Health Law Advisor

Our colleague Frank C. Morris, Jr., attorney at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Financial Services Employment Law blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health care industry: "New Online Recruiting Accessibility Tool Could Help Forestall ADA Claims by Applicants With Disabilities."

Following is an excerpt:

In recent years, employers have increasingly turned to web based recruiting technologies and online applications. For some potential job applicants, including individuals with disabilities, such as those who are blind or have low vision, online ...

Telemedicine has made great recent strides in terms of greater acceptance and deployment.  That said, a lot of work still needs to be done. Two recent surveys, one of tech savvy consumers and another of health care stakeholders make that case.

The first survey was done on behalf of a consumer health engagement company.  It makes for sobering reading. The survey polled 500 insured consumers who are also users of mobile health applications.  Some interesting findings:

• Almost 40% have not heard of telemedicine.
• 42% who have not used telemedicine and prefer an in-person physician visit ...

Our colleagues Peter M. Panken, Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, and Marc-Joseph Gansah have a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health care industry: “Employers Should Care About This: New York City’s Amendment on Caregiver Discrimination.”

Following is an excerpt:

The New York City’s Human Rights law (“NYCHRL”) prohibits employment discrimination against specified protected classes of employees and applicants including:

race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status ...

[caption id="attachment_2421" align="alignright" width="113"] Valerie N. Butera[/caption]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recognizes that the health care industry is among the most dangerous in the United States (see related story).  Health care employees are more likely to be exposed to various infectious respiratory illnesses spread through airborne and droplet routes, such as tuberculosis, influenza, and pandemics.  Employees who work in or near areas where there are patients suspected of having a disease that can be spread by airborne ...

[caption id="attachment_2394" align="alignright" width="113"] Nathaniel M. Glasser[/caption]

North Carolina made waves last week by enacting legislation prohibiting cities from allowing transgender individuals to use public restrooms that match their gender identity and further restricting cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances that would give protected status to sexual orientation or gender identity.

Employers in North Carolina and across the country, however, should be aware of the trend in the federal courts and agencies to grant protections to ...

Our colleagues Adam C. Abrahms and Steven M. Swirsky, attorneys at Epstein Becker Green, have a post on the Management Memo blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health industry: “Department of Labor Releases New Persuader Rule Intended to Aid Union Organizing.”

The US Department of Labor has finally issued its long awaited Final Rule radically reinterpreting the “Advice Exemption” to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (“LMRDA.”).  The Final Rule eviscerates any meaningful use of the Advice Exemption, which would be swallowed ...

[caption id="attachment_1475" align="alignright" width="113"] Robert E. Wanerman[/caption]

A group of conservative members of Congress have introduced a pair of bills (S. 2724 and H.R. 4768) that would sweep away one of the basic principles of administrative law if they became law. The proposed amendments would make it easier to challenge many determinations involving the Department of Health and Human Services in federal courts by legislatively overruling the deference commonly applied to agency interpretations of the law.

Even before the Administrative Procedure Act was ...

Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser, an Associate at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Retail Labor and Employment Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health industry: "Reminder: All Philadelphia Employers Must Post New Ban-the-Box Poster."

Following is an excerpt:

One of the requirements of the amended Philadelphia ban-the-box law has gone into effect. As of March 14, 2016, Philadelphia employers are required to post a new poster provided by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in a conspicuous place on both the employer’s website and on ...

[caption id="attachment_1475" align="alignright" width="113"] Robert E. Wanerman[/caption]

Even after the Secretary of HHS admitted that the current backlog of Medicare Part B appeals would take ten years to adjudicate at current staffing and funding levels, that was not enough for a hospital to obtain any relief from a court. Cumberland County Hospital System, Inc. v. Burwell, No. 15-1393 (4th Cir., Mar. 7, 2016).  In that case, a North Carolina hospital had initially been paid for over 900 claims, but those claims were subsequently determined to be ineligible after a ...

[caption id="attachment_2401" align="alignright" width="113"] Denise Dadika[/caption]

Everyone has “friends” who overshare their daily activities on Facebook.  Rodney Jones’ oversharing cost him his job.  Jones worked as an activity director for Accentia Health, a long–term care nursing facility.  Accentia Health granted Jones 12 weeks of FMLA and an additional 30 days of non-FMLA leave in connection with his shoulder surgery.  Prior to the end of Jones’ leave, Accentia Health learned that Jones was posting about his leave activities on Facebook, including his ...