Health Law, Civil Rights

Hepatitis B-infected Health Care Professionals Gain Stronger Protection Under Recent DOJ Settlement

by Chelsea Trotter | Nossaman LLP on 5/16/2013

In March 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) settled the first lawsuit of its kind with a New Jersey medical school over claims that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by excluding two Hepatitis...more

The Legal and Regulatory Landscape for Wellness Plans: The Affordable Care Act and Beyond

by Katharine O. Beattie, Patricia Moran | Mintz Levin - Health Law on 5/15/2013

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ‘‘Act’’) generally encourages employers to adopt wellness plans and programs in conjunction with their group health plans. Wellness plan vendors tout these arrangements with...more

Proskauer’s DOMA Task Force

by Roberta Chevlowe | Proskauer - ERISA Practice Center on 5/14/2013

Proskauer’s Employee Benefits Practice Center’s DOMA Task Force, which is comprised of lawyers from our offices nationwide, regularly advises employers and other plan sponsors on the myriad benefits issues that arise in the...more

EEOC Signals Increased Focus on Employer-Sponsored Wellness Programs

by Martha J. Zackin | Mintz Levin - Employment, Labor & Benefits on 5/9/2013

A majority of US employers offer some sort of wellness program designed to reduce the cost of health insurance and healthcare costs, and to improve the health and well-being of employees. However, unless care is taken, even...more

Employer Wellness Programs Need Guidance to Avoid Discrimination

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 5/9/2013

Panel of Experts Tells EEOC of Need to Clarify Interplay Between Programs, Anti-Discrimination Laws - WASHINGTON-Wellness programs are an increasingly common feature of employee benefits programs, and guidance is...more

Fort Worth Center of Rehabilitation Sued by EEOC for Disability Discrimination

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 5/8/2013

Health Care Facility Refused to Allow Alternate Form of Drug Testing as a Reasonable Accommodation for Applicant with Renal Failure, Agency Charged - DALLAS - The Fort Worth Center of Rehabilitation violated federal...more

EEOC Hears Testimony Concerning Employer Wellness Programs and the Need for Agency Clarification

by Matt Nusbaum | Proskauer - Government Contractor Compliance... on 5/8/2013

Leslie Silverman, former EEOC Commissioner, now Co-Chair of Proskauer’s Government Regulatory and Contract Compliance Group, was part of a panel that testified before the EEOC today concerning the need for clearer guidance...more

Health Law Blog: OCR Launches Nationwide Review of CAH Language Access Policies

by Susan J. Freed | Davis Brown Law Firm on 5/6/2013

The Office of Civil Rights for Health and Human Services is launching a nationwide review of the language access policies of critical access hospitals following a 10 state review in 2012. These reviews will include an...more

Let the Seller Beware: Hospitals Treating HMO Patients Employed by the Federal Government are “Subcontractors” Governed by...

by Theodore A. Olsen | Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on 5/6/2013

When a health plan/HMO ("Plan") provides group health coverage to employers, including the federal government, the hospitals that treat federal employees under a contract with the Plan are government "subcontractors" subject...more

EEOC to Explore Wellness Programs

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 5/2/2013

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold a meeting on Wednesday, May 8, at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time), at agency headquarters, 131 M Street, N.E. In accordance with the Sunshine Act, the...more

Healthcare Update, No. 2, May 2013 - Court Upholds OFCCP's Jurisdiction Over Healthcare Providers

by Cheryl Behymer, Richele Taylor | Fisher & Phillips LLP on 5/1/2013

A federal district court has confirmed the position of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) finding that three hospitals providing medical services to U.S. government employees, and receiving payments...more

EEOC Requires Reasonable Accommodations For Wellness Plans

by Angela Bohmann | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Employee... on 5/1/2013

Many employers are offering wellness programs to employees in connection with their health plans and are aware of the HIPAA regulations that govern such programs. Although employers design their wellness programs to conform...more

Playing Cards With a Government That Stacks the Deck - D.C. District Court Radically Expands The "Christian Doctrine" To...

by David Gallacher, Franklin Turner | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/30/2013

On March 30, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision imposing certain socio-economic contract requirements on subcontractors operating hospitals associated with the University of...more

OFCCP Enforcement Powers Expanded Over Healthcare Industry

by Amanda Pennington, Jaime Ramon, Caleb Wood | K&L Gates LLP on 4/29/2013

In a case closely monitored by the healthcare industry, a recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia expanded the jurisdiction of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs...more

District Court Sides With DOL in Dispute Over Whether Healthcare Providers Are Government Contractors

by Ellen Shadur Gross | BakerHostetler on 4/24/2013

In a significant victory for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently found providers of healthcare services are subject to federal equal employment opportunity...more

Hospitals Face Mandatory Affirmative Action Obligations Incorporated by Operation of Law Into Their Federal Subcontracts

by Daniel S. Herzfeld, Julia Judish | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 4/23/2013

In UPMC Braddock v. Harris, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s Arbitration Review Board decision treating hospitals as government subcontractors subject to the equal...more

Court Ruling May Subject Hospitals and Health Care Providers to OFCCP Regulation

by Betsy Carroll, Candice Petty, Katharine Tylee | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 4/19/2013

Hospitals, health care providers, and managers of other businesses across the country may be surprised to learn that under a new federal court ruling, their organizations may now qualify as government contractors or...more

Health Reform + Related Health Policy News Update - April 2013

by Jane Arnold, Anika Clifton, Thomas Donohoe, Colleen M. Faddick, Matthew Murer, Alan K. Parver, Emily Wey | Polsinelli on 4/17/2013

In this Issue: - Top News ..Large Hospital Systems Settles for $25.5 Million for False Claims Act Allegations ..Catholics’ Challenge to Contraceptive Coverage Mandate Dismissed As Not Ripe - States...more

Wellness Programs Can Reduce Health Care Costs, But Can Your Bank Afford the Legal Risks?

by Katheryn Bradley, Craig Day, Mark McBride | Lane Powell PC - Labor & Employment Law on 4/15/2013

One option is wellness programs, which provide employees with incentives to engage in healthy behaviors. These programs have spread in both size and importance. According to one survey, 68 percent of employers provided...more

Surprising Risk of Discrimination Claims for Restaurants Moving Away from Meal Customization

by Ali Law Practice LLC on 4/15/2013

Chicago, IL, April 15, 2013 - Many restaurants, especially upscale and higher-end independents, are moving toward prix-fixe menus, tasting menus, and policies that restrict additions, subtractions, and substitutions. Such...more

Health Care Providers Beware — You May Be a Governmental Contractor

by Daniel A. Kaplan, Mark Neuberger | Foley & Lardner LLP on 4/12/2013

Executive Order 11246 (Order) was first issued in September 1965 by President Johnson. Its purpose was to prohibit race, religion, color, and national origin discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors and...more

Hospitals that Provide Services to Government Employees Through an HMO are Government Contractors, Court Rules

by King & Spalding on 4/10/2013

Healthcare providers who treat government employees through a health maintenance organization are government subcontractors subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), according...more

Higher Insurance Premiums For Smokers And The Obese

by Cynthia A. Augello | Cullen and Dykman LLP on 4/9/2013

The perils of smoking and obesity have long been the topic of conversation in doctors’ offices and between nagging family members. However, employers are jumping on the bandwagon by imposing higher health insurance premiums...more

Health Care Services Providers to Federal Health Plan Members Subject to Federal Affirmative Action Compliance Audit

by Jonathan Cain | Mintz Levin - Health Law on 4/9/2013

On March 30, the US District Court for the District of Columbia held that three University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-affiliated hospitals were federal subcontractors to an HMO that provided a managed care health plan to...more

Federal District Court Affirms U.S. Department of Labor's Position that Healthcare Providers Participating in HMOs for Federal...

by Alissa Horvitz, Jade Cobb Murray, Joshua Roffman | Littler on 4/9/2013

In a long-awaited decision, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that three hospitals that provide medical services through a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) to individuals covered by the Federal...more

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Health Law › Civil Rights