What We’re Reading This Week [March 25, 2022]

Per Law360, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled that Art Van Furniture did not violate the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act, which requires large employers to provide least 60 days’ notice to workers before mass layoffs, when Art Van laid off 700 workers when COVID-19 shutdown orders were in effect. The court found that the shortened notice afforded by Art Van met the “unforeseen business circumstances” and “natural disaster” exceptions to the WARN Act because the layoffs were a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Law360; March 21, 2022].

Reuters reports on BlackRock’s letter to shareholders regarding how the Russia-Ukraine war may accelerate the use of digital currencies in international transactions. BlackRock also noted that it planned to focus more on digital currencies, going forward, due to increased client interest.  [Reuters; March 24, 2022].

Per Bloomberg, the Jekyll & Hyde Club, a popular horror-themed restaurant in New York, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In its bankruptcy filing, the restaurant listed liabilities of at least $7 million that includes $1.5 million in unpaid rent.  Since it is a smaller business, the Club seeks to have a less costly reorganization by using certain chapter 11 rules to rearrange debt quickly. [Bloomberg, March 23, 2022].