Monthly Archives

April 2020
  • April 15, 2020

Cloth Face Masks Required for Rhode Island Employees Through May 18, 2020

COVID-19, RI Statute Update
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On April 14, 2020, Governor Raimondo issued the Twenty-First Supplemental Emergency Declaration — Requiring Cloth Face Masks At Work.  The Order is effective Saturday, April 18 and continues through May 18, 2020.

Cloth face coverings are required for any Rhode Island employee working at a customer/client-facing business, non-profit organization, office-based businesses, and any other such business category as determined by the Department of Business Regulation (DBR) that is still in operation.  Previously, on March 22, 2020, the Governor ordered all Rhode Island employees that can work from home to work from home.

Cloth face coverings are not required if an employee can “easily, continuously, and measurably maintain at least six (6) feet of distance from other employees for the duration of his or her work (e.g. solo office) or unless doing so would damage the employee’s health.  Thus, if an employee has a dedicated office with the doorway six feet away, a face covering would not be required while

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  • April 10, 2020

Securing Mechanic’s Liens in Rhode Island During the COVID-19 Crisis

COVID-19, Rhode Island, RI Mechanic's Lien
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The current COVID-19 crisis has complicated all facets of life, including securing mechanic’s liens.  Properly notarizing your lien and recording the lien are crucial steps to securing a valid and enforceable mechanic’s lien in Rhode Island. While Rhode Island has implemented some procedures to remotely notarize documents and in some instances, e-record documents, neither procedure is without its hiccups.

One of the first crucial steps in securing your mechanic’s lien is filing your notice of intention (“NOI”) pursuant to RIGL § 34-28-4.  The statute requires that the NOI be executed under oath.  With mandated office closures and social distancing orders in place for the foreseeable future, how do you go about completing this essential step?  On April 3, 2020, the Rhode Island Secretary of State announced that it is temporarily allowing remote online notarization (“RON”).  RON, while helpful under these circumstances, presents its own headaches.  Here are the steps to get your NOI notarized:

  1. Find a notary who is authorized to
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  • April 09, 2020

Virtual Mediations Are Zooming Forward . . . Jump on Board

ADR, COVID-19, Mediation
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With most of the country on stay at home orders of some variety and court closings, parties to claims, litigation, and arbitrations are adapting quickly to virtual litigation activities that are customarily done in person.  This includes virtual depositions, mediations, arbitrations, and trials.

In this post, I will talk about virtual mediations.

Contractual mediation is a requirement in many construction contracts to proceeding forward with litigation/arbitration.  There is often a period of time in which the mediation should be concluded before a party may proceed to the next step of dispute resolution.

No matter the parties to the case, it is customary for parties, their counsel, experts, and insurance representatives to meet in-person at the mediator’s office, one of the law firms, or some neutral location like JAMS and/or AAA’s offices.  The physical presence is an advantage in that it gets parties and their counsel together at the same place with one objective in mind — settle

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  • April 08, 2020

U.S. SBA Corrects Rulemaking on Paycheck Protection Program Loans for Construction Businesses

CARES Act, COVID-19, Delay, PPP Loan
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In a whirlwind of legislation, rulemaking,  guidance, and answers to FAQs on the CARES Act, inevitably confusion arose related to business eligibility for the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP).   Under the PPP, $349 Billion in loan funding is available for businesses impacted by COVID-19.  Eligible businesses can borrow up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll to cover costs such as payroll (mostly), as well as rent, mortgage interest, and utilities.  And if certain requirements are met by the business, all or almost all of the PPP loan will be forgiven.  Even putting aside the potential forgiveness benefit, the PPP loans offer favorable terms for businesses – low interest, no collateral, and no personal guarantees. Construction businesses clearly have a need for these PPP loans in an effort to blunt the immediate economic impacts of delayed, slowed, or stopped projects.

However, in a seeming contradiction to the CARES Act statutory language, which allowed businesses with 500 or fewer employees to apply for the PPP loans, the U.S.

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