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In early November, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released its General Compliance Program Guidance (the Guidance). This was HHS OIG’s first update since 2008. What You Need to Know: This is the first compliance compendium released by HHS...
On October 31, 2023, a Missouri jury awarded the plaintiff class in Sitzer/Burnett v. Nar, et al a $1.78 billion damages verdict against several real estate brokerage companies and the National Association of Realtors, based on a finding that the defendants conspired to fix commission being paid by...
I. Introduction: On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This case has potentially widespread implications for the consumer finance industry, as it challenges the...
On November 7, 2023, the City Council of Chicago approved a referendum that will put Chicago’s ‘mansion tax’ on the 2024 primary ballot on March 19, 2024. If passed, the measure would change the amount of real estate transfer taxes the City of Chicago imposes on commercial and residential properties...
On Halloween, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a $100,000 settlement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) with Doctors’ Management Services (DMS), a Massachusetts medical management company that provides...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to petitions for attorneys’ fees, unpersuasive self-reported evidence of disability, and a dilatory attempt to augment the administrative record. The Saul Ewing Employee Benefits/ERISA Litigation Team Western District of Wisconsin Slashes “Eye-Popping”...
In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published Advisory Opinion 23-07 and approved a plan by a multi-specialty physician practice to pay its employed physicians bonuses related to net profits derived from outpatient procedures...
In September, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance on compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s adverse action notice requirements for lenders utilizing artificial intelligence in their credit decision process. Specifically, the Bureau noted that lenders may not rely...
On October 11, the Department of Justice released a settlement agreement it entered into with a large, Florida-based automotive management company for False Claims Act violations based on an allegedly improper forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Up to now, the DOJ has primarily...
On October 19, 2023, the IRS announced a special withdrawal process to help those who filed an Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) claim and are concerned about its accuracy. This follows the September 14 announcement of a moratorium on processing new ERC claims. The new withdrawal option allows...
On October 13, 2023 in Philadelphia, President Biden and Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) Granholm announced the seven regional hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) selected for negotiation with DOE for $7 billion in funding. What You Need to Know: President Biden announced the selection of seven...
This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that range from the effect on disability benefits when medical records are not provided after two appeals, to a case that examines how an award of death benefits is determined, to a finding that an insurer’s decision to terminate benefits was not...
On August 24, 2023, the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights ("OCR" or the "Department") released a Dear Colleague Letter (the "DCL") regarding "Race and School Programming." This DCL, which surely appears to be a response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Students for Fair...
This issue of Saul on ESG: Trends & Updates marks our first update tracking the legal trends and developments around environmental, social and governance (ESG). In recent years, we have been tracking and highlighting changes on the ESG front, but this regular publication will allow us to dive...
On August 4, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities. The DOJ Fact Sheet is at Fact Sheet: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on...
On September 14, 2023, the IRS announced an immediate moratorium on processing new Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims due to the surge in questionable or potentially fraudulent filings. According to the announcement, the pause will continue through the end of 2023. The IRS will continue to...
A perennial debate exists in the white-collar space: do the benefits of self-disclosure outweigh the risks associated with providing the government with a road map to the company’s purported violation? Consistently, the Department of Justice, among other government agencies, has answered that...