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Coronavirus Resource Guide

Posted by: Margaret Wood

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Once again we have updated this guide as of today, May 8, 2020. These updates include new presidential actions and a link from the IRS for additional information on the stimulus checks. We have added links to information under the State Government section as well highlighted some of the  recent CRS reports and new blog posts from the Law Library. We have added a selected number of new Global Legal Monitor (GLM) articles  from the Law Library. The division has produced so many article that rather than listing them all in this guide, we suggest you follow the search instructions for GLM articles. We have also added a new Law Library report about virtual trials in 25 countries

These updates have (new) at the end of the entry so the added content is easy to identify. The date of the new content also appears so it will be easy to identify when material is added. The date for the content added in the last three weeks also remains and we will continue to provide dates for all information as it is added going forward.

This is intended as a guide to laws, regulations and executive actions in the United States, at both the federal and the state level, and in various countries with respect to the new coronavirus and its spread. We are also including links to Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports that provide information to Congress about the novel coronavirus. In addition, we provide links to relevant federal agency websites. We intend to update this guide on at least a weekly basis for the immediate future.

United States Legislation
Congress.gov
Presidential Actions
U.S. Government Agencies
State Government Information
US State Courts
CRS Reports
Law Library Blogs
Law Library GLM articles
Law Library Reports

United States Legislation   

Public Law 116-139, Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (added 4/27/2020)

Public Law 116-136, (CARES) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

Public Law 116-127, Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Public Law 116-123, Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act 

Congress.gov 

Proposed legislation relating to the novel coronavirus can be searched through the Library’s Congress.gov website. You can search for legislation through the homepage or explore other Search methods. Here is a broad starter query that finds current legislation about COVID-19  You can then set up Alerts so you are notified any time there is an action on a bill.

You can also use Congress.gov to explore the Most-Viewed bills, check the Congressional Record or look up your members.

Presidential Actions

April 2020 Actions

March 2020 Actions

February 2020 Actions

  • Proclamation No. 9984, 85 F.R. 6709: Suspension of Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus (applied to persons traveling to the U.S. who have been the People’s Republic of China in the preceding 14 days, excluding Macau and Hong Kong)

U.S. Government Agencies   

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Coronavirus.gov

Benefits.gov Help Center and Coronavirus Resources

Department of Education: Coronavirus and Forbearance Info for Students, Borrowers and Parents

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Information on Coronavirus Scams and How to Report Scams

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Coronavirus Tax Relief 

IRS Economic Impact Payments: What You Need to Know

IRS Economic Impact Payment Information Center (added 4/17/2020)

IRS Stimulus Check Payment Portal (added 4/17/2020)

IRS Non-Filers Tools for Payment Information (new 5/8/2020)

Department of Labor (DOL) Coronavirus Resources

DOL Temporary Rule: Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

DOL Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employer Paid Leave Requirements

DOL Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights

Medicare Information on Coverage for COVID-19 tests and Treatments

Small Business Administration Coronavirus Relief Options

Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program (added 4/27/2020)

U.S. Department of Treasury Deferral of 2019 Tax Payments

Department of the Treasury: Paycheck Protection Loan Program for Small Businesses

State Government Information   

You can use the Law Library’s Guide to Law Online for U.S. States and Territories to locate information about state actions taken in response to the novel coronavirus. Each state or territory has its own page in the Guide: see for example New Mexico. Each state page is organized in the same way with links divided into the various categories such as Constitution or Executive. Links to a state governor’s office and state administrative regulations can be found under the Executive header on each page while existing laws and pending state legislation can be found under the Legislative header.

For information on the operating status of your state court, you can look for information on your state guide page under the Judicial section header. In the case of New Mexico, we looked down this list for a link to the state court system, New Mexico State Judiciary. (added 4/27/2020)

ABA Disaster Relief Pro Bono Portal (new 5/8/2020)

CareerOneStop (sponsored by DOL) – provides information on state unemployment benefits

Council of State Government (CSG): COVID-19 Resources for State Leaders

CSG State Executive Orders

Lawfare Quarantine and Isolation Authorities in States Affected by COVID-19

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has created a page with information about State Tax Filing Guidance during the novel coronavirus Pandemic.

National Center for State Courts: Pandemic Preparedness (new 5/8/2020)

National Conference on State Legislatures State Action on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL) COVID-19 Stimulus Bill: What It Means for States

National Governors Association Coronavirus: What You Need to Know (new 5/8/2020)

US State Courts (added 4/27/2020)

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Clerk of the Court’s office has issued guidance regarding filing documents and oral arguments.

The U.S. Courts website has provided information about the operating status, court appearances and hearings, and filings. Click on the link for federal appellate, district or bankruptcy court to view a list and then select the link for the specific court for which information is needed.

Congressional Research Service Reports

CRS reports can be accessed and searched from a link on the Congress.gov homepage. We are listing some of the more recent reports below but here is a link to the full list of reports (new link) prepared by CRS and organized by topic.

Law Library Blogs     

Law Library GLM articles  

Users can search for GLM articles using Topics including “Epidemics” or “Infectious or parasitic diseases.” Users can also set up RSS feeds by Topic or Country and receive an alert when a new article is published.

Africa/Middle East

Asia

Europe

Central and Latin America

United States

International 

Law Library Reports

As always, if you have any questions, please contact us through Ask a Librarian.

Previous Updates

We have updated the guide today, April 27, 2020 with the new law which has been passed, Public Law 116-139, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. We have also added recent presidential actions, and additional federal government links. We have added a section with information on the operating status of federal courts. We also updated the Law Library’s Global Legal Monitor section with several articles including some on actions being taken in Central and Latin American and one about the new U.S. law signed by the president. These updates have (new) at the end of the entry so the added content is easy to identify. The date of the new content also appears so it will be easy to identify when material is added. The date for the content added last week also remains and we will continue to provide dates for all information as it is added going forward.

Today, April 17, 2020 we are again updating this Resource Guide. We have added additional presidential actions, Federal and state government resources, Law Library blogs and Global Legal Monitor (GLM) articles. These updates have (new) at the end of the entry so the added content is easy to identify. Beginning this week we are also adding the date to the new content so it will be easy to identify when material is added.

Because this guide keeps growing, we have added a table of contents which will link readers to specific section headings thanks to help from Robert. We have also broken out presidential actions by month; and organized U.S. government agency and state government information alphabetically except for the CDC coronavirus link which is the first listed link in the U.S. government agency section.

Finally, we wanted to bring to your attention a webinar the Law Library’s foreign specialist are hosting next Thursday, April 23, 2020, on Fighting Pandemics.

As promised we are continuing our weekly update to this guide. For this April 10, 2020 update, we have added a new presidential memorandum and links to U.S. government websites, including one with information from the Department of Education about student loan forbearance. We have also added links to new resources which compile information on state government orders and actions. We identified and included new CRS reports which may be of interest as well as new GLM reports from the Law Library’s foreign legal specialists. All these updates have (new) at the end of the entry so the added content is easy to identify.

We are once again updating this guide today, April 3, 2020. We are providing the Public Law number for H.R.748 and links to recent presidential actions. We have added a link which lists all the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on this topic as well as links to additional Federal agency websites including IRS and Small Business Administration. We have included resources for information about quarantine orders in the states as well as state unemployment resources. We have added additional Law Library Global Legal Monitor (GLM) articles and organized these by region. These updates have (new) at the end of the entry so the added content is easy to identify.

As promised, we are updating this guide today, March 27, 2020, with links to additional legislation (H.R.748), presidential actions, CRS reports, U.S. and state government resources and Law Library Global Legal Monitor Articles.  The updates have (new) at end of the entry so the added content is easy to identify.

Comments (15)

  1. Marcelo says:

    This is spectacularly useful! Thanks for putting this together!

  2. Margaret Wood says:

    The Public Law number for H.R.6201, Families First Coronavirus Response Act has been added to the post.

  3. Patrick Short says:

    please print this out

  4. John Tavolacci says:

    Great Stuff! Should be front and center!!

  5. Laura Olsen says:

    Thank you for providing this aggregated and curated list. Most useful.

  6. Jon says:

    My employer don’t want to answer my questions they just tell me to
    Use vacation leave to take off with kids over school closed
    I will have no time left soon … that act passed on March 18th does that
    Help me any … they don’t want to find out for me please help

    • Margaret Wood says:

      Please send us this question through the Law Library’s Ask A Librarian service where it will be assigned to a reference librarian

  7. Carmen A. Cote says:

    Thank you for all these interesting information. I just wonder if somebody knows What is the reason our loan’s interests are still running, and we still could be in default if we do not pay the loans on time even with our businesses closed. Why we do not have a Federal legislation extending for a period of 90 days the trigger point of any private contract upon which a creditors, landlords, banks etc. may imposing late fees and other penalties or declare a default under the contractual agreement?

  8. Dustin Ballantine says:

    It’s absolutely ridiculous that you do not have information in this article about the $2 Trillion stimulus bill, H.R. 748 which is very convoluted and uninformed on your site. Still can’t find the actual text that passed the Senate last night. This should be easily available to an US citizen looking for it.

    • Margaret Wood says:

      The text of H.R.748 as passed by the Senate has been added to Congress.gov. We have also added some CRS reports to this post which you may find helpful in understand the legislation.

  9. Jackie says:

    Are churches eligible to participate under just passed coronavirus stimulus package? Thank you

  10. adkins alissaann says:

    MANY THANKS FOR THIS PAGE AND INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN

  11. nhan nguyen says:

    great stuff

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