COVID Employment Law Update

On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law.  This new law expands many employers’ obligations to provide sick leave to employees impacted by COVID-19.

Generally, the Act provides that all covered employers must provide all employees with up two weeks of paid sick leave at the regular rate of pay for up to two weeks if the employee is:

• personally experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
• is personally subject to a quarantine instruction from a Federal, State, or local government or a medical professional.

Co-author Josue Uribe Fonseca

We are getting a lot of questions about contract enforcement during this state of emergency. Many people need to be excused from contract performance for reasons entirely out of their control. That means we are throwing around terms like "force majeure" to address whether performance is excused due to COVID-19's' effects such as the State of Emergency and California's Executive Orders, and the various counties' shelter-in-place orders.

Palo Alto City Council voted last night to adopt the Urgency Ordinance to halt residential evictions for COVID-19 related hardship. 

The city's moratorium on evictions will remain in effect until the city's state of emergency expires. After that, residents would have 120 days to make full payment of the back rent.

Looking at the Agenda for the Palo Alto meeting reveals that the council is also evaluating to extend the eviction moratorium to small businesses, non-profits and commercial tenants also impacted by the State of Emergency. Agenda found here.

The San José City Council has enacted a temporary eviction moratorium in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium is in effect through April 17, and the City Council may extend it.

The new ordinance is effective immediately.

The moratorium applies to all residential properties in San José, including single-family homes, rooms rented in single-family homes, duplexes, condominiums, income-restricted apartments (i.e., affordable housing), rent-stabilized apartments, market-rate apartments, and mobilehomes.

Please note the moratorium only applies to residential evictions for nonpayment of rent due to impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. There is no moratorium on lawful evictions for other just causes.