On June 25, 2020, the staff of the SEC extended the relief previously afforded to public companies and others as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension applies to (1) the requirement to manually sign and retain signature pages or other “authentication” documents; and (2) paper filings of manually signed Forms 144. Unlike the original relief, these extensions will remain in place “until the staff provides public notice that it no longer will be in effect”, which notice “will be published at least two weeks before the announced termination date.”
This extension and other COVID-19 relief that has been granted by the SEC since the onset of the pandemic have been summarized in a statement issued by the SEC on June 26, 2020, that can be found here.
If you have any questions on these items, please contact Gunster securities law and corporate governance practice leader Bob Lamm.
