Kang Haggerty News
Kang Haggerty LLC will close its offices at 2 p.m. local time on Friday, June 19, 2020 in recognition of Juneteenth—the holiday which commemorates the ending of slavery in America.
“These past few weeks have raised the sense of urgency in addressing social injustice,” said Kang Haggerty managing member Edward T. Kang. “As a law firm built on diversity and inclusion, we join with our community in taking time off to reflect on the continuing issue of racism in this country.”
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
On May 28th, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation A4157, which temporarily extends the deadline for filing property tax appeals and processing decisions in those cases. The legislature believed that, due to the current pandemic, many people were unable to file the appeals by usual April 1 or May 1, 2020 deadlines. As such, the deadline to file an appeal of the assessment of real property is extended to July 1, 2020. The deadline for county boards of taxation to render decisions in tax appeal cases has also been extended, to September 30, 2020. This bill does not apply to certain tax appeals, such as in counties participating in the Demonstration Program or operating under Property Tax Assessment Reform Act. This bill will go into effective immediately and will be applied retroactively to April 1, 2020.
Given the pandemic and its effect on financial markets coupled with the loss of contribution hours in certain industries, such a construction, many defined benefit pension plans have become underfunded once again. What may come as a surprise to contributing employers of multi-employer pension plans is the impact an underfunded pension plan can have on their business upon withdrawal from the plan. Employers should be aware of withdrawal liability and how to minimize its financial consequences. 
On May 15, 2020 Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 145, allowing elective surgeries and elective invasive procedures to resume. 
Many businesses have now turned to the force majeure clauses present in their contracts—invoking the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic is an unforeseeable “act of God” that has hindered the ability of parties to perform their duties as agreed.
While shelter-in-place and other restrictions on business remain in effect due to the pandemic, many expect re-openings (whether gradual, on a timeline, based on industry, or otherwise) are imminent. If you have not adhered to the old adage to “learn from the past lest it repeat itself” maybe now is a good time to review some of your company policies.