Alert
Published 11/11/2020
By Jonathan Havens, Ruth Rauls, Paige Berry, Matthew Smith
Industries Cannabis Law
The clear winner after the November 3 election was marijuana. In four states – New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Montana – voters approved initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana. South Dakota and Mississippi also voted to approve medical marijuana. The legalization of adult-use marijuana in New Jersey puts significant pressure on other states in the region, including New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, to follow suit quickly or risk missing out on significant revenue from adult-use marijuana sales. The governors of each of those three states recently made statements about the...
Article
Published 11/10/2020
Alert
Published 11/09/2020
By Joseph D. Lipchitz, Zachary Berk
Industries Cannabis Law | Insurance
On October 27, 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that insurance companies could not be compelled to reimburse employees for medical marijuana expenses pursuant to the worker’s compensation scheme that requires reimbursement of necessary and reasonable medical expenses. Daniel Wright’s Case , - - Mass. - -; 2020 WL 6293431 (Oct. 27, 2020). The Court analyzed the interplay between the state medical marijuana law, the state worker’s compensation insurance scheme, and the federal Controlled Substances Act, 18 U.S.C. §841 (“CSA”), which criminalizes the possession and use of...
Alert
Published 11/06/2020
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to personal liability of medical reviewers, when notice violations arise to a claim for relief, how plans must delegate discretionary authority, the rights of plans to terminate benefits, and when fee shifting might not be appropriate on a decision to remand a claim to the administrator. Novmber 6, 2020 | By Amy Kline , Caitlin Strauss and Michael Joyce Medical Reviewer Cannot Be Personally Liable for a Denial of Benefits. The plaintiff, proceeding pro se , sued a number of parties related to the termination of her disability benefits. The court...
Blog Post
Published 11/06/2020
By Steven C. Reingold, Rohit Kapuria
Article
Published 11/05/2020
Industries Higher Education | K-12 Schools
Alert
Published 11/05/2020
By Bruce Armon, George Magnatta, Samantha Gross
Industries Health Care | HIPAA / Health Information Privacy and Security
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a $202,400 Resolution Agreement and Corrective Action Plan (CAP) with the City of New Haven, Connecticut (New Haven) to resolve potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. The Resolution Agreement is not an admission of liability by New Haven and the city is not liable for civil monetary penalties. This OCR settlement is an important reminder that governmental entities that are or have HIPAA-covered...
Article
Published 11/05/2020
Services Labor and Employment
Article
Published 11/03/2020
Industries Food, Beverage and Agribusiness
Blog Post
Published 11/03/2020
By Ruth A. Rauls, Lisa M. Koblin
Services : Labor and Employment
Article
Published 10/28/2020
Services Consumer Financial Services Litigation
Article
Published 10/27/2020
Industries Real Estate
Alert
Published 10/26/2020
By Bruce Armon, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care
On October 20, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced the resolution of two (2) sets of religious discrimination complaints to ensure clergy had access to patients for religious purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two (2) hospitals involved are MedStar’s Southern Maryland Hospital Center (“MSMHC”), which is part of the MedStar Health System, and Mary Washington Healthcare (“MWHC”) in Virginia. Each matter is addressed below. Resolution With MedStar’s Southern Maryland Hospital Center In July 2020, OCR’s...
Alert
Published 10/23/2020
By Andrea Cox, David S. Waxman, Lauren F. Schoeberl
Services Product Liability
Nearly a dozen states have passed laws and even more have considered legislation purporting to grant immunity to businesses against lawsuits arising out of the spread of COVID-19. [1] Businesses may be tempted to view these civil immunity laws as providing protection and certainty in these difficult times. However, on closer review, the limited benefits of these laws require that caution and vigilance must remain a top priority. Enactments establishing COVID-19 immunity vary in the breadth of industries covered, extent of retroactivity, and the range of acts which are immune from suit...
Blog Post
Published 10/22/2020
By Francis X. Riley III
Alert
Published 10/21/2020
By Joshua W.B. Richards, Zachary Kizitaff
Industries Higher Education
On September 25, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a document entitled, “Effective Practices for Preventing Sexual Harassment.” The Department of Education’s recent final rule on Title IX Sexual Harassment left many more questions than answers related to the final rule’s application in the academic medical center context, and institutions seeking further clarification regarding their Title IX obligations in clinical settings had good reason to hope for joint guidance from HHS and the Department of Education. Unfortunately,...
