Articles and Blogs

Is Shared Lifting a “Reasonable” Accommodation? Employees who suffer from a bad back and have lifting restrictions always present a challenge to employers who attempt to accommodate those restrictions.  It’s discrimination under the ADA if the employer fails to make a reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability. …Read More

On January 15, 2013, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a 5-0 opinion authored by Justice Robert Rucker in Plank vs. Community Hospital affirming the trial court’s denial of Plank’s request for an evidentiary hearing to challenge the constitutionality of the Medical Malpractice Act concluding that Plank had forfeited his opportunity to conduct such a hearing.

The NLRB Overrules 50 Years of Precedent Last month, the current NLRB once again left the labor relations world with its mouth agape when it decided that Dues Checkoff provisions will now survive the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”).  Nearly all CBAs have a provision that requires management to withhold from employee paychecks…Read More

The flu has recently made national headlines. This week, 41 states have seen widespread influenza activity, up from 31 states just the week before. Boston recently declared a public health emergency because of the flu, and mandatory flu shots made headlines when an Indiana hospital terminated six employees for refusing to get flu shots in…Read More

MedPAC Votes on Final Recommendations for Hospital IPPS Update On January 10, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (“MedPAC”) voted on its 2014 reimbursement recommendations for hospitals.  The panel voted on recommending Congress to increase hospital payments by 1% for 2014.  The MedPAC recommendations will now be sent to Congress. The finalized recommendation for hospitals to…Read More

In a suit brought against an Ohio nursing facility related to improper medication administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit allowed the use of res ipsa loquitur in finding a facility responsible for lapses in a resident’s medication regime.  

NLRB Judge Rules That Clauses That Are Too Broad Are Illegal As we have seen in the recent months, the NLRB has been very focused on the rights of employees – union and non-union – to talk about their wages, hours and working conditions whether face-to-face or on Facebook.  A decision by an NLRB administrative law judge…Read More

Tax-exempt hospitals will face significant challenges in 2013 as they will be required to come into full compliance with Code Section 501(r), as added by the Affordable Care Act.  More specifically, by year end, every hospital facility operated by a Code Section 501(c)(3) hospital organization must complete a community health needs assessment (“CHNA”) and adopt…Read More

The new tax Act approved by Congress and its three primary changes to federal estate and gift tax laws are addressed in this issue of Hall Render’s Estate Planning Insights audio series. Please join Doug Long, Shareholder at Hall, Render, Killian, Heath and Lyman, for this brief discussion by clicking here.. Should you have any questions…Read More

The National eHealth Collaborative will host two upcoming Health Information Exchange Governance Town Hall Meetings.  These Town Hall Meetings aim to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to describe and offer input on their experiences, practices, issues, priorities and suggestions regarding Health Information Exchange Governance initiatives.