LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Wednesday, April 01, 2020

It's Fair Housing Month - Coronavirus Discrimination Must Stop

Equal rights to housing is particularly important during this quarantine. 

A quarantine can be a very different experience dependent on your housing situation. Some people are sharing a bathroom with ten others while others are navigating between their indoor pool and their gym. Some have country homes to escape the city while others must walk stairwells infested with COVID-19. This is our current reality as a society. 

Make no mistake, in our capitalist society these differences should not only be accepted, but celebrated. Yet, these differences can only be caused by economic differences, not based upon the way we stigmatize people as a result of their demographic characteristics. 

Unfortunately, not everyone is observing the law today. According to the CDC, "fear and anxiety about a disease can lead to social stigma toward people, places, or things." In fact, the CDC has identified individuals of "Asian descent" as the current victims of stigma during the coronavirus pandemic. Let's change that starting today. 

Today is the start of Fair Housing Month. According to HUD, Fair Housing Month is a time to come together "as a community and a nation to celebrate the anniversary of the passing of the Fair Housing Act and recommit to that goal which inspired us in the aftermath of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in 1968: to eliminate housing discrimination and create equal opportunity in every community.”

We should do it. We can do it. We must do it.


Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Executing a New Will While in Quarantine? Avoid Will Deals That Seem too Good to be True

COVID-19 uncertainty is causing many people to rethink their wills and advanced directives.

With the acceptance of video notarization, which we blogged about HERE, many attorneys are advertising remote will execution ceremonies that remove the traditional requirement that the testator execute their will in a room with two witnesses and an attorney. The seeming ease of a remote will execution has caused a race to the bottom as attorneys compete on price for business. Things have gotten so desperate that I've seen an attorney advertise a will for $100.00. Is it too good to be true?

While the availability of remote notarization does make remote will execution ceremonies possible, it is important not to forget the fundamental requirements of a will signing. If your will is rejected by the Surrogate's Court because you failed to conform to the requirements of EPTL §3-2.1 all of your estate planning and forward thinking may have been for nothing. Avoid the nightmare scenario of your well-intentioned plans falling apart. 

The following is a list of some considerations which your attorney should be addressing when deciding how they are going to conduct a remote will execution ceremony:
    1. Your attorney must draft a will that conforms to your intentions.
    2. You must execute your will in the presence of two witnesses, or your signature must be acknowledged to the witnesses after it has already been affixed. Your remote execution procedure must qualify as "in the presence of". 
    3. Your witnesses must sign the will itself within thirty days of one another. 
    4. Your witnesses should sign affidavits attesting to the proper execution of your will. 
    5. Your attorney should sign an attorney draftsman's affidavit. 
    6. Your witnesses' affidavits should be notarized, and your attorney draftsman's affidavit should be notarized. 
    7. Your original signature, the witnesses' original signatures, the attorney draftsman's original signature, and the notary's original signatures should all be combined into one original document which can be presented for probate. 

If you think your attorney can do all of that for $100.00, it's probably too good to be true.


Covered Employers Must Comply With the WARN Act Prior to Laying off Employees

Employers contemplating reductions in force as a result of the Coronavirus must consider the applicable Federal and State laws prior to effectuating any layoffs, including but not limited to the WARN Act, to avoid substantial penalties.

The New York WARN ("Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act") Act is not suspended during the Coronavirus. Rather, the notice must be distributed, as detailed below, as soon as possible under the circumstances (as opposed to the regular 90 day notice requirement). Failure to provide such notice may result in the employer being required to pay back wages and/or the imposition of civil penalties.

When does the WARN Act apply?:

The New York WARN Act (which is more stringent than the Federal law) covers employers with 50 or more employees under the following circumstances:
  • Plant or unit closing affecting 25 or more workers;
  • Mass layoff of 25 or more full-time workers if the workers comprise of at least 33% of all workers at the physical site;
  • Mass layoff of 250 or more full-time workers; and
  • Certain other reductions of employees' work hours.

Notice

The WARN Act requires ninety (90) day notice of a mass layoff or plant closing to:
  • Affected employees;
  • New York State Department of Labor;
  • Employee/Union Representatives; and
  • The Local Workforce Investment Board.
The notice must include the following:
  • Name/address where plant closing or mass layoff is to occur;
  • Explanation as to whether the employment loss will be permanent or temporary;
  • Expected date of scheduled layoff(s);
  • Affected positions and number of affected employees in each position;
  • Name(s) of applicable union/employee representatives; and
  • Contact information of company representative who can provide additional information.
Consult with your employment attorney to confirm the satisfaction of all of these requirements before implementing layoffs.


Monday, March 30, 2020

Protect Your Family with an Updated Will

Podcast | Tax Strategies and Coronavirus