News and Events

Memorandum By: Vaughn G. T. Cook and Newton J. Chu On April 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation entitled “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak” (“Proclamation”). The Proclamation is effective beginning Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 11:59 PM...

Hawaiian businesses are being disrupted by stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements due to COVID-19. As a result, many businesses will seek help from their insurance companies in order to obtain business interruption insurance coverage. This may help with covering payroll, rent, profit loss and other liabilities. In order to address these issues, attorneys Ron...

What is a force majeure clause? According to attorney Brian Tilker at Torkildson, Katz, Hetherington, Harris & Knorek, Attorneys at Law, it's a provision included in business contracts that exempts businesses from contractual obligations for reasons pertaining to unavoidable, catastrophic circumstances. We are currently experiencing an unavoidable, catastrophic circumstance. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had such a...

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into federal law on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. New employment policies under the FFCRA will be effective from April 1 to December 31, 2020. These policies include: Temporary Emergency Family and Medical Leave Temporary Emergency Paid Leave Due to Reasons...

As of Tuesday, March 24, 2020, the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected nearly 400,000 people worldwide and killed more than 17,000. The reach of this pandemic has impacted the economic wellbeing of the United States and the rest of the world. In response to COVID-19, new employment policies will be put in place on April...

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has had an economic impact on Hawaii. Businesses have suffered as a result. We have also seen flights, conferences and events canceled. The Hawaii Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the Vigilant Against Virus, Confident in Commerce webinar on March 24th from 12:00 - 1:00 PM. Local and national experts will...

On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally announced the release of its revised Form I-9. It will replace the form currently in use (that contained an expiration date of 8/31/2019). When that form expired in August 2019, the USCIS extended the use of it until the newest update to the Form...

Attorney Ron Heller at Torkildson, Katz, Hetherington, Harris & Knorek, Attorneys at Law recently represented a client in a Hawaii Supreme Court case involving a real property tax dispute. According to the court document, the dispute revolved around one central issue: whether or not counties in Hawaii have the power to define, or re-define, what constitutes "real...

Have you ever wondered if annual raises are mandatory or what steps the Board of Directors takes to monitor the performance of employees? Attorney John Knorek at Torkildson, Katz, Hetherington, Harris & Knorek, Attorneys at Law will be answering these questions at the Labor Laws and Security Guards seminar on February 20, 2020. He will review...

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ushered in the new year by issuing employer-friendly decisions and rules that primarily impact unionized employers. These include: Cutting off dues deductions after an agreement is terminated Clarifying when an employer may take unilateral action Other decisions made by the NLRB, however, affect nonunion employers as well. This may encourage employers to revise...