Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

November 12, 2014

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HHS Guidance on Sharing Patient Info | WWC

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have issued a bulletin in "light of the Ebola outbreak and other events" to clarify "the ways in which patient information may be shared under the HIPAA Privacy Rule in an emergency situation." The bulletin notes that the HIPAA Privacy Rule is balanced so that, when necessary, protected health information (...

November 11, 2014

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CBO, HHS Disagree on Obamacare Enrollments in 2014 and Beyond

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects health care sign-ups in the state and federal exchanges during the open enrollment period starting Nov. 15 to total about 13 million people, but Health and Human Services (HHS) officials said Monday they expect only 9 to 10 million to sign up, including 6 million or so who renew. The CBO anticipates a steady climb in enrollments during the first th...

November 10, 2014

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Supreme Court to Review Legality of ACA Health Care Subsidies

With just a few days to go before the start of the second open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Supreme Court has agreed to hear both sides in the King v. Burwell lawsuit, which aims to strike down health care subsidies in the 36 states that chose not to establish insurance exchanges. At question is language in the original reform bill that says tax credits would be a...

November 7, 2014

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USCIS Website Redesigned with Enhanced Mobile Tool | WWC

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has relaunched its website, USCIS.gov, with a new look and an enhanced tool for mobile user to check the status of their cases. The USCIS announcement explained: Our updated homepage for www.uscis.gov and www.uscis.gov/espanol will still offer the user-friendly icons and tabs you are familiar with, and it will now provide easy-to-n...

November 7, 2014

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'Skinny' Health Plans Must Cover Hospitalization & Physicians, IRS Says

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was written, it set a "minimum value" standard on all health plans by saying a health policy must cover 60 percent of the cost of the "benefits provided by the plan," but the text failed to specify which benefits must be offered. This week the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filled in the void by saying all minimum value -- or so-called "skinny" -- plans that ...

November 6, 2014

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EEOC Files Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against Restaurant

Crooked Creek Investment Company, doing business as Crooked Creek & Creekside Bar & Grille in Saginaw, Mich., violated federal law when it refused to hire an applicant as a food server because she was pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed this week. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the job seeker had prior experience working in a r...

November 4, 2014

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Bugs Plague Launch of Obamacare SHOP Website | WWC

After the SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program) website was launched for testing in five states this past week, defects were soon uncovered, including approved health plans that failed to appear in searches and an inability to render the pages correctly on Internet Explorer and Firefox. Google Chrome was the one browser that loaded the site correctly. The SHOP website is actually a sub-...

October 31, 2014

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DOL Extends Comment Period on Contractor Rule | WWC

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a 60-day extension of the comment period for its proposed rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to submit an annual Equal Pay Report on employee compensation to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs *OFCCP). Under the terms of the proposal, this requirement would apply to companies that file EEO-1 reports, have more than ...

October 31, 2014

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USCIS Records Center Marks 15 Years | WWC

Who knew this 300,000-square-foot underground facility ever existed, but word comes from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that its National Records Center is turning 15 years old. Located in Lee's Summit, Mo., the center houses 20 million files on documented immigrants, each file one to six inches thick. Some 500 full-time employees and contract workers process 1.5...

October 30, 2014

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WHD Finds Violations During Harvest Season | WWC

The fall harvest season has always been a time for celebration when communities across the country honor the fruits of farm labor. While we enjoy things like fresh cider and pumpkin pie, it’s important to remember that all of that is made possible thanks to agricultural workers who labor through long and often hot days in the fields. Farm labor is tough and sometimes dangerous work. That’s why...

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EEOC Rescinds Permissible Affirmative Action Guidance

On June 30, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) officially rescinded two longstanding documents relating to permissible affirmative action. The documents were part of the EEOC's guidance on affirmative action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Department of Labor Issues 2026 Civil Penalty Update: No Adjustments This Year

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U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Opinion Letters on Overtime Exemptions, Bonuses, and Compensable Time

On May 29th, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released several new opinion letters addressing key wage & hour issues. Specifically, one of the four documents informed readers whether an exempt employee could perform additional work in a secondary role at an hourly rate and still be eligible...

EEOC Issues New National Enforcement Plan Through 2029

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