[Update (12/14/2020): On December 10, 2020, the North Carolina Department of Justice issued an informal opinion letter that differs from the opinion that I reach in this blog post. In the post, I conclude that cities and counties probably lack … Read more

On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order  as part of an effort to put more spending money in consumers’ pockets and stimulate the economy.  The Order authorized employers to defer the withholding and deposit of the employee … Read more

On April 23rd, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order 135 extending his statewide Stay At Home Order (Executive Order 121) for another nine days.  The Governor’s Stay At Home Order was due to expire on April 29th; EO 135 extends it … Read more

To slow the spread of COVID-19, to comply with Governor Cooper’s stay-at-home order, and to deal with budget stresses,  many local governments are considering furloughs. A furlough occurs when one or more employees are put into a temporary leave without … Read more

As the fight against the coronavirus wages on, local government purchasing officers, clerks, department heads, and others who handle procurements are scouring every vendor and supplier they can think of to find everything from surgical masks and gloves to rental … Read more

[UPDATE: Section 4.31 of Session Law 2020-3 enacted new G.S. 166A-19.24, which imposes a variety of procedural requirements on remote meetings held by public bodies during a state of emergency declared by the Governor or General Assembly. As defined by … Read more

THIS BLOG POST HAS BEEN UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 On Monday morning, April, 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued regulations implementing the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (the Emergency FMLA Act”) and the Emergency … Read more

UPDATE May 30, 2020: As detailed in this post, Governor Cooper issued EO 142 on May 30, 2020, which extends the effective period of EO 124 through July 29, 2020. Updated May 2020: The Attorney General’s Office has modified the … Read more

[Update 11/18/2020: Section 5.2(a) of the Governor’s Executive Order 169 (extended by Executive Order 176) generally exempts “government operations” from the order’s prohibitions on mass gatherings.  The NC Department of Public Safety interprets “government operations” to include local government board meetings. Section … Read more

THIS BLOG POST HAS BEEN UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 On March 18, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Families First Act”). The Families First Act is actually a compilation … Read more