Alert
Published 08/10/2020
By Marisa DeFeo
Industries Higher Education
The Department of Education (“Department”) redefined “sexual harassment” for Title IX purposes insomuch as the Final Rule narrowed the scope by requiring that unwelcome conduct be severe and pervasive and objectively offensive (one alone no longer suffices) in a manner that effectively denies an individual access to a school’s education program or activity. However, the Final Rule simultaneously broadened the scope of covered actions to now include dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. Definition of “Sexual Harassment” Most notably, the final regulations redefine sexual harassment...
Alert
Published 08/10/2020
By Lelia Parker
Industries Higher Education
Because Title IX addresses an educational institution’s own misconduct – and not the misconduct of the alleged harasser – the institution must first be aware that there is misconduct that needs to be addressed. In short, the institution must have “actual knowledge” that the harassment was alleged (previously, institutions generally were held to a standard that they knew, or should have known about the harassment). This is a higher bar. An institution has actual knowledge when notice of sexual harassment is received by the Title IX Coordinator or another official with authority to institute...
Article
Published 08/10/2020
Alert
Published 08/10/2020
By Alexander Bilus, Sunu Pillai, John Marty
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) recently declared that the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, used by thousands of businesses to transfer personal data between the EU and U.S., was invalid. [Case C-311/18, Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Maximillian Schrems , (“Schrems II”)]. This decision will have a wide-ranging impact on businesses that handle data protected by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). At the same time, the ECJ held that businesses can still transfer personal data to countries outside the EU if they execute the EU’s approved standard...
Article
Published 08/07/2020
Alert
Published 08/07/2020
This month’s Friday Five covers recent cases addressing: (1) a fiduciary’s right to bring an ERISA § 502(a)(3) equitable relief claim against a beneficiary; (2) when a life insurer may avail itself of Florida’s “facility of payment” statute to support a satisfaction defense; (3) timeliness requirements under a disability policy; (4) the scope of ERISA’s preemption of common law claims; and (5) extra-record discovery in ERISA disability cases involving de novo review. The Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr Employee Benefits/ERISA Litigation Team August 7, 2020 | By: Amy Kline , Caitlin Strauss ,...
Article
Published 08/05/2020
Industries Higher Education | Real Estate
Services Real Estate Services
Alert
Published 08/04/2020
By Patrick F. Nugent
Industries Higher Education | Sports and Entertainment
The future of collegiate athletics remains uncertain as colleges and universities head into the fall semester, but whether institutions cancel athletics this term, one thing remains certain for NCAA member institutions: academic conduct and extra benefits rules still apply. Without a doubt, many issues are competing for colleges’ and universities’ attention heading into the new term. For NCAA member institutions using some form of remote instruction, one issue worth considering is how best to maintain compliance with the NCAA’s academic conduct and extra benefits rules in the virtual learning...
Alert
Published 08/03/2020
By Leah Octavio, Kathryn Doyle
Industries Life Sciences
On July 24, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("Federal Circuit") in Gensetix, Inc. v. Baylor College of Medicine , No. 19-1424 (Fed. Cir. July 24, 2020) [1] issued an opinion involving the interplay between state sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment [2] and required joinder under Rule 19 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“F.R.C.P.”) [3] . The Court found that the Eleventh Amendment barred joinder under Rule 19(a) of a sovereign patent owner as an involuntary plaintiff to a patent infringement suit, but that the suit could proceed in the absence of the...
Alert
Published 07/30/2020
By Andrew T. Bockis, John R. Dixon, Kevin M. Levy
Industries Energy | Real Estate
Obtaining public records in a timely fashion from government agencies in Pennsylvania can be an arduous task during ordinary times. Enter a worldwide pandemic that forced most workers, including civil servants, to begin working from home and the already-difficult task of promptly obtaining records became almost impossible. After some Commonwealth agencies used the ongoing COVID-19 disaster declaration as a blanket reason to delay responding to record requests, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted House Bill 2463 as Act 77 of 2020 (“Act 77”) which will require Commonwealth agencies to...
Alert
Published 07/30/2020
By Nancy A. Hearne
Services Personal Wealth Estates and Trusts
Your kitchen counter has become your child’s home office, your oriental rugs are covered with Legos that you can’t see, and a basketball hoop blocks your view of the TV. If you have a child (and maybe his or her family) living at home after giving up a city apartment lease, perhaps you have begun to think about an alternative living arrangement. There is good news. With interest rates at historic lows, this is a great time to consider making a loan to your kids. They could use the funds to make a down payment on a first home. You can regain sole occupancy of your house. Capitalizing on very...
Alert
Published 07/29/2020
By Richard Forsten, Pamela Scott, Wendie Stabler
Services Land Use
In response to comments from the development and engineering communities and in keeping with Governor Carney’s expressed objective to improve upon processes and procedures within state government, especially as it relates to economic development, the Delaware Department of Transportation (“DelDOT”) has been implementing changes to its Subdivision Plan Review Process in an effort to make the process more streamlined in order to support business and foster economic growth across the state. Several recent changes are worthy of note. DelDOT has shortened the review time for plans to 31 days (a...
Alert
Published 07/28/2020
By Bruce D. Armon, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care | HIPAA / Health Information Privacy and Security
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
On July 27, 2020, the United State Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity (Lifespan) has agreed to pay $1,040,000 and implement a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules related to the theft of an unencrypted laptop from an employee’s car. Lifespan is a non-profit health system based in Rhode Island which includes many healthcare provider affiliates and has designated itself as a...
Article
Published 07/28/2020
Industries Construction
Services Labor and Employment
Article
Published 07/28/2020
Industries Construction
Alert
Published 07/27/2020
By Bruce D. Armon, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care | HIPAA / Health Information Privacy and Security
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
On July 23, 2020 the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced a $25,000 Resolution Agreement and Corrective Action Plan (CAP) with Metropolitan Community Health Services d/b/a Agape Health Services (Metro) to resolve potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule. Metro is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center providing a variety of discounted medical services including on-site pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, gynecology, primary and pediatric care to the...