The plaintiff, a former employee of On Lok, inc., a non-profit organization which serves the Bay Area elderly population, filed a lawsuit after her employment was terminated when she was seven (7) months pregnant and shortly before her anticipated maternity leave was expected to begin. She claimed pregnancy discrimination and retaliation in response to her request for leaves of absence under the California Family Rights Act and the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, among other related causes of action.
The Epstein Becker Green defense team of Steven Blackburn and ...
Acquirers of businesses often prefer to buy the assets of a seller, rather than the stock, to avoid assuming the seller’s liabilities. Indeed, the general common law rule is that a purchaser of assets does not assume the seller’s liabilities absent an agreement to do so, fraud or other inequitable conduct between the parties, whereas in a stock sale, the buyer steps into the shoes of the seller and assumes all assets and liabilities of the seller. In an asset sale, the seller, in turn, would typically use part or all of the sale proceeds to pay its liabilities. During the pre-sale due ...
by Gretchen Harders, Daly D.E. Temchine, and Joseph J. Kempf, Jr.
On December 7, 2011, final rules on the medical loss ratio (“MLR”) requirements for insured health plans (and an interim final rule for non-federal governmental plans) were issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The MLR requirements are effective January 1, 2012, and any issuer who does not meet the MLR requirements for the 2011 MLR reporting year must pay rebates by August 1, 2012. This alert ...
Written By: Ana S. Salper
Social media has revolutionized how we communicate with one another. From Facebook to Twitter, YouTube to blogs, social networking sites have permeated the workplace in ways that have significant implications for all employers.
Social media is both a source for marketing and promoting companies and products as well as an enterprise risk factor if not used appropriately or in a compliant way. In the health care industry, with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and other privacy laws at stake, employers must have a ...
According to the 2011 Medical Group Management Association's Physician Compensation and Productivity Report, more than one-third of physician group practices in the U.S. are using some type of "work relative value unit" (commonly known as a wRVU) structure for compensation purposes, and more than 60% of physicians are paid on the basis of some type of wRVU metric. So, physicians clearly have some familiarity with the wRVU concept and its application in calculating physican "pay for productivity" compensation.
However, while wRVU models generally provide compensation ...
A monthly breakfast law briefing and networking series specifically designed for health care and wellness company executives and human resources professionals. This informative series will address labor and employment issues during these challenging times and offer solutions.
For additional information and to register, contact Carla Llarena or by tel: (404) 869-5363.
February 8, 2012
Today's OSHA: What Healthcare Companies and Practices Need to Know
March 14, 2012
It Can Hurt to Ask: TMI in the Digital Age
(Focusing on Social Media & Background Checks)
April 11, 2012
By: Kara M. Maciel
Identifying and eradicating the misclassification of employees as independent contractors continues to be a key objective for the Obama Administration. The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the IRS have intensified their enforcement efforts regarding worker misclassification, and audits have increased substantially, particularly within the home health industry. In September 2011, the DOL and IRS announced an effort to coordinate with each other and with several states by, pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding, permitting ...
by Lynn Shapiro Snyder and Lesley R. Yeung
On December 16, 2011, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight ("CCIIO") within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") released a "bulletin" to provide information and solicit comments on the regulatory approach that the Department of Health and Human Services plans to propose to define essential health benefits ("EHB") under section 1302 of the Affordable Care Act. The "bulletin" provides information to stakeholders (i.e., consumers, states, employers, and health insurance issuers) about what ...
by Pamela D. Tyner
Physicians and healthcare workers devote years to improving the quality of their patients’ lives. Despite the Hippocratic code and compulsory non-retaliation policies, incidents of disruptive behavior from physicians and healthcare workers, though largely shielded from the general public, continue to frequently surface internally at healthcare environments. Amidst recent jarring headlines of workplace violence and bullying, news media have discovered this same trend is also on the rise as healthcare facilities across the nation struggle to ...
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Recent Updates
- "Enough is Enough": HHS-OIG Freezes Funds for New York Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Effective July 1
- Straight From the Source: AHLA Annual Meeting Highlights Fraud and Abuse Enforcement Efforts in 2026 and Beyond
- At the Half: No Free Kicks in FDA’s 2026 Enforcement
- CMS Codifies Drug Price Negotiation Program—With Modifications for 2029
- Federal Embryo Adoption Program Raises Potential Legal Questions for Reproductive Health