Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

December 3, 2016
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OCR Trebles Its HIPAA Violations Fines in FY 2016

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) shattered all monetary settlement records for violations of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy, security and breach rules in the fiscal year ended this past Sept. 30, according to a study by the law firm McDermott Will & Emery. In fiscal 2016, OCR socked companies $25,6 million for HIPAA violations, up from a measly $7....
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December 2, 2016
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DOL Appeals Overtime Rule Injunction with Scant Chance It Will Be Heard

The Department of Labor (DOL) has appealed the Texas federal judge's nationwide injunction blocking the agency's new overtime rule that was set to take effect on Dec. 1. Unless an expedited appeal is granted, which is not done very often, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans won't receive the relevant documents from Texas for a couple of weeks. After that, there is generally a 30-da...
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December 2, 2016
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OSHA Extends Commentary Period on Revisions in Standards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is extending the comment period for its proposal to revise provisions in the agency's recordkeeping, general industry, maritime and construction standards. Originally scheduled to expire Dec. 5, 2016, the comment period will be extended to Jan. 4, 2017, to allow parties more time to review the rule and collect necessary information and d...
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November 29, 2016
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OSHA Recordkeeping Rule: This Dec. 1 Start Date Will Stand

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) yesterday escaped the curse of Texas judges and Obama administration regulations when a federal court in the Lone Star state refused to place an injunction on the agency's new recordkeeping rule, which will now take effect on Dec. 1. OSHA had twice delayed the rule's start date in light of resistance, both legal and administrative, after...
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November 29, 2016
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Poll Shows Widespread Support for Obamacare Overhaul, Possible Replacement

While President-elect Donald Trump announced key appointments to posts responsible for the nation's health care policies, a Gallup poll continued a yearslong indication of public discontent with Obamacare. Some 53 percent of those polled in November dislike the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while only 42 percent approve, figures relatively unchanged since the ACA passed in 2010 and the exchanges o...
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November 22, 2016
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Federal Judge Declares Overtime Rule Illegal, Issues Temporary Injunction

A federal judge in Texas hearing a lawsuit by 21 states over the Obama administration's overtime rule, set to take effect Dec. 1, has declared the rule illegal and issued an injunction to block its implementation nationwide. An Obama appointee, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant in Sherman, Texas, ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot establish overtime rules based solely on pay scales...
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November 22, 2016
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EEOC Revises Guidance on National Origin Discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued its updated enforcement guidance on national origin discrimination to replace its 2002 compliance manual section on that subject, the federal agency announced on Monday, Nov. 21. The commission has also issued two short user-friendly resource documents to accompany the guidance: a question-and-answer publication on the guidance docu...
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November 18, 2016
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IRS Extends Deadline to Supply Annual Health Care Information Forms to Employees

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today extended the deadline for employers to furnish their employees with their annual health care information forms from Jan. 31 to March 2, though it left intact the deadline for employers to file their forms 1094-B and 1094-C with the agency. Those deadlines remain Feb. 28 for paper filing and March 31 for electronic filing. Under the Affordable Care Act (...
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November 18, 2016
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EEOC Touts Discrimination Claim Settlements, Reduction of Backlog

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) secured more than $482.1 million for victims of discrimination in private, state and local government and federal workplaces during fiscal year 2016, which ended Sept. 30, the agency reported in its annual Performance and Accountability Report published on Nov. 15. This includes $347.9 million for victims of employment discrimination in privat...
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November 18, 2016
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USCIS Publishes Long-Promised Highly Skilled Immigrant Rule

USCIS today published a final rule to modernize and improve several aspects of certain employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant visa programs. USCIS has also amended regulations to better enable U.S. employers to hire and retain certain foreign workers who are beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant visa petitions and are waiting to become lawful permanent residents. This rule g...
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Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

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