On March 22, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) updated its guidance and survey process for home dialysis services in nursing homes.[1] The updated guidance is based on comments, questions, and feedback received from state survey agencies, the dialysis community and other stakeholders since CMS initially issued guidance in 2018 ...
On May 11, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new rule that will require long-term care facilities and residential facilities serving clients with intellectual disabilities to educate and offer COVID-19 vaccines to residents, clients and staff. This new requirement will closely align with current requirements for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines in long-term care facilities ...
The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023 has left many healthcare facilities confused about whether the vaccination mandate for Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) certified healthcare facilities still stands ...
On March 9, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a 45-day extension of the public-comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. OCR first released the NPRM to the public on the HHS website on Dec. 10, 2020, and it was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 21, 2021 ...
On July 19, 2022, the Court of Claims ordered that the current Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (minimum wage) and Michigan Paid Medical Leave Act (paid leave) are void and reinstated the original ballot initiatives. However, employers do not need to overhaul their policies just yet because the ruling is stayed until February 19, 2023. Pending the outcome of appeal, these changes may not go into effect at all ...
Beginning Dec. 1, 2019, pharmacists licensed by the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) will have new reporting requirements. The Board enacted similar reporting requirements for pharmacy interns, pharmacy technician trainees, and registered and certified pharmacy technicians. These new reporting requirements add to existing compliance considerations and burdens for licensees, registrants, their employers, and owners and operators of retail and institutional pharmacies ...
On Feb. 10, 2022, Congress approved the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the act). True to its title, the act allows new claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault be filed in court, rather than be subject to pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses ...
Congress passed legislation amending the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) in hopes of making the program more useful to small businesses. Prior to the amendment, the PPP required loan proceeds to be spent during an eight-week covered period for a loan to be eligible for forgiveness. Additionally, 75 percent of the proceeds had to be used on payroll costs, so only 25 percent could be spent on certain eligible non-payroll expenses (e.g ...
The current coronavirus crisis has created unprecedented challenges for those in the construction industry. While many states have exempted construction activities from their shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, projects have nonetheless been impacted and cash flow from owners or contractors may slow or halt. As a result, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers must be vigilant to protect their ability to receive payment on projects where cash flow might become problematic ...
The Ninth Circuit recently ruled against the government on jurisdictional grounds in the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case, United States v. United States ex rel. Thrower, No. 18-16408, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 24621 (9th Cir. Aug. 4, 2020), holding that a district court’s denial of a government motion to dismiss an FCA action is not immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine and dismissing the government’s appeal ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unique challenges and causing operational and financial disruptions for many governmental issuers and other borrowers (obligated persons), who are subject to the continuing disclosure requirements of Rule 15c2-12 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One of these challenges is the determination of whether and what to disclose to bondholders under existing continuing disclosure undertakings or in the context of voluntary disclosure ...
On April 7, 2023, two federal judges in Texas and Washington State issued dueling opinions about the abortion medication Mifepristone, just hours apart. These two decisions come in the midst of growing tension about abortion laws in the United States after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision released by the Supreme Court in 2022.[i] The Texas and Washington court opinions do not help reduce the confusion among healthcare providers and residents of the United States ...
During the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), nursing home safety is a top priority, since most of the residents are at a higher risk of getting sick from the virus.[1] To help control and prevent the spread of the virus in nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided additional guidance on March 13, 2020 ...
As the country and the world grapple with the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the necessary steps governments, businesses, and citizens are taking to mitigate the crisis and the spread of COVID-19, businesses are dealing with an unprecedented slowdown and/or shutdown of operations across many economic sectors ...
On December 29, 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (“MoCRA”) was signed into law.[1] MoCRA is the first federal cosmetics law since 1938 and will impose a number of new requirements on cosmetic products and the facilities where they are manufactured. Specifically, MoCRA requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement enhanced oversight and regulation of cosmetic manufacturing facilities and products by December 29, 2023 ...
Public comment closed August 1 on the rulemaking process for a final ban on TikTok and other social media applications (“apps”) from federal contractors’ devices. The new regulation will expand upon the interim Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and NASA (“the agencies”) ban, which went into effect on June 2, 2023. Over half of all states have banned TikTok on state government devices, with more likely to follow ...
In January, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a $638,794.10 award for damages in favor of a utility contract, and reversed an award of $177,750 in liquidated damages in favor of the county that hired it. The damages awarded arose from an improper stoppage of work and delay in construction by the county. Sarasota County Florida v. Southern Underground Industries, Inc ...
A recent decision by the First District Court of Appeal reversing workers’ compensation coverage for injuries sustained by an employee while driving a company vehicle for an HVAC company illustrates the challenges in determining when work begins and ends for employees who are allowed to take company vehicles home ...
Arbitration provisions are becoming more common in construction contracts, but a recent court decision reveals that enforcing these provisions requires more than just placing them in a contract. Contractors, especially those seeking to arbitrate claims involving multiple property owners or an entire homeowner or condominium association, must sufficiently establish that enough of the property owners agreed to arbitrate their claims. Mattamy Florida LLC .v ...
At the end of July, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a roofing contractor’s complaint against another roofing contractor for allegedly interfering with its contract with a condominium association for roof repairs relating to Hurricane Irma. The case illustrates the importance of timing and advancing work related to insurance claims and should serve as a warning to those that regularly wait on insurance payments before beginning work ...
In December, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed a judgment in favor of a landlord holding that a contractor’s lien could not attach to the real property being improvement by a tenant of the landlord. The reversal allowed the contractor’s lien enforcement claim to proceed. K.D. Construction of Florida, Inc. v. MDM Retail Ltd, arose from improvements made to a movie theater by a contractor ...
In Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam lawsuit the court found was based largely on a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision and thus violated the public disclosure bar. No. 3:18-cv-01496-JD, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82548, at *22–27 (N.D. Cal. May 11, 2020) ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has announced that several notifications of enforcement discretion issued during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”) will expire concurrently with the expiration of the PHE on May 11, 2023 at 11:59 PM ...
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and the World Health Organization’s declaration of this coronavirus as a pandemic, employers of all sizes have serious, and somewhat unprecedented, issues to consider. Fortunately for most employers, workers’ compensation may not be one of them ...
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports swimming is the fourth most popular recreational activity in the United States and the most popular recreational activity for children (ages 7 to 17). Statistics further show 36 percent of children and 15 percent of adults go swimming at least six times a year in the United States ...
