Healthcare providers continue to be targeted by ransomware attackers. According to reports, a healthcare provider in Finland was hacked and the attackers demanded 40 bitcoins (or about $525,000) on the threat of public disclosure of patient psychotherapy records. Businesses in the US hearing these facts might be thinking of the recent advisory issued by the U.S. … Continue Reading
On November 21, 2019, the House passed H.R. 1309, Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (the Bill), with notable bi-partisan support (251-158). If passed into law, the Bill would largely implement the State of California’s healthcare workplace violence standards nationally. The Bill has not made it to the Senate, however, … Continue Reading
Healthcare employers, human resource directors, in-house counsel, and other professionals who routinely deal with contracting issues should understand that physician employment arrangements are unlike other employment contracts. Physician employment (and independent contractor) agreements pose unique and heightened risks that deserve utmost caution. Our colleague in the Health Law and Transaction practice group published an informative … Continue Reading
New Jersey’s Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) recently announced that a physician group affiliated with more than 50 South Jersey medical and surgical practices agreed to pay $417,816 and improve data security practices to settle allegations it failed to properly protect the privacy of more than 1,650 patients … Continue Reading
A hospital did not breach its settlement agreement with a former employee when it disclosed to a prospective employer that it reported her to the New Jersey Board of Nursing (the “Nursing Board”), a federal appeals court has ruled. Debra Weisman, et al. v. New Jersey Dept. of Human Servs., et al., No. 13-4656 (3d … Continue Reading
The following posting from our colleagues on the Jackson Lewis P.C. website, as part of the Workplace Privacy, Data Management & Security Report, regarding privacy concerns related to Enterovirus and Ebola may be of particular interest to healthcare employers. Click here to be transferred directly to the link.… Continue Reading
The following posting from our colleagues on the Jackson Lewis P.C. website, as part of the Workplace Privacy, Data Management & Security Report, regarding data breach notification requirements for healthcare providers in California may be of particular interest. Click here to be transferred directly to the link.… Continue Reading
A hospital owed no duty of care to future patients of a physician who had left its employ and resumed practicing medicine with another employer, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. Robert Roe, et al. v. Children’s Hospital Medical Center, SJC-11533 (Mass. Oct. 1, 2014). From 1966 until 1985, Melvin Levine, a pediatric physician, … Continue Reading
The following article from our colleagues on the Jackson Lewis P.C. website regarding a new Massachusetts law affecting nursing staffing ratios may be of particular interest to healthcare employers. Click here to be transferred directly to the link.… Continue Reading
This week, the NLRB issued a long-awaited decision in Macy’s, Inc., 361 NLRB No. 4 (July 22, 2014). The Board had invited and considered amicus briefs from interested parties. In the case, the Board considered the application of Specialty Healthcare in a retail setting. The union filed a petition with the NLRB to represent only … Continue Reading
The following article from our colleagues on the Jackson Lewis P.C. website regarding the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision on compulsory union fees may be of particular interest to healthcare employers. Click here to be transferred directly to the link.… Continue Reading
A hospital that failed to supply relevant information to the union representing its nurses concerning the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the hospital’s business has committed unfair labor practices in its CBA negotiations with the union, NLRB Administrative Law Judge Jay Pollack has ruled. Sutter East Bay Hospitals d/b/a Sutter Delta Medical … Continue Reading
Healthcare employers may be interested in a recent post on the Jackson Lewis LLP Benefits Law Advisor addressing the one year delay in ACA employer reporting requirements. Click here for more information.… Continue Reading
Written by Joseph J. Lynett. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, announced it has reached multiple settlements with health care providers concerning access to services for persons who are deaf. These include a hospital, rehabilitation centers, an ear, nose and throat practice, and a sports medicine center. … Continue Reading
The NLRB Acting General Counsel’s latest effort to limit the effect of arbitration awards, even though they may be acceptable to the charged party against whom related unfair labor practice charges are pending before the agency (often the employer), has come up short. The NLRB Acting General Counsel’s 2011 “Guideline Memorandum Concerning Deferral to Arbitral Awards … Continue Reading
Healthcare employers may be interested in a recent post on the Jackson Lewis LLP Workplace Resource Center addressing lawful investigation rules. Click here for more information.… Continue Reading
The following note from our colleagues at the Jackson Lewis LLP Workplace Privacy, Data Management & Security Report may be of particular interest to healthcare employers. Click here to be transferred directly to the link.… Continue Reading
On March 14, 2013, a member of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee’s subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing on the critical shortages of mid-level caregivers in the nation’s skilled nursing centers and its impact on the economy. Click here for more information from Jackson Lewis’ Immigration Blog.… Continue Reading
The Department of Justice has announced a $2.3 million settlement for alleged double billing violations of the False Claims Act. According to the DOJ press release, a children's genetic services clinic agreed to pay $1.5 million and a radiology group that read and interpreted genetic ultrasounds for the clinic agreed to pay an additional $800,000 to settle the alleged FCA violations. The settlement resolved a qui tam case brought by the radiology group's former revenue manager and coding compliance officer under the FCA.… Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor reportedly has recouped $2.1 million dollars in back wages as a result of an ongoing enforcement initiative which, to date, involved investigation of 200 residential care facilities within the jurisdiction of its North Carolina District Office. The DOL reported finding “widespread violations” of the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage, … Continue Reading
Employers may be interested in an article that appeared recently on our Firm’s website discussing the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on employers. Click here.… Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board has just announced it has postponed the effective date of its new rule mandating the workplace posting of an official Notice of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The rule had been scheduled to go into effect on November 14th. Now, the rule will be effective on January … Continue Reading
A group of nurses and nurses’ assistants alleging that their employer, a health care system, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to compensate them for interrupted meal periods filed a collective action in behalf of themselves and other similarly situated employees. Usually, at the early, “notice” stage a court only requires a preliminary … Continue Reading
