Alerts

On March 18, retailer Sears Holdings Corp. was hit with a $5.5 million lawsuit in Illinois’ Cook County Circuit Court by clothing company Sprockets Clothing Inc. (which is now known as SCI Apparel Inc.).

On March 24, 2016 the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois affirmed the Circuit Court’s decision that the Illinois law modifying the provisions of Chicago’s pension statute violated the Illinois Constitution.

Employers with employees in California, regardless of where the employer is based, should take the following steps now to ensure compliance. 

On March 21, 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it was beginning its next round of audits of covered entities and business associates for compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and Breach Notification Rule.

Applying an “economic reality” test derived from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled that an HR Director could be held personally liable for violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Federal prosecutors appearing at the American Conference Institute’s 16th Annual Forum on Fraud and Abuse in the Sales and Marketing of Medical Devices earlier this month outlined recent enforcement trends that should catch the attention of the health care industry.

If finalized, the Proposed Rule would represent the most dramatic change in Part B Drug reimbursement since the enactment of the Medicare Modernization Act.

When the next recession occurs there probably will be other municipalities in severe fiscal distress that opt to file under chapter 9. Now is a good time for capital market participants to focus on changes to chapter 9 that address the lessons from the most recent round of municipal bankruptcies.

On February 25, 2016, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed regulations implementing Executive Order 13706, which requires federal government contractors to provide covered employees with up to 7 days of paid sick leave annually, including paid leave for family care.

Continuing its increasing trend of filing lawsuits on behalf of Charging Parties on emerging issues, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on March 1, 2016 that it has filed its first two sex discrimination cases based on sexual orientation.

On February 24, 2016, President Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, H.R. 644 (Customs Reauthorization Bill), into law.

These proposed changes to the rules governing the confidentiality of substance abuse treatment records mark the first time the regulations have been subject to revision since 1987.

In a recent opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the developer of the highly-anticipated videogame Grand Theft Auto V.

Following a recent trend that has not been received well by the courts, a divided panel of the National Labor Relations Board invalidated an arbitration policy that required employees to waive their rights to pursue class or collective actions in employment-related claims in all forums, whether arbi

As pay-for-performance programs continue to expand in both scale and scope across the US health care system, the amount of administrative and clinical resources necessary to participate in these programs has correspondingly grown.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) intend to strengthen provider and supplier enrollment screening – meaning, scrutinizing providers and suppliers more closely during enrollment – according to a February 22, 2016 post on its blog. 

In a recent decision, a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) agreed with the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that Lincare, Inc. d/b/a United Medical had violated HIPAA.

Cybersecurity may have rocketed to the top of management’s priority list in the wake of the recent cyberattack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center (HPMC) that left the hospital unable to access some of its computer systems for ten days.

On Friday, February 12, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the long-awaited Final Rule and regulations, providing much needed guidance to providers and suppliers on how to meet the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) 60-day overpayment mandate.

At long last, after two plus years of debate, last week the Senate finally passed the Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2015 (2015 Trade Enforcement Act).

As part of the federal government’s multi-front attack on opioid abuse, the Department of Justice announced on Friday, February 12 that CVS Pharmacy, Inc. has agreed to pay $8 million to settle allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Today, February 16, 2016, the US Department of Transportation and Cuban government officials signed a December 2015 agreement to restore commercial air travel. There have been no scheduled flights between the US and Cuba for over 50 years.

This alert brings you recent developments affecting importers at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The developments affect how importer information is filed with CBP.

The federal government has focused on compounding pharmacies and pharmacists for fraud and abuse investigations in recent years, and now the great state of Texas has joined in.