In her post, Public Meetings Amidst Social Distancing, on the McNees Public Sector Blog, Erica Wibble, provides a great update on guidance for municipalities trying to comply with the Sunshine Act during the COVID-19 pandemic and under Governor Wolf’s Order (which we have discussed in numerous other posts).  A few highlights are below, but please be sure to read her entire post for more details.

According to the Office of Open Records, any agency [not able to meet in person] must provide a reasonably accessible method for the public to participate and comment pursuant to Section 710.1 of the [Sunshine] Act. Further, the Office of Open Records strongly recommends that any agency holding such a meeting should record the meeting and proactively make the recording available (preferably online) so that a full and complete record of the meeting is available to the public. Continue Reading Guidance on Conducting Municipal Meetings/Hearings During the COVID-19 Pandemic

An important update for all employers from a co-chair of our Labor and Employment Group, Jen Will, on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act:

On the heels of its invitation to individuals and businesses to participate in a dialogue on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“Response Act”), the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division issued a much needed Q&A late Tuesday afternoon.

Effective Date. The biggest question weighing on everyone’s mind has been answered.  The law passed to provide emergency paid sick leave and emergency paid family leave to employees impacted by the pandemic gripping the nation will be effective April 1, 2020 and apply to qualifying leave taken by December 31, 2020.  This means that employers cannot take credit for any paid leave extended to employees prior to April 1, 2020, even if they did so in an effort to comply with the Response Act.  To be perfectly clear, the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements are not retroactive.

Additional information based on our review of the new Q&A for the Response Act is available HERE.

From my colleagues with our Government Relations Group and Capitol Buzz:

During the daily COVID-19 update provided by the administration, Gov. Tom Wolf instituted a “shelter-in-place” order for seven counties in the Commonwealth, including those in the Philadelphia region and Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania.

The order, which came 24 hours after the city of Philadelphia announced action of its own to order its residents to stay home, will go into effect starting at 8:00 p.m. Monday, March 23.

Specifically, the “shelter-in-place” order will apply to Continue Reading **Update 3/23/2020; COVID-19: Shelter in Place for 7 Pennsylvania Counties**

Just over 24 hours after announcing that all “non-life-sustaining” business must close their physical locations, Gov. Tom Wolf delayed the enforcement of his Executive Order until 8:00 a.m., Monday, March 23. The Governor said in a press release that the Order for “non-life-sustaining businesses” to close physical locations still stands and that businesses applying for a waiver must remain closed until a decision is made about their application.  The administration’s decision to delay the enforcement of the Order was due to the high volume of inquiries and requests for waivers submitted by concerned and impacted businesses across the Commonwealth. Many of whom are either life sustaining businesses themselves or are in the supply chain for a life sustaining business.  It is expected that the Commonwealth will begin enforcing the Order, as warned Continue Reading **Update 3/22 on Governor Wolf’s Order to Close Businesses**

**UPDATED 3/21/2020**

Governor Tom Wolf ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses throughout Pennsylvania to physically close their operations by 8 p.m. on March 19, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Enforcement begins at 8:00 a.m., Monday, March 23.  With the Order, the Commonwealth issued a list of life-sustaining and non-life-sustaining businesses.  Residential and commercial construction were on the list of businesses that must close, absent a waiver from the Order.  The Commonwealth’s list is intended to be consistent with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response, also released March 19, 2020.  For developers and builders who may be in critical stages of construction or who have environmental responsibilities under permits (such as the PAG-02 or individual permit for discharges of stormwater associated with construction activities), an immediate shutdown simply cannot be achieved.  So what are you to do? Continue Reading UPDATE – 3/21/2020: The Governor’s COVID-19 Order: Compliance with Environmental Permit Requirements

Overview of Force Majeure
With COVID-19 headlines dominating the news cycle, and with no end in sight to the uncertainty that the virus brings, affected businesses are wise to consider whether the current pandemic qualifies as a “force majeure.”  In the last few weeks, the Chinese government has issued “force majeure certificates” to domestic businesses as a way of shielding companies from breach of contract claims, American businesses are sending mass e-mails to customers explaining that the virus prevents the company’s performance or operations, and businesses in an array of industries have sent formal inquiries to their service providers seeking confirmation of continued performance.

What is “Force Majeure”
The defense of force majeure will excuse a party’s performance under a contract if Continue Reading Force Majeure Provisions and the Impacts of COVID-19

Please see below regarding the Governor’s order from our Government Relations and Labor & Employment Groups.  Do not hesitate to contact anyone at McNees with questions, including how this order might apply to your job site, project approvals or your office.  McNees is a full service law firm that remains operational, remotely and in compliance with the Governor’s order.  We are ready and able to continue to support our clients’ needs during this trying time.

UPDATE: Latest on Gov. Wolf’s Closure Order amid COVID-19 Outbreak

 As detailed in a special edition of Capitol Buzz sent on Thursday evening, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses throughout Pennsylvania to physically close their operations in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The new directive, which went into effect at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, contains the threat of enforcement action Continue Reading Governor Wolf’s Closure Order

In the 2007 film There Will Be Blood, Eli Sunday offers to sell Daniel Plainview the drilling rights to land of the recently-deceased William Bandy. Plainview mocks Sunday’s offer, revealing that he has already drained Bandy’s land dry of oil, and the land is now worthless. To illustrate, Plainview uses the analogy of reaching a straw across the room to drink Sunday’s imaginary milkshake. Plainview shouts “I drink your milkshake . . . I drink it up!” in Sunday’s face.

The practice of draining hydrocarbons from beneath an adjoining property is nothing new and is subject to the legal concept known as “the rule of capture.” In the context of oil and gas law, the rule of capture precludes liability for draining oil and gas from under another’s property so long as there has been no trespass. In Pennsylvania, a trespass occurs when a person intrudes onto property owned by someone else without their consent or places an object on someone’s property without their consent. On January 22, 2020, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania declared that protection under the rule of capture applies to hydraulic fracturing, i.e. “fracking.” More specifically, developers who use hydraulic fracturing may rely on pressure differential Continue Reading I Drink Your Milkshake! Fracking and the Rule of Capture

Black Box Kitchens, Dark Kitchens, Ghost Kitchens, or Zombie Kitchens.  Terms like these may sound scary, like the stuff of nightmares.  But these terms are used to describe an emerging food service industry concept known as “virtual restaurants.”

Very simply, virtual restaurants are kitchen-only restaurants.  With the rise of online and mobile app food delivery services, such as GrubHub, Uber Eats, Favor and DoorDash, traditional “brick-and-mortar” restaurants are turning more often to virtual restaurants to keep up with their customers’ preferences and demands.  There are no in-restaurant ordering or dining facilities:  no registers, no servers, no money, no tables or chairs.  Virtual restaurants are commercial kitchens purely for processing, preparing and fulfilling food orders.

Virtual kitchens can take many forms.  Continue Reading Don’t be Afraid of Ghost or Zombie…Kitchens

**Updated 2/26/2020**

On December 7, 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) reissued the general permit for stormwater associated with construction activities (PAG-02).  This general permit is routinely utilized in most real estate developments, solar farm installations, construction projects and other earth disturbance projects in the Commonwealth.  With the permit package, PADEP made substantial changes to the terms and conditions of the permit as well as the eligibility requirements to qualify for coverage under the general permit.  Importantly, the new permit automatically replaces any existing PAG-02 permit, however PADEP is requiring that permittees covered under a PAG-02 issued prior to December 7, 2019 certify whether they “remain eligible for and are able to comply with the terms and conditions of the reissued PAG-02 General Permit” in order to maintain coverage.  The acknowledgment is to be made electronically on or before March 9, 2020, and the form can be found here.

Permittees who are unable to certify that they remain eligible and able to comply with the new PAG-02 must nevertheless certify to that effect and submit an application for an individual NPDES permit on or before March 9, in which case general permit coverage under the new PAG-02 will continue until the individual permit is issued.  Failure to provide timely acknowledgement will result in termination of the permit coverage as of March 9, 2020.  Therefore it is critical that the acknowledgment be completed for all outstanding permits, or earthmoving activities will have to cease until a new permit is obtained.

The acknowledgment has raised many questions regarding Continue Reading **Important Notice – General Permit for Stormwater (PAG-02)**