The health of a business correlates with the health of its employees, suppliers and customers. Given the global economy and China’s role as the world’s manufacturing superpower, the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease associated with the novel coronavirus, poses a significant threat to businesses. While global efforts are focused on containing the spread of this new virus, businesses must prepare for the continued increasing, and evolving impacts on their operations. With many major financial impacts, both directly and indirectly, a longer lasting and more intensive outbreak has begun to, and will continue to, present a horde of legal concerns relating to domestic and international businesses. These concerns range from disturbances to the supply chain leading to potential contractual disputes to employment law concerns for commercial operations across all industries.

Businesses should address the following symptoms to mitigate issues relating to COVID-19:

The Rise of Contractual Problems