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Your tenant is behind on rent due to COVID-19 related issues.  Can you evict the tenant?  That one question has profound ramifications for existing properties, projects under construction, and projects still in planning stage.  The inability to collect full rent or evict current tenants affects financial obligations, ROIs, and a myriad of other decisions, many of which present risks not just to owners, but developers, designers, contractors and subcontractors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) just made both the answer to the question as it pertains to residential t

With an unemployment rate now below 8% and Tesla announcing the construction of a billion-dollar assembly facility in Austin, the City of Austin is climbing its way out of the deep trough left by the novel coronavirus.  Depending on your view of Austin politics (that topic alone would consume thousands of pages), to ensure that the trend lines continue in the right direction or to make the business climate in the City even more unfriendly, the City along with Travis County have recently extended the face covering requirements and gathering-size limitations until December 15, 2020. 1.     T

Can an employer require an employee to produce a negative COVID-19 test result as a condition to allowing the employee to return to work?  When do requirements enacted out of concern about the safety of your workplace violate federal law?  To unpeel this onion, we must first look at the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  Adding this to understanding the state and local orders regarding face masks and social distancing will surely bring tears to your eyes. 1.     Americans with Disabilities Act Under the ADA, an employer may, in general, not require tests that would disclose me

Is the answer to all your COVID-19 troubles to sue China for damages?  If so, you may be in luck.  You may also have to stand in line behind several plaintiffs who have already initiated lawsuits against China. 1.     Another Brick in the Wall In April 2020, lawsuits were filed in California, Nevada, and Missouri against the People’s Republic of China and other Chinese governmental and quasi-governmental entities related to COVID-19. The lawsuits filed in California and Nevada are both proposed class action lawsuits while the lawsuit in Missouri was filed by the State of Missouri. The p

Many employers across the U.S. continue to face legal concerns as they navigate reopening and maintaining their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the start of August, more than 4,000 lawsuits relating to COVID-19 have been filed in federal and state courts. The most frequent claims in these suits are employment discrimination, work-from-home/leave issues, retaliation, unsafe working conditions/lack of PPE, and wage and hour claims. Class action lawsuits against employers are also rising since the pandemic began and most commonly involve unsafe working conditions and wage and hour