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,...
Videos
Published 10/21/2020
Services : Labor and Employment
Navigating Disability & Leave Issues During a Pandemic
Videos
Published 10/21/2020
Services : Force Majeure Litigation
Webinar focused on Force Majeure Provisions and Related Litigation in the COVID-19 Era.
Article
Published 10/20/2020
Services Employment Litigation | Force Majeure Litigation
Article
Published 10/16/2020
Services Bankruptcy and Restructuring
Alert
Published 10/15/2020
By Christina Riggs
Industries Higher Education
In case you missed it, the Office of Postsecondary Education hosted a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) webinar on October 14, 2020. A copy of the PowerPoint is available here . The panelists included, among others, Diane Auer Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary, Robert L. King, Secretary for Postsecondary Educations, and Chris McCaghren, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs. As titled, the webinar’s intended focus was on reporting obligations, but there was also a lengthy discussion on how to properly use HEERF to cover lost revenue. We tackle the key...
Blog Post
Published 10/15/2020
By Francis X. Riley III
Alert
Published 10/14/2020
By Bruce Armon, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care | HIPAA / Health Information Privacy and Security
On October 9, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced it had settled its ninth enforcement action in its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the “Initiative”). OCR announced the Initiative in 2019 as an enforcement priority to ensure individuals can easily and timely access their health information at a reasonable cost under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule. OCR has recently announced several settlements under the Initiative including against St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical...
Alert
Published 10/13/2020
By Christina Riggs
Industries Higher Education
On Friday, October 9, 2020, the Department of Education announced the rescission of and a replacement for the 2016 Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting (“2016 Handbook”). The announcement also identified and explained the more significant changes between the 2016 Handbook and the “replacement,” which is a new Clery-related Appendix to the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Handbook. Why the rescission? Two reasons: First, the Department concluded that much of the guidance in the 2016 Handbook exceeded its relevant statutory (20 U.S.C. 1092) and regulatory authority (34 CFR 668.41 and 668...
Alert
Published 10/12/2020
By Bruce D. Armon, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care | HIPAA / Health Information Privacy and Security
On October 7, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced it had settled its eighth enforcement action as part of its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the “Initiative”). The Initiative was announced in 2019 as OCR seeks to ensure individuals can easily and timely access their health information at a reasonable cost under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule. In September 2020 OCR settled five investigations with five different providers under the Initiative. Dignity Health d/b/a...