Further emphasizing the split in authority on sexual orientation discrimination, last month the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed plaintiff Mark Horton’s claim that Midwest Geriatric Management LLC (“MGM”) violated Title VII by rescinding an offer of employment after learning that he is gay. Horton v. Midwest Geriatric Mgmt., LLC, Case No. 4:17CV2324, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209996 (E.D. Mo. Dec. 21, 2017).
Horton asserted that MGM unlawfully discriminated against him on the basis of sex and religion. Horton’s sex discrimination claim comprised three theories ...
In 2008, Congress passed the Ryan Haight Act (21 U.S.C. § 802(54)) (“Ryan Haight”) following the death of Ryan Haight, a young man who overdosed on prescription painkillers he purchased from an online pharmacy without a valid prescription. Ryan Haight amended the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802 et seq.) and specifically prohibits dispensing controlled substances via the internet without a “valid prescription” which, according to the law, must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose and may only be issued once a physician has conducted at least one ...
On January 8, 2018, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed new legislation (the “Amendment”) amending the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”) to add breastfeeding as a protected class under the law. The Amendment, which takes effect immediately, makes it unlawful to discriminate or retaliate against an employee that the employer knows, or should know, is either breastfeeding or expressing milk for her infant child.
The Amendment also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to nursing women, unless it would result in an undue ...
On January 16, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its most recent update to the agency’s “Work Plan.” Of note to Durable Medical Equipment (DME) manufacturers, suppliers and prescribers, OIG signaled increased interest in the investigation of three specific off-the-shelf orthotic devices identified by the HCPCS codes:
- L0648—back bracing
- L0650—back bracing
- L1833—knee bracing
According to OIG, the government paid out $349 million for these braces in 2016, representing a 97% increase from just 2014. OIG ...
On January 12, 2018, the Maryland General Assembly completed its expected override of Governor Hogan’s May 25, 2017, veto of a bill it passed last April, joining eight other states, the District of Columbia, and various local jurisdictions (including Montgomery County, Maryland) already requiring employers to provide paid sick and safe leave.
As we reported when the bill originally passed, the new law will require most employers with at least 15 employees to provide up to five paid days (forty hours) per year of sick and safe leave to their employees, and smaller employers to ...
On January 5, 2018, consistent with the 21st Century Cures Act’s focus on creating interoperability and correspondingly a Trusted Exchange, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) released its “Draft Trusted Exchange Framework” (“Draft Framework”). The Draft Framework is intended to streamline the exchange of Electronic Health Information (“EHI”) so that both health care providers and patients have better access to health information, thus improving communication and quality health care. EHI includes ...
One of the challenges to increasing Medicare coverage of telehealth services is amending the statutory language in the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1395m) to remove geographic and other limitations. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 requires the Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) to provide cost estimates of proposed legislation. These CBO scoring reports provide estimates on the spending and revenues associated with legislation, generally over the window of 10 years beyond the effective date of the legislation. Therefore, budgetary ...
Steven R. Blackburn, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice will co-present a Practising Law Institute in-person event and webcast on January 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. PST titled “Tech Sector Employment Law Hot Topics for the California Lawyer.”
This event will address current California employment law issues, with the added focus of how the latest, state-specific legal developments impact the tech sector, in particular.
Steven R. Blackburn’s program is titled, “Sexual Harassment in the Tech Sector – Employer Duties, Investigations ...
As 2017 comes to a close, recent headlines have underscored the importance of compliance and training. In this Take 5, we review major workforce management issues in 2017, and their impact, and offer critical actions that employers should consider to minimize exposure:
- Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Wake of #MeToo
- A Busy 2017 Sets the Stage for Further Wage-Hour Developments
- Your “Top Ten” Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
- 2017: The Year of the Comprehensive Paid Leave Laws
- Efforts Continue to Strengthen Equal Pay Laws in 2017
The New York City Council recently passed two bills affecting New York City employers and their employees. The first bill, Int. No. 1399, passed by the Council on December 6, 2017, amends Chapter 12 of title 20 of the City’s administrative code (colloquially known as the “Fair Workweek Law”) to include a new subchapter 6 to protect employees who seek temporary changes to work schedules for personal events. Int. No. 1399 entitles New York City employees to request temporary schedule changes twice per calendar year, without retaliation, in certain situations, e.g., caregiver ...
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