COVID-19 and Administrative Law – Articles of Interest

Members of the Administrative Law Section found the following recent third party articles to be interesting. Remember—if it says subscription required, your legal research provider may provide access.  

This article suggests appellate deadlines extension may not apply to some administrative law appeals: Supreme Court Extends Appellate Deadlines and Encourages E-Filing, Troy Shelton, March 27, 2020.

Helpful School of Government Blog COVID-19 Related Posts if you represent governments or their employees

The posts listed below may be useful if you represent government agencies, boards and commissions or their employees or if you want to be able to answer questions people raise:

From Coates Canons

Can We Really Ban In-Person Attendance at Board Meetings During the Coronavirus Emergency?, Trey Allen, Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

This blog post expands on an earlier post by Frayd Bluestein regarding meetings and public hearings during the COVID-19 crisis. It specifically address the lawfulness of local government prohibitions on public in-person attendance at public meetings. The article’s preface says that the author aims “to supplement her comments on in-person attendance bans by looking at the relevant case law in light of events of the past few days.”

Remote Participation in Quasi-Judicial Evidentiary Hearings, Adam Lovelady, Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
Administrative Law section members often represent local governments or those appearing or represent parties before local government boards in quasi-judicial hearings. Lovelady addresses North Carolina case law and states that “In certain limited circumstances there may be flexibility to allow remote participation in a quasi-judicial evidentiary hearing if absolutely necessary. This blog highlights the concerns and outlines some practical considerations.”

Disclosing Information about People with COVID-19 to First Responders, Jill Moore, Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

Administrative law practitioners who represent first responders, local governments, hospitals, and others with access to personal health information of citizens may find this SOG blog post by Jill Moore of interest. It addresses confidentiality and HIPAA issues. “This post is focused on whether and to what extent information about COVID-19 infections or exposures that are known to public health officials may be disclosed . . .”  The post includes links to CDC guidance as well as a U.S. HHS HIPAA waiver of sanctions for certain actions or lack of actions.

How the Paid Sick Leave Provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act Affect Government EmployersDiane Juffras, Sunday, March 22, 2020.

Does a Local Stay-At-Home Order Qualify as an Isolation or Quarantine Order for the Purposes of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act?Diane Juffras, Friday, March 27, 2020.

Which Tax and Retirement Deductions Must Be Taken from FFCRA Emergency Paid Leave?, Diane Juffras, Monday, March 30, 2020, updated on March 31, 2020.

Can Counties and Cities Order “Stay-at-Home”?, Norma Houston, Monday, March 23, 2020.
This article addresses issues such as the constitutionality of Stay-At-Home orders.

From the SOG Criminal Law Blog

Stay-At-Home Orders, Charges, and Stops, Shea Denning, March 31, 2020.
This article addresses issues such as whether law enforcement officers can conduct suspicionless stops in the context of Stay-At-Home-Orders.

Important news from the State Archives for lawyers who represent agencies, boards and commissions:  Access to records stored with Government Records by Laura Hensey.

A potentially useful tool for administrative lawyersTracking Deregulation in the Trump Era is an interactive website. According to its publisher, the Brookings Institution: 

“The Trump administration has major deregulatory ambitions. But how much deregulation is actually happening? This tracker helps you monitor a selection of delayed, repealed, and new rules, notable guidance and policy revocations, and important court battles across eight major categories, including environmental, health, labor, and more.”