Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

May 18, 2012

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OSHA Forms Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced yesterday that it planned to establish a Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee. The committee will advise, consult with and make recommendations to the secretary of labor and the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health on ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and tr...

May 17, 2012

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Knowledge of the Law Not Relevant to HIPAA Privacy Violation, Court Says

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of the first person in the United States to be given a prison term for violating the privacy policy of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) without using the information for personal gain. Huping Zhou, a former researcher for the UCLA Healthcare System, argued on appeal that he could not be convicted of a he...

May 16, 2012

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Health Insurance Rebate Letters Coming in August, With or Without a Check Inside

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a final rule on health insurers' compliance with the medical-loss ratio (MLR) standards of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that will result in all insured Americans receiving a letter from their insurance company this summer, even if they're not receiving a rebate. Under PPACA, health insurance compani...

May 15, 2012

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Woody Allen Rule Gets NLRB Quickie Election Decision Invalidated

A federal judge, citing Woody Allen, has ruled that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) did not meet the standard of having a quorum present when it voted 2-0 to initiate so-called "quickie" election rules for union organizing. The decision by Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia came this past Monday, May 14. Judge Boasberg was also instr...

May 12, 2012

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HHS Releases Final Rules to Ease Regulations for Health Care Providers

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced what the agency is calling "significant steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and health care providers." These steps will help achieve the key goal of President Obama’s regulatory reform initiative to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and save nearly $...

May 11, 2012

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KPMG Relates Observations from First 20 HIPAA Security Audits

Giant accounting and consulting firm KPMG in 2011 was contracted by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to conduct an initial round of up to 150 HIPAA security audits as mandated by the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act of 2009. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) requires covered entities to safeguard all private health informatio...

May 10, 2012

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EBSA Releases Guidance on Fee Disclosure Rules for Retirement Funds

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued guidance meant to help plan administrators and service providers comply with the requirements of new rules improving the transparency of fees and investment expenses in retirement plans. A set of frequently asked questions and answers has been published in Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2012-02. "...

May 8, 2012

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Wal-Mart Agrees to Pay $4.8 Million in Back Wages

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., has agreed to pay $4,828,442 in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees nationwide following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that found violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime provisions. Additionally, Wal-Mart will pay $463,815 in civil money penal...

May 7, 2012

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OSHA Launches Summer Heat Danger Campaign

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has kicked off a national outreach initiative to educate workers and their employers about the hazards of working outdoors in hot weather. The outreach effort builds on last year's successful summer campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of too much sun and heat. Every year, thousands of workers across the country suffer from s...

May 3, 2012

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NLRB Maintains Arbitration Clauses That Preclude Class Action Are Illegal

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint alleging that 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc. violated federal labor law by insisting that all employment-related disputes be resolved by individual arbitration. The California-based corporation, which operates fitness centers across the country, requires employees to agree in writing, as a condition of employment, to forego any rights to coll...

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