Jan 29, 2018 | Employment Law
On January 5, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it was adopting a new test for determining whether an intern qualified as an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Such a determination affects how employers may offer and utilize...
Jan 29, 2018 | Health Care
In 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) continued its HIPAA enforcement efforts, resulting in over $19,393,000 in settlements and civil monetary penalties. OCR investigations focused on various issues, including...
Dec 27, 2017 | Medicare and Medicaid
On December 8, 2017, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) issued Advisory Opinion 17-08, in which it concluded that certain arrangements for nursing home discounts do not violate the federal Anti-Kickback...
Dec 27, 2017 | False Claims Act
On December 6, 2017, U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. (Southern District of New York) held that a False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower could not name his boss as an individual defendant in a suit alleging unlawful retaliation. The plaintiff, Gerard Diffley,...
Nov 28, 2017 | Health Care
On October 13, 2017, W. Stephen Muldrow, the Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, announced that First Coast Cardiovascular Institute (FCCI) agreed to pay $448,821.58 to settle allegations that it knowingly delayed repayment of over...
Nov 28, 2017 | Employment Law
On November 16, 2017, U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon, of the Western District of Pennsylvania, issued an order finding that a Pennsylvania Health Clinic is liable for $55,000 in back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages to a former employee who alleged...
Oct 26, 2017 | Employment Law
On October 18, 2017, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion upholding a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to a medical practice in Florida that had been sued by a former employee who claimed she was discriminated against based on her pregnancy....
Oct 26, 2017 | Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently published a report entitled “Enhancements Needed in the Tracking and Collection of Medicare Overpayments Identified by ZPICs and PSCs.” Zone Program Integrity Contractors...
Sep 22, 2017 | Health Care, White Collar Crime
On September 19, 2017, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced at a news conference that Attorneys General from 41 states have joined together to investigate major pharmaceutical companies over the production and distribution of opioids. The joint...
Sep 22, 2017 | Health Care
Last month, Centegra Health System, which operates a chain of hospitals and clinics in the Chicago area, reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with a proposed class of home health clinicians who claimed they were improperly denied overtime payments. The...
