Tamburino Talks Law

The ongoing mask discussion is leading to questions around the Minneapolis requirement. I discuss how the requirement works just click here to see my latest Tamburino Talks Law On May 21 st  the Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis issued an executive order mandating that anyone who enters a place of public accommodation must wear a mask.  The order took effect at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26 th , and no end date is stated.  There are three issues involved in this order that should be explained.   First, the order is legal.  Pursuant to state law, the mayor of Minneapolis, as well as a mayor in any other Minnesota city, has emergency powers that allow him/her to issue emergency orders during a peacetime state of emergency as long as the orders are ratified by the city council.  Here in Minnesota, we have been living under Gov. Walz’s peacetime emergency order since March 13 th .  Mayor Frey issued the mask order as part of the peacetime emergency and t...

Watch this Tamburino Talks Law on You Tube The stay-at-home order has put many of Minnesota’s small businesses on the verge of bankruptcy.  Most were either allowed limited options for business activity, like take-out service for restaurants, or were completely closed.  This has caused many business owners to look at a myriad of other options to make up for lost income, including their own insurance policies.   Some business owners have “business interruption insurance” which replaces business income that was lost due to misfortunes such as fire, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.  This type of insurance policy may provide coverage for the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, some insurance policies may have provisions concerning such matters as force majeure, acts of God, and all risks, which may allow the owner to collect damages for the loss of income due to Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing stay-at-home orders. Force majeure ...

Hear this Tamburino Talks Law on YouTube https://youtu.be/4ojdsWCmI0Q Minnesota is about to embark on a massive contact tracing project to control the spread of Covid-19.  The MN legislature is in the process of passing a bill that would give the MN Dept. of Health the power and funds to trace the contacts of people who either have or were exposed to the virus.  Many people are now asking – is this legal?  What about privacy rights? The short answer is, yes, it’s legal.  The MN Data Practices Act (the law that controls data collected by the government) and HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) allow the government to share what otherwise would be private health data with other government officials and, in some limited exceptions, with the public to ensure public safety and stop the spread of a contagion.   For example, on April 10 th , Gov. Tim Walz issued an executive order releasing information ...

As parts of Minnesota begin to reopen, many have questions around liability and risks. Recently I spoke with WCCO CBS on the topic and our story was picked up by MSN Money. Click the link here to view the video --> https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/explaining-liability-during-the-pandemic/vi-BB13zjpi

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) —  Minnesota courts have seen most cases put on hold until at least June. And there’s concern from attorneys and potential jurors as to what courtrooms might look like when they re-open. Right now, some court hearings are happening virtually, but that won’t be an option when jury trials resume. “The problem is no one knows what will happen after the stay-at-home order is lifted,” said attorney Joe Tamburino. Tamburino worries that judicial districts and counties across the state aren’t on the same page. His concerns center around social distancing in a building like the Hennepin County Government Center. He calls them simple things that are no longer simple such as- how many people can be in the building at one time going forward? And how many people can be in an elevator together? “Think about this- you have 20,000 potential jurors coming in and out of that building,” said Tamburino. “All these jurors- are they going to wear masks? Who is going ...