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On July 27, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced legislative proposals and initiatives that would prevent State Board of Administration (SBA) fund managers from considering environmental social and governance (ESG) factors when investing the state’s money. Instead, the proposed legislation...
On July 15, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the resolution of eleven investigations as part of its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Right of Access Initiative (the "Initiative"). OCR created...
On August 4, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) filed suit against Monsanto Co., Pharmacia LLC and Solutia, Inc., seeking to hold them liable for PCB contamination throughout New Jersey. ( Complaint ). While the suit also addresses contamination at Monsanto’s...
This month’s Friday Five addresses cases considering: (1) whether monetary relief in the amount of lost benefits is an available remedy for breach of fiduciary duty; (2) the validity of an ex-spouse’s beneficiary designation that contradicts a subsequent divorce decree; (3) if waiver of a pre...
On July 27, 2022, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law the 2022 amendments to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (the “LLC Act”), the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “LP Act”), and the Delaware...
New Castle County has announced that the firm conducting its countywide reassessment is now out in the field and inspecting properties, including commercial, office, and other non-residential properties. The goal is to inspect every property in the County. Most of these inspections will simply be...
New Jersey’s landmark Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157 (“EJ Law”), signed by Governor Murphy in September 2020, authorizes the NJDEP to deny or condition certain permits based on an assessment of a “facility’s” contribution to environmental and public health impacts in the State’s...
On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights released two guidance documents addressing (1) disclosures under the HIPAA Privacy Rule relating to reproductive health care (“Disclosure Guidance”), and (2) the privacy and security of reproductive health...
On June 30th, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in West Virginia v. EPA . The Court concluded that the EPA had exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act by establishing emission caps in the Clean Power Plan (CPP) that would have required a shift in electrical generation from...
As we have just passed the half-way point of 2022, many health systems are thinking about acquisitions they would like to complete before the end of the calendar year. In addition to the necessary due diligence, contracting considerations and licensure and regulatory issues, acquiring and selling...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to interpretation of regulatory deadlines, the enforceability of discretionary clauses, circuit courts going both ways on appeals from summary judgment rulings in favor of plans, and a benefits award for a former professional football player where the...
A new City of Chicago Ordinance requires that condominium associations and other highrise residential buildings provide relief for residents during extreme heat events. On June 22, 2022, in response to the heat-related deaths of residents of a senior living facility, the Chicago City Council...
Counterfeiting is seldom discussed in popular culture, but as a crime it is one of the most lucrative, eclipsing even the drug trade. In 2017, counterfeiting was responsible for almost $1 trillion in illegal sales. Incredibly, counterfeiting accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. That was caused...
Another in a series of recent court decisions has made meal and rest break claims significantly more troublesome for California employers. In May 2022, the California Supreme Court held that premiums for missed meal breaks are “wages” that must be reported on wage statements and paid in a timely...
On June 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights issued guidance (the “Guidance”) for covered health care providers and health plans relating to the use of remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services in a manner that is...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to an award of attorney’s fees (but not) costs, class certification in an ERISA benefits case, a court finding that a physician claimant was disabled from his own occupation, a claimant paying into insurance he thinks he has, and an insurance company...
On April 28, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Cummings v Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C . that emotional distress damages are not recoverable in a private action to enforce several civil rights statutes. While Cummings focused on damages available under the Rehabilitation Act and the Affordable...
On May 26th, the EPA released an update of its Legal Tools to Advance Environmental justice – a compilation of the legal authorities it relies upon to protect public health and the environment for all persons in EJ and all communities. The tool kit replaces the “Plan EJ 2014 Legal Tools” and...
On Monday, May 9, 2022, the NCAA Division I Council Working Group on Name, Image and Likeness released new guidance regarding third-party involvement in NIL activities. The guidance comes as we approach the one-year anniversary of the NCAA's Interim NIL Policy allowing NCAA student-athletes the...
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to a claimant’s second chance when a lawyer misses a court deadline, whether certain voluntary benefits fall within a broader ERISA plan, a court deciding that an insurer was “probably not wrong,” judicial reconsideration to mold the time period for...