Articles and Blogs

On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) setting forth a proposed rule implementing various statutes that provide protections for health care providers and facilities who may have conscientious objections to certain forms of health care, such as... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a recent Memo reminding hospitals and other Medicare certified health care entities of their regulatory obligation to maintain a safe setting for patients, residents and staff. CMS’s action comes at a time when violence in health care settings is on the rise. Although the Memo... READ MORE

President Joe Biden is being asked to sign legislation passed recently by Congress that would make certain nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses unenforceable. Specifically, the Speak Out Act  (“the Act”), once signed, will make pre-dispute nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses unenforceable with respect to sexual assault or sexual harassment disputes where the conduct is alleged to... READ MORE

Recently, Simon et al, v. Healthsouth of Sarasota Limited Partnership, et al, the Eleventh Circuit held that for a plaintiff to qualify as engaging in “protected activity,” the plaintiff must demonstrate that they had both a subjectively reasonable belief of fraud and an objectively reasonable belief of fraud. Background The plaintiff in this action... READ MORE

On August 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking allowing for optional alternative procedures for the examination of documents required by the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. Currently, to complete the Form I-9, employers must physically examine documentation presented by new employees within three business days... READ MORE

Earlier this summer the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) released new guidance (“Guidance”) directed at retail pharmacies that details obligations to ensure comprehensive and nondiscriminatory access to reproductive health care services. This Guidance comes on the heels of a slew of recent legal changes, namely the Dobbs... READ MORE

The Plaintiff, an information technology support specialist employed through a staffing agency, was employed on-site at an Assembly Plant. In April 2016, the Plaintiff complained to his staffing agency supervisor that he believed there was an issue with asbestos insulation in one of the work areas at the Assembly Plant. The Plaintiff e-mailed photographs... READ MORE

Abortion is no longer a federal constitutional right. As a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, states may regulate abortion in a manner consistent with their own state constitutions and judicial precedent. The Dobbs decision overruled the Court’s own 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which... READ MORE

We know the major personnel issues challenging our friends in the health care industry: labor shortages; competitive wages; and rising costs. But what employment and labor legal issues do (or may) health care organizations face in coming months? Accommodation Requests as Remote Work Demands Continue. Throughout the last two-plus years, telework became the new... READ MORE

A recent decision from the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted employers some modest flexibility in conducting and relying on background checks for potential new hires covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). The court made two key rulings: Employers have no obligation under the FCRA to provide job applicants with the... READ MORE