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On February 16, 2024, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a final version of the cybersecurity resource guide (the “Guide”) with respect to the HIPAA Security Rule. As noted in the Guide’s abstract, “This publication provides...
On February 6, 2024, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a settlement with Montefiore Medical Center (“MMC”) for alleged HIPAA Security Rule violations and MMC agreed to pay $4.75 million and enter into a two-year corrective action plan (“CAP”) with OCR. MMC admitted no wrongdoing...
Maryland’s intermediate court created new and binding precedent for cases related to misappropriation of trade secrets under the Maryland Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“MUTSA”). In the reported opinion of Ingram, et al. v. Cantwell-Cleary Co., Inc. , the Appellate Court of Maryland held that customer...
This month’s Friday Five explores decisions regarding the transfer of an ERISA action that was filed in a state where an insurer did not maintain sufficient minimum contacts, an award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and prejudgment interest, deference to an insurer’s interpretation of a plan’s provisions...
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) to the House floor. As drafted, H.R. 7024 would be funded entirely by limitations on the employee retention credit (ERC). Under the bill, no new ERC claims would...
On Tuesday, January 2, 2024, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) announced its proposal to amend the Ground Water Quality Standards (“GWQS”) under N.J.A.C. 7:9C to change the ground water quality criteria for 65 constituents of Class II-A ground water. NJDEP is also...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to the enforceability of contractual statute of limitations provisions described as a “labyrinth,” ERISA claims when the carrier allegedly misrepresents benefits, federal courts retaining ERISA jurisdiction following a related state court case, a court...
As we previously have discussed, the IRS has for months been working to combat dubious Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims, many of which were made at the urging of aggressive promoters. The IRS is offering a limited-time Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) to encourage taxpayers to come forward...
In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced a $480,000 settlement with a Louisiana medical group following a phishing incident. In 2021, the medical group filed a breach report with HHS stating that a hacker – through a...
Welcome to Saul Ewing’s Public Companies Quarterly Update series. Our intent is to, on a quarterly basis, highlight important legal developments of which we think public companies should be aware. This edition is related to developments during the fourth quarter of 2023. If you would like to discuss...
For all “reporting companies” created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, information concerning the “beneficial owners” of the reporting company must be reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) along with information concerning “company applicants.” As a result, both...
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced an $80,000 HIPAA settlement with Saint Joseph’s Medical Center (“SJMC”) in New York State. The settlement was the result of OCR’s investigation of SJMC after the Associated Press...
Introduction The introduction to the final regulations issued under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the United States Treasury (“FinCEN”) states that, “[i]llicit actors frequently use corporate structures such as shell and front companies to...
On November 21, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a resolution allowing it to use “compulsory process in nonpublic investigations involving certain products and services that use or claim to be produced using artificial intelligence (AI) or claim to detect its use.” This allows the...
This month’s Friday Five explores a decision ordering an IME prior to a ruling on summary judgment motions, the extent claims reporting records can be sealed, the scope of ERISA preemption in the context of removal, and two decisions awarding summary judgment for the defendant despite the plaintiffs...
“Company applicants” — the term may sound vague, but the identities of “company applicants” of reporting companies are just as important under the new federal Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) as the identities of the beneficial owners of those companies. What You Need to Know: The era of...