Corruption, Crime & Compliance

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2 Apr, 2020

DOJ Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force Seizes Critical Medical Supplies and Distributes to New York and New Jersey Hospitals

The Justice Department and the FBI have quickly acted to focus on fraudsters and hoarders seeking to profit from the public panic in response to the pandemic. DOJ issued a memo to U.S. Attorneys prioritizing investigations and prosecutions in this area. (Here). To combat hoarding and price gouging for critical supplies, the President issued an executive order (Here) which prohibits hoarding and price gouging of...

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1 Apr, 2020

COVID-19: Supply Chain Risks Lessons

Companies are struggling. Many have shut down. Some are surviving from a remote workforce. Some critical businesses – healthcare providers, food, pharmacies and essential services (e.g. utilities) – are continuing to operate. Employers have given large numbers of raises and have to adapt to a new marketplace with COVID-19 risks and regulatory requirements. Certain businesses are hiring large numbers of employees – Amazon, drug stores...

COVID-19: Important Changes to Employment Law

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31 Mar, 2020

COVID-19: Important Changes to Employment Law

Congress recently enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) (Copy Here), which included a number of important changes. Given the disastrous impact of the pandemic on the workplace, businesses that are still operating have to adhere to health and safety requirements. OSHA guidelines require companies to sanitize the workplace, and require employees to use protective equipment. OSHA has released guidance on COVID-19 in the...

Board Governance Challenges in COVID-19 Crisis

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30 Mar, 2020

Board Governance Challenges in COVID-19 Crisis

Corporate boards and management face serious challenges in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. In this difficult environment, companies have to be mindful to apply best practices and exercise care to fulfill their duties of loyalty and care. The challenges are complex and the risks are exponential. Corporate boards have to exercise responsible oversight by understanding the risks facing the company and the impact of the pandemic...

Episode 134: COVID-19 (Part II) — Business Response to Pandemic

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29 Mar, 2020

Episode 134: COVID-19 (Part II) — Business Response to Pandemic

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact. The public health crisis has caused tragic human loss and is overwhelming the United States healthcare system. Businesses have suffered along with the public. Business face real challenges managing the crisis, their respective supply chains and employees. In the second part of a two-part series, Mike Volkov reviews important business responses and strategies for coping with the pandemic.

Episode 133 — COVID-19 (Part I): Absence of Federal Leadership and Recent Congressional Actions

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29 Mar, 2020

Episode 133 — COVID-19 (Part I): Absence of Federal Leadership and Recent Congressional Actions

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact. The public health crisis has caused tragic human loss and is overwhelming the United States healthcare system. Businesses have suffered along with the public. The lack of federal leadership has been glaring. States and local governments are coping the best they can despite the obvious absence of federal leadership. In this two-part episode, Mike Volkov examines the federal and...

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27 Mar, 2020

Congress Enacts CARES Stimulus Act

Congress enacted the largest economic stimulus bill in history, totaling approximately $2 trillion to protect US families and businesses from massive economic damage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Copy of CARES Act HERE. The package includes: $454 billion in loans and guarantees to businesses $349 billion in small business loans $32 billion in loans and guarantees to airlines/ air cargo $301 billion direct aid to...

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26 Mar, 2020

COVID-19: Employee Risks and Privacy

Chief compliance officers and human relations leaders are facing enormous challenges in this COVID-19 pandemic. The shut-down of offices and orders to employees to work from home or “tele-work” creates a unique set of risks. Many companies already permit employees to work from home. But we have never experienced a requirement that employees work from home. Some jobs cannot be done from home, while others...

Bank Secrecy Act Compliance During the COVID-19 Crisis

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25 Mar, 2020

Bank Secrecy Act Compliance During the COVID-19 Crisis

Elizabeth Slim, Senior Consultant at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a posting on AML and BSA compliance during the current pandemic crisis. Elizabeth can be reached at [email protected]. The COVID-19 outbreak has affected all of us and we now face the new normal of self-quarantine and social distancing. As Anti-Money Laundering (AML) professionals, we are still required to ensure that financial institutions maintain...

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24 Mar, 2020

COVID-19: Crisis Management

Companies dedicate time and resources to enterprise risk management. This is a much broader focus than legal and compliance risks – instead, enterprise risks identifies some of the major catastrophes — e.g. one company had serious weather event risks and disruption of manufacturing activities or another faced supply chain risks when relying on a single source of supply. These are the kind of global enterprise...