This Update is the third installment of the ongoing series covering Washington state’s new My Health My Data Act (the Act). Part 1 provided a high-level outline of the entities regulated under the Act and the corresponding...more
6/8/2023
/ Biometric Information ,
Genetic Materials ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Mental Health ,
PHI ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Small Business
As detailed in Part 1 of this ongoing series, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the state’s My Health My Data Act (the Act) into law on April 27, 2023. The Act is a first-of-its-kind law that creates new privacy...more
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) adopted final rules for Local Law 144 on April 6, 2023. This landmark law prohibits employers from using automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) to...more
5/17/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
City of New York ,
Covered Entities ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Final Rules ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Penalties ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Technology Sector
The exemption for employment-related and business-to-business (B2B) data under California’s privacy law expired on January 1, 2023. Without this exemption, information previously allowed to be excluded now falls within the...more
4/21/2023
/ B2B Organizations ,
California ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Data-Sharing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Personal Information ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Transparency
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 3, 2023, unveiled a new pilot program and announced several important updates to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP) regarding corporate compensation incentives...more
3/21/2023
/ Clawbacks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Guidance Update ,
Incentives ,
Pilot Programs ,
White Collar Crimes
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released new guidance announcing several policy changes to further strengthen and clarify its approach to prosecuting corporate crime. The guidance, released through a memorandum...more
11/29/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
FinTech ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Companies ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party
As the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) replaces its predecessor, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), on January 1, 2023, retailers face a significant amount of compliance preparation—and right at peak season. The...more
10/20/2022
/ B2B Transactions ,
California ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Collection ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Personal Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retail Workers ,
Retailers ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
State Privacy Laws
New cybersecurity developments and observations, including those relating to U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) review of cybersecurity issues, warrant prompt consideration by plan sponsors and other fiduciaries of employee...more
2/2/2022
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Liability Insurance ,
Plan Participants ,
Privacy Policy ,
Retirement Plan
[co-authors: Brandon Thompson and Samantha Ettari]
By restricting and changing the shape of human interaction for over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated the digitalization of many services and, in doing so,...more
11/9/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Digital Health ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Innovation ,
Life Sciences ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring all employers with a total of 100 or more employees to mandate...more
11/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Certain California-licensed healthcare facilities are now subject to additional breach reporting obligations pursuant to regulations (Regulations)[1] issued by the California Department of Public Health (Department) on July...more
9/10/2021
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
California ,
Data Breach ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
New Regulations ,
Patient Confidentiality Breaches ,
Penalties ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government
With the surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, many employers are considering whether to require employees to be vaccinated, how to encourage employee vaccinations, and the implications of vaccine policies for...more
9/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Incentives ,
Masks ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released three-part guidance on cybersecurity issues for employee benefit plans, marking its first significant commentary on the issue since its comprehensive but...more
4/22/2021
/ Audits ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Assessment ,
Third-Party Service Provider
Employee benefits professionals have faced many challenges in 2020. We have seen remarkable changes to state and local requirements, an onslaught of new benefits legislation and governmental policies, shifting reporting and...more
12/10/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Investment Funds ,
IRS ,
Power of Attorney ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Are Employees Receiving a Lavish Gift This Holiday Season or an Unintended Lump of Coal in Their Stockings?
COVID-19 has forced many employers to make unanticipated changes to their workforce, with many retailers rolling...more
9/21/2020
/ Applicable Large Employers (ALE) ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Furloughs ,
Health Insurance ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Variable Hour Employees
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule establishing a new “safe harbor” method for satisfying ERISA and DOL’s requirements for electronic distribution of certain ERISA-governed retirement plan documents....more
Many employers have sought to leverage or make changes to their employer-sponsored benefits to address economic and health-related burdens faced by their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, however, employers...more
5/22/2020
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FSA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Popular
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised model general and election notices on Friday, May 1, 2020. The notices can be used by plan administrators to address the notification requirements imposed by the Consolidated...more
Many employee benefit plan sponsors, administrators, and fiduciaries have been asking about regulatory relief in response to administrative challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the U.S. Departments of...more
5/5/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Extensions ,
U.S. Treasury