Up & Atom

Our colleagues in California have prepared a LawFlash discussing recent orders issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom affecting how and under what conditions state and local agencies may meet and discuss and/or approve of contracts for services and products during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Read our recent LawFlash regarding the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s March 25 announcement of the extension of filing periods covered by previously enacted conditional reporting relief for certain public company filing obligations.

Our colleagues in corporate practice are hosting a webinar on March 27 that might be of interest to our nuclear energy clients. The webinar will discuss the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on shareholder activism, global financial markets, and market capitalizations.

Providing letters or notices to key personnel identifying them as “essential critical infrastructure workers” might ease travel in jurisdictions imposing travel restrictions. Read our recent LawFlash detailing the criteria for essential critical infrastructure workers in the electricity, petroleum, and natural gas and propane industries, including the vendors and service providers to the energy industry.

The NRC recently hosted a public meeting—exclusively via teleconference—to discuss regulatory implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for power reactor licensees. Of particular note, the NRC Staff is developing pandemic-related enforcement guidance. The first installment of this guidance is expected to be released early this week.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19), the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) chief administrative law judge (ALJ) issued an administrative order on March 19 clarifying the status of matters pending before the DOL’s Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ).

Functioning critical infrastructure is crucial during the response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency for public health and safety reasons. And as noted in the Coronavirus Guidelines for America issued on March 16, US President Donald Trump has recommended that workers in critical infrastructure industries have a “special responsibility” to maintain normal work schedules. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on March 19 issued guidance on defining the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce. That guidance explicitly discusses workers in the nuclear and electric industries.

Our insurance litigation colleagues have prepared a LawFlash providing guidance on protecting insurance assets, which may help mitigate financial losses due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

FERC and NERC issued a joint notice on Wednesday providing compliance flexibility on certain key reliability standard requirements during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although this guidance can allow utilities to avoid findings of noncompliance for certain requirements where timely compliance activities could be difficult due to personnel shortages and other limitations, this is not a blanket waiver. Instead, utilities must provide written notices of their intent to use this guidance. The content of those notices must be drafted carefully as they will be necessary to demonstrate compliance in future reviews.

Our colleagues in the antitrust practice have prepared a LawFlash addressing the extent to which the private sector can coordinate its responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic consistent with the antitrust laws.