October is National Cybersecurity Awareness month, and the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has provided a timely reminder for HIPAA covered entities and business associates to have a written incident response plan! To learn why another policy is needed, what an incident response plan needs to include, and the reporting obligations, read the
Healthcare
Illinois Amends Nurse Agency Licensing Act to Bar Non-Competes, Add Reporting, Contract Obligations
Amendments to the Illinois Nurse Agency Licensing Act (HB 4666) aim to promote transparency and protections for healthcare workers, but, in practice, they make it more difficult for nurse staffing agencies to retain employees.
Under the new law, staffing agencies doing business in Illinois can no longer enter into covenants not-to-compete with nurses…
$25.00 Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers Will It Go Viral? Which New Laws Are Stayed?
At the start of June 2022, the City of Los Angeles approved an ordinance to raise the minimum wage for certain healthcare workers at privately-owned healthcare facilities within the city. Since June, more cities have passed nearly identical ordinances. There is also a push for a California statewide healthcare minimum wage. However, no formal bill…
Service Animal Access to Healthcare Facilities
While people may be familiar with many of the rules relating to the admission of service animals into public venues, do the same rules apply when a patient or visitor seeks to enter a hospital, medical office, or other healthcare facility accompanied by a service animal?
Most healthcare facilities, particularly hospitals, have “no pets” policies…
Spread of COVID-Whistleblower Legislative Protections Continues Unabated
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was sudden and devastating, and even as the threat levels subside, the fallout endures. To be sure, the healthcare industry has long been on the forefront of battling the threat to public health posed by COVID-19. While there has been a broad and varied governmental response to the multitude…
Key Legal Considerations for Hiring and Retention Incentives in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations across the United States are facing an unprecedented labor shortage. Many healthcare employers are moving quickly to implement creative solutions that will attract and retain a qualified workforce. Kaiser Health News reports that “after the pressure cooker of the past two-plus years led to staff turnover and a rash of early retirements, hospitals…
Supreme Court to Consider Interplay of ERISA and Local “Play-or-Pay” Laws
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) aims to balance the dual policies of (1) ensuring fair and prompt enforcement of rights under employee benefit plans, and (2) encouraging the creation of such plans. To strike this balance, ERISA pairs comprehensive rules regarding fiduciary responsibility with federal causes of action that allow plan…
Do Employers Now Have to Offer Affordable Family Coverage?
In furtherance of the Biden Administration’s January 28, 2021, Executive Order 14009 and April 5, 2022, Executive Order 14070 to protect and strengthen the ACA, the Treasury Department and IRS published a proposed rule on April 7, 2022, advancing an alternative interpretation of Internal Revenue Code Section 36B. Employers can breathe a sigh of relief…
OSHA Launches COVID-19 Inspection Initiative for Healthcare Employers
With its new inspection initiative, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is taking steps to ensure certain healthcare employers continue to protect workers against COVID-19, even as falling case numbers across the country have prompted many state and local agencies to withdraw mask mandates and other COVID-19 precautions. OSHA announced a “highly focused” inspection…
Maryland Survey Shows Female Physicians Earn 50% Less Than Male Physicians but Work More
Pay equity among physicians is not a new topic, and recent data suggests that the pay gap remains wide. 504 Maryland physicians responded to an updated survey on compensation, benefits and practice metrics conducted by Merritt Hawkins on behalf of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society. The results of MedChi’s first survey were released in…