeds in helping local business remain open as “essential” during the crisis

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on
Attorney Matt Okiishi

Congratulations is due to Finney Law Firm attorney Matt Okiishi who successfully sued today to force the Hamilton County Health Department to allow our client, Amazon Beauty Supply store in Finneytown, to remain open for business during the COVID-19 crisis.

The store, which sells beauty supplies, also markets soap, shampoo, other essential products and, most importantly, the much-sought-after N95 masks. The Hamilton County Health Department, noting that the store also sells non-essential supplies, had ordered them to be shuttered for the duration of the crisis, which for now extends through the end of May.

The business, an existing client of Finney Law Firm, asked us to sue to force the County to allow them to stay in business. We filed suit within 24 hours of first being contacted, and this afternoon our attorneys reached agreement with the attorneys from the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office to remain open. The case was assigned to Judge Jody Luebbers who essentially told the parties to work the matter out amicably.  The parties did so, which included an agreement on the number of customers that would be permitted in the store at any one time.

Channel 12 carried the story this afternoon, and the video featuring attorney Matt Okiishi is here.

“There’s little more rewarding in the law,” said Finney Law Firm founder Chris Finney, “than standing an errant government official up in front of a Judge and making him account for his behavior. Today attorney Okiishi enjoyed that exercise and achieved the desired end for our client.”

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For help when you need to stare down an over-zealous government actor, contact  Matt Okiishi (513.943.6659).

Paycheck Protection Plan: 4/2/20 Finney Law Firm/Empower U Webinar is posted here

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on 1 Comment on Paycheck Protection Plan: 4/2/20 Finney Law Firm/Empower U Webinar is posted here

We thank Empower U for hosting a Zoom.Us webinar on the Small Business Administration’s new Paycheck Protection Plan (“PPP”) and Emergency Income Disaster Loans (“EIDL”) designed to help small businesses sustain through the unprecedented economic interruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.  The session was held on April 2, 2020 entirely virtual to remain safe.

The webinar video link is here.  Please feel free to share it with others.

The attorneys on this presentation and their contact information are;

Finney Law Firm is offering individualized assistance in navigating regulations and procedures surrounding PPP and EIDL applications.  For professional assistance, contact Rebecca L. Simpson.  If you or your business is encountering employment-related issues arising from the COVID-19 crisis, contact Stephen E. Imm.

If you liked this free video, please consider donating to EmpowerUOhio.Org to encourage this free programming.  Empower U has given more than 400 free adult education programs over the past decade, including valuable programming of this type.

There is a powerful feeling that the community is pulling together, rooting for one another, and digging deep to help each other, and we hope this information is helpful towards that end.

Also, we will continue to update the Finney Law Form blog to provide individuals and small businesses information on the programs that are available to help them through this crisis.

If you want to be added to the Finney Law Firm email updates, click here.

Ohio Commercial Leasing: Governor DeWine issues Executive Order on commercial leases and foreclosures

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis gripping the nation, today Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order addressing commercial leases and commercial mortgages in Ohio.  However, from our perspective, the Order is not intended to have any binding effect, and he would have no authority under Ohio law to issue such a binding order if he so desired.

Here are the components of the order, each of which he labels as a “request,” not an Order at all:

  • Requesting that landlords suspend commercial lease payments for at least 90 days for “small business commercial tenants in the State of Ohio that are facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
  • Requesting that landlords also provide a moratorium on evictions of small business commercial tenants for a term of at least 90 consecutive days.
  • Requesting that mortgage lenders of Ohio-based properties forbear on collection or enforcement of such mortgage for a period of at least 90 days.

As with our prior blog on the stay-at-home Order, the Order does not seem to have any direct legal effect, but rather is designed to encourage restraint and cooperation in this difficult time all of the world is encountering.

A copy of the Order is linked here.

Federal Employment Law: Employers must post Notice of Employee Rights under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

The recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. We recently blogged about the Act here.

These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The US Department of Labor has issued a poster that employers are required to post in a conspicuous place, or make available to their employees on line. Here is a link to the poster:

The rapidity with which these laws have been passed and gone into effect is unprecedented in the field of employment law. If you have any questions or concerns about your rights and responsibilities under the Act, or regarding the posting of the required Notice, please feel free to reach out to us.

 

Free webinar tonight at EmpowerU on Paycheck Protection Program. Sign up here.

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

Join Empower U tonight from the comfort and safety of your home via your laptop, tablet or cell phone for a webinar on powerful tools for small business from the federal government in the CARES Act passed last Friday.

>>> The link to sign up for the free seminar is here. <<<

  • If you want to email questions in advance, click here.
  • For specialized assistance for your company, we are offering consultation through the program for a flat $1,500 fee to help businesses through the process.  Click here to get signed up and type “PPP” in the subject line of the email.
  • To have your email to be added to our firm mailing list and receive tonight’s PowerPoint, click here and say “add me to your list” in the subject line.

Joining us tonight are:

  • Attorney Rebecca L. Simpson who will lead the presentation primarily on Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans available very shortly  to small businesses.
  • Attorney Stephen E. Imm who will answer questions of employers and employees about the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Melissa Knies from US Bank who will explain how to apply for the programs.
  • Attorney Christopher P. Finney will moderate.

We have a record audience for Empower U signed up for tonight. Please join us for this important program.

 

>>> Free seminar to address CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on
Thursday, April 2 (tomorrow) at 7 PM Finney Law Firm attorneys Christopher P. Finney and Rebecca L. Simpson will host a free webinar on the sweeping CARES Act, and in particular the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), as well as forthcoming stimulus checks and changes to the unemployment compensation system. Additionally, on the call will be:
  • Employment attorney Stephen E. Imm of Finney Law Firm who can answer questions of employers and employees relating to workplace legal issues.
  • Melissa Knies, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager in the Commercial Banking Department of US Bank, who can answer questions from the banker’s perspective on these programs.
These programs, along with the stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, provide significant assistance in this time of health and economic crisis for the nation.
Click here to register for this free program.
If you have questions you want answered on the program, please feel free to share them in advance here, and we will try to be prepared to answer those.
Additionally, our prior email had a link to an SBA list with only a few qualifying banks. In fact, far more banks are making these loans. The broader and updated list is here.
Contact Christopher P. Finney (513.943.6655) or Rebecca L. Simpson (513.797.2856) for specific assistance for your company.

COVID-19 Crisis: Finney Law Firm and Ivy Pointe Title quickly step up to the plate

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

With the advent of the COVID-19 Crisis, Finney Law Firm and Ivy Pointe Title have quickly stepped to the plate, with technology that allows for the practice of law with appropriate social distancing, with attorneys who focus on practice areas to help their clients, and with cutting edge information on emerging programs to help businesses and individuals in need.

Technology allowing for electronic interaction

Finney Law Firm and Ivy Pointe Title  have carefully developed the tools to be prepared for a day such as this:

  • DocuSign allows for execution of documents from your computer.  By federal and state law, e-signed documents are fully enforceable as with “inked” documents. Our team is licensed and trained in DocuSign technology for all documents in which clients will allow an electronic signature.
  • Electronic notary.  Finney Law Firm and Ivy Pointe Title contracted with one of only a handful of licensed e-notaries in Ohio for exclusive provision of e-notary services. Using the platform DocVerify, we have the strongest technology to allow real estate closings and other transactions to proceed.  By Ohio law, it is permissible to have documents signed and acknowledged (notarized) without person-to-person interaction via electronic signature and electronic notary.
  • Electronic payments. We use e-billing and credit card payments (and wire transfers and EFTs) for clients who prefer this method of billing and payment.
  • Electronic discovery and electronic depositions. Your litigation does not need to stop because of the COVID-19 crisis. Most of the work pre-trial can still move forward using e-mail, Zoom.US or Microsoft Teams for depositions, and motion work that can be electronically filed with almost all Courts.
  • Work-from-Home. If you do need to visit our offices, you will find that most of our professionals are not at their desks. Rather, they are safely (for you and them) working from home with the latest technology including Microsoft Surface laptops, Microsoft Teams Video Conferencing, Microsoft Office 365 data in the cloud, so we can access your data from anywhere in the planet, but with tremendous Microsoft security technology and backups.

Practice areas to help your business

Our business lawyers are up to date and prepared to help you through the thicket of issues that arise or are heightened with the COVID-19 crisis:

Attorney Isaac T. Heintz is proficient in contract interpretation, including how to enforce or avoid obligations under a lease or other agreement. He has already written purchase agreements with COVID-19 contingencies to extend due diligence periods to the declared end of the crisis. As you might expect, Isaac has also had many clients initiate their estate planning, or finish long-delayed estate planning work.

Attorney Stephen E. Imm heads our employment law group, and is advising clients on a myriad of new COVID-19 legislation and addressing employment law claims under previously existing law and the new enactments.

Attorney Bradley M.  Gibson heads our litigation group which is dealing with a multitude of business-to-business disputes, including those arising because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Attorney Richard P. Turner runs Ivy Pointe Title and in that capacity has been using every tool at our disposal to continue to close your transactions “accurately and on time, every time.”  These include closings respecting social distancing, and we stand prepared to be one of the first agencies in Ohio to implement fully electronic closings.  We also can do drive-by closings where you come to our office and sign documents from your car, or we come to you and you can sign them on our car hood.

Attorney Christopher P. Finney heads our public interest practice, and the host of issues addressing government-to-business and government-to-individual interaction arising from the COVID-19 crisis.

CARES Act assistance for your small business

Congress just passed the CoronaVirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which includes the Paycheck Protection Program that will provide what essentially are grants to businesses with fewer than 500 employees and enhanced Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).

Attorney Rebecca L. Simpson has been counseling clients through this program, and on Thursday night she joins other presenters on a panel addressing “CARES Act, Including Paycheck Protection and Funds for Businesses.”

Conclusion

We are working furiously to meet the needs of our clients in this fast-emerging crisis. Let us know how we can help you or your small business navigate these turbulent waters to come to the other side safely and profitably.

And our hope is that each of you remain healthy throughout this pandemic.

 

 

Important News for Small Business Owners >>> Critical and significant relief is here for any business with under 500 employees

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on

You will soon hear the terms SBA 7(a) program and “Payroll Protection Program” as an important and significant program to help virtually every small business in the nation.

While labeled as a “loan program,” it in fact can operate as a generous grant program for any business or non-profit under 500 employees. The “loan” is 2.5 times your monthly payroll expenses. More details are available in this article from National Law Review.

Here are the key features:

  • You apply for a “loan” through an SBA-approved lender. Here is the SBA link to Cincinnati-Area approved lenders.  The Cincinnati-area list is very short: US Bank, Fifth Third Bank, The Huntington National Bank, First Financial Bank, PNC Bank, Center Bank and People’s Bank from Marietta.
  • The “loan” is in an amount that is 2.5 times your monthly business’ payroll, being the monthly average over the 12 months prior to the date the loan is made.
  • The “loan” is in a maximum amount of no more than $10 million.
  • The “loan” has no fees associated with it.
  • The “loan” requires no personal guarantees.
  • The “loan” requires no collateral.
  • The “loan” does not require proof that funds cannot be received elsewhere.
  • The “loan” has a simplified application process.
  • The “loan” will be funded quickly to avoid the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Most importantly, borrowers are eligible for loan forgiveness equivalent to the sum spent on covered expenses during the eight-week period after the loan is originated. 
  • Covered expenses include wages, benefits, rent, mortgage payments, and utility charges.
  • The “loan” is forgiven if you maintain your pre-crisis level of full-time equivalent employees for eight weeks after the loan is made.
  • If you fall below that level of employment, your loan forgiveness is reduced in proportion to the reduction in headcount. The same applies to salary reductions.
  • If you already have made staffing reductions, you qualify for loan forgiveness if you re-hire back to pre-crisis levels by June 30, 2020.
  • You do not need to demonstrate actual economic harm in order to qualify. Rather, you simply need to make a series of good faith certifications, primarily that (a) current economic conditions necessitate the loan to support ongoing business operations, and (b) that the funds will be used to maintain payroll and address other covered expenses.

In order to apply, you need to contact an SBA-approved lender Qualified SBA lenders are awaiting further instruction from the SBA.  Contact your lender to get on their email list to obtain application instructions as they become available.  We will update this BLOG as new information is forthcoming.

Here is an excellent article explaining the Payroll Protection Program from Inc. Magazine.

You may contact attorney Christopher Finney (513.943.6655 (o) or 513.720.2996 (c)) at any time for more information.

Ohio Employment Law: Update on COVID-19 paid sick leave and family medical leave

Author By Matthew S. OkiishiPosted on

Last week, I wrote a comprehensive overview of the new federal requirements for paid sick leave and family medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”). Since then, the Department of Labor has published its first guidance on the application and enforcement of those provisions.

The Effective Date of the Act Has Changed:

The Act states that its provisions shall go into effect within 15 days of enactment. As the Act was signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020, I took a conservative approach and wrote that the new paid sick leave and family medical leave provisions would be effective on April 2, 2020. Per the new Department of Labor guidelines, the Act will be effective on April 1, 2020, one day ahead of schedule.

Under-the-radar sick time provision:

Nestled in to the Act’s paid sick leave provision is a prohibition against employers requiring the use of other paid sick leave (this includes ALL accrued time off, whether vacation time, bereavement, sick time and other time off. In many companies this is known in their personnel policy as  “PTO” or “Paid Time Off”). This is an easy provision to run afoul of, and employers should consider consulting with competent legal counsel to ensure compliance with the Act.

Small Business Exemption Still Vague, Non-Enforcement Grace Period:

The Act exempts employers with less than 50 employees from its requirements if compliance would jeopardize the viability of the business. Department of Labor regulations on the topic are forthcoming and should be released in April 2020.

In an effort to help employers navigate this uncertainty, the Department of Labor’s Field Assistance Bulletin has instructed its officers to not enforce the Act’s provisions until April 17, 2020. The Department of Labor will not bring about any enforcement actions provided that an employer makes “reasonable, good faith efforts to comply with the Act.” Employers will only be found to behave reasonably and in good faith when all of the following are satisfied:

  1. The employer remedies any violations, including by making all affected employees whole as soon as practicable;
  2. The violations of the Act were not “willful” based on the criteria set forth in McLaughlin v. Richland Shoe, 486 U.S. 128, 133 (1988) (the employer “either knew or showed reckless disregard for the matter of whether its conduct was prohibited…”); and
  3. The Department receives a written commitment from the employer to comply with the Act in the future.

Employers who may require use of the small business exemption should consult with competent legal to prepare for the upcoming regulations and ending of the grace period. Employers should also be aware that the Field Assistance Bulletin does not limit the right or ability of an employee to bring a private action for violations of the Act.

Conclusion

Our labor and employment attorneys are well-versed in the rights and obligations of both employers and employees, including the rapidly-evolving COVID-19 changes. For assistance with these matters, consult Stephen E. Imm (513.943.5678) and Matthew S. Okiishi (513.943.6659).

Ohio Constitutional Law: Finney Law Firm sues Ohio Supreme Court Justices over elections decision

Author By Christopher P. FinneyPosted on
Sculpture outside the Ohio Supreme Court building in Columbus, Ohio

Fox 19’s Jennifer Baker this week writes on a suit filed by Finney Law Firm on behalf of Ohio State Representative Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr.  against the Ohio Supreme Court over its recent decision upholding the last-minute cancellation of the 2020 primary election by Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

The Ohio Constitution pretty clearly requires:

“The decisions in all cases in the Supreme Court shall be reported, together with the reasons therefor.”

(Article IV, section 2(C) of the Ohio Constitution), but the election-cancellation decision did not provide reasoning for upholding the cancellation.

Brinkman seeks to force the Justices to follow the Constitution and state clearly the “why,” the reasoning behind the decision.

Since the suit is against the very Justices who violated the Constitutional provision, we expect they will recuse from the case and appoint sitting lower court judges from throughout the state to sit by designation to consider the issue, an issue of first impression before the Court.

Read the Channel 19 story here.

You can read the lawsuit here.

To speak with a member of our Constitutional Law team, contact Christopher P. Finney (513.943-6655).

 

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