DOL Gives Employers Guidance on Tracking Telework Surge

Here are the day’s top coronavirus stories from the team at Bloomberg Law:

• PAID-LEAVE RULE: The U.S Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division advised that employers must pay workers for all hours worked remotely that the business knew about or had reason to believe were performed—wading into an employment issue that’s taken on heightened importance during the pandemic.
• PENNSYLVANIA BALLOT SUIT: President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign won’t get an answer regarding the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s no-excuse absentee voting rules from a federal judge in Pennsylvania until the state courts have had a chance to interpret the recent changes.
• FRACKING-FIRM BANKRUPTCY: FTS International Inc., the fracking-service provider founded by brothers Dan and Farris Wilks two decades ago, said it will file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks amid the wreckage of a global pandemic-induced shale bust.

Editor’s Top Picks

Insurers Get OK to Contact Covid Patients for Plasma Donations
Health plans can identify and contact patients and beneficiaries who have recovered from Covid-19 to give them information on how to donate their blood and plasma, the HHS said Monday.

FDA Expands Access to Plasma Covid Therapy Before Trials Finish
President Donald Trump said a coronavirus treatment that involves blood plasma donated by people who’ve recovered from Covid-19 will be expanded to more sick Americans, widening access to a promising therapy even before researchers fully understand how well it works.

Court OKs Extending Waiver of Virginia’s Ballot Witness Rule
Virginians won’t need a witness when they sign their ballots for the Nov. 3 general election, a federal court decided.

Cuomo Issues Orders to Ease New York Voting Process in November
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday said he’ll issue five executive orders to simplify the voting process and help election boards get ready for the Nov. 3 general election.

Trump’s Virus Funding Boost for Private Schools Is Blocked
The Trump administration’s move to steer more pandemic relief money to private schools from a $13 billion education fund was blocked by a federal judge.

Praxsyn, CEO Settle Coronavirus Mask Claims Case with SEC
Praxsyn Corp. and its CEO will pay the SEC $65,000 combined to resolve accusations they falsely claimed to have access to N95 masks early in the coronavirus pandemic, according to documents filed Friday in Florida federal court.

Virus Aid Reached More Small Firms in Last Weeks, Data Show
The Trump administration released details on the biggest coronavirus-relief initiative that show more than 98% of loans approved after July 6 were for less than $150,000 -- suggesting the program was reaching smaller businesses before it closed earlier this month.

ANALYSIS: Will Covid Force Firms to Ditch the Fancy Offices?
What will the recovery from Covid-19 mean for law firm office space? Now that firm lawyers have proven they can work effectively from anywhere, will their clients tolerate the overhead of fancy offices? And, if they won’t, what will that mean for law firms’ business model?

Click here for updates on how federal courts are operating during the pandemic.

If a friend forwarded you this email, sign up here.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Flipboard, LinkedIn, Reddit, Facebook, and Telegram. You can tell Alexa to “Play Bloomberg Law news” or add Bloomberg Law to your Flash Briefing.

Editor’s Note: The Bloomberg Law news team has been closely covering the legal, regulatory, business, and tax implications of the coronavirus pandemic. This daily email highlights the top stories of the day, across practice areas. To unsubscribe, please adjust your Bloomberg Law newsletter settings. For assistance, contact our help desk at 888-560-2529 or help@bloomberglaw.com.6