Category: Property & Casualty

EEOC Guidelines on COVID-19 Vaccines

On December 16, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its first direct guidance for employers regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against job discrimination and harassment.

As we stated in a previous blog post, employers can make the vaccine mandatory, subject to federally protected exceptions for disability and sincerely-held religious beliefs. The EEOC guidelines provided further explanations for employers regarding these exceptions, including documentation to support the request and how to manage a worker when an accommodation is not possible.  Continue reading

CDC Announces Shorter Quarantine Guidelines After a COVID-19 Exposure

Edit 12/4/20: Please note that the CDC update indicates that local public health authorities make the final decisions about how long quarantine should last in the communities they serve, based on local conditions and needs. The CDC recommends that you follow the recommendations of your local public health department if you need to quarantine.

During a recent media briefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an update to quarantine guidelines, offering options for shorter quarantine periods.

The CDC’s updated guidance allows for the following quarantine periods for those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 but are without symptoms:

• Ten-day quarantine period—An individual may end quarantine 10 days after exposure if the individual does not take a COVID-19 test.
• Seven-day quarantine period—An individual may end quarantine seven days after exposure if the individual tests negative for COVID-19.

While offering these shorter alternatives, the CDC still recommends a 14-day quarantine as the safest option.   Continue reading

How Insurance Carriers Use Crime Scores to Assess Risk in the Affordable Housing Industry

Many insurance carriers use third-party crime scores to evaluate their exposure to criminal risk when underwriting general liability insurance policies. At worst, a high crime score may preclude the owner of a multifamily housing complex from obtaining insurance coverage, and at best, a high crime score may result in higher premium costs. These underwriting practices are especially impactful to the affordable housing community because affordable housing may be in areas with higher crime scores when compared with traditional multifamily properties. Thus, affordable housing providers are highly likely to experience a loss of coverage or relatively high insurance premiums.  Continue reading

LIHTC Recapture Bonds for Affordable Housing

There are many different uses for surety bonds in the Affordable Housing industry. In our surety practice, we work frequently with contractors and developers on LIHTC deals – from performance and payment bonds for the contractor to completion or “subdivision” bonds for the LIHTC developer.

LIHTC Recapture Bond

Recently, after noticing the growing need from clients and Affordable Housing leaders, we decided to develop a LIHTC Recapture Bond program. Disposing of or purchasing a LIHTC property prior to the end of the 15-year compliance period can be a significant challenge as many institutional tax credit investors are hesitant to allow a change in ownership during the tax credit compliance period. In the past, the IRS required a bond; while that requirement is no longer in place, many investors are requiring a surety bond or another form of collateral.  Seeing this need in the market, we have partnered with an international surety company to develop a proprietary surety product.  Continue reading

Virginia Releases Final Emergency Temporary Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has released the final version of the Emergency Temporary Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention: SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19.  This standard applies to every employer, employee and place of employment in Virginia that is within the jurisdiction of the VOSH program.  The standard will take immediate effect upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Richmond, Va.  This publication is anticipated the week of July 27.  Continue reading