Articles by Girish Anand

July 11, 2014

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Studies Concur: Obamacare Signed Up at Least 8 Million

Studies by the Commonwealth Fund, the Urban Institute and the Gallup organization all agree that sign-ups under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) totaled at least 8 million. Nationwide, that equates to one in four previously uninsured being covered for their health care in 2014. The biggest gain came in California, where the uninsured were reduced by half, from 22 to 11 percent of the populat...

July 9, 2014

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HHS Announces Second Round of Health Care Innovation Awards

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell today announced new prospective awardees to test innovative care models, bringing the total amount of funding to as much as $360 million for 39 recipients spanning 27 states and the District of Columbia. These models are designed to deliver better health care and lower costs under the Health Care Innovation Awards program. ...

July 9, 2014

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DOL Extends Contractor Minimum Wage Commentary Period

The Department of Labor (DOL), besieged by requests for more time to comment on its proposal to raise the minimum wage for federal contract employees, has extended the public commentary period until July 28, 2014. In announcing the extension, the DOL explained the proposal in this way: The Department is proposing regulations to implement Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimu...

July 8, 2014

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HHS Awards $83.4 Million to Train New Primary Care Providers

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell has announced $83.4 million in Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding to support primary care residency programs in 60 Teaching Health Centers across the nation. The funding will help train more than 550 residents during the 2014-2015 academic year, increasing the number of residents trained in the previous academic year by more than...

July 7, 2014

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HHS Launches EHR Innovations for Improving Hypertension Challenge

In an effort to help clinical practices use health information technology (health IT) like electronic health records (EHRs) to reduce high blood pressure, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched a new challenge asking health care professionals and other caregivers to submit the tools they use to improve patient care. The EHR Innovations for Improving Hypertension ...

July 3, 2014

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Walgreens Agrees to Pay $180,000 Over a $1.39 Bag of Chips

Drugstore giant Walgreens has agreed to pay $180,000 to a longtime employee with diabetes and to implement revised policies and training to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced yesterday. The EEOC's lawsuit charged that former cashier Josefina Hernandez, who has Type II Diabetes, was fired ...

July 3, 2014

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Personnel Concepts Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary Today

From its humble beginnings 25 years ago today in the founder's residence, Personnel Concepts has grown to be the dominant force in the labor law poster compliance industry. Through its first quarter-century, miore than 1.5 million American businesses have relied upon Personnel Concepts for the labor law and other posters they display. Founded by Michael T. Rode, Personnel Concepts...

July 1, 2014

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Obamacare Data Discrepancies Could Mask Potential Fraud

Though he never used the "F" word -- fraud --the Health and Human Services Department Inspector General fessed up to finding 2.9 million inconsistencies on federal marketplace insurance applications, most of them involving citizenship and income entries that could not be verified or didn't match federal records. Of that figure, 2.6 million remain unresolved. The ...

June 30, 2014

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SCOTUS Grants Opt-Out Right on Obamacare Contraceptive Rule

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that privately held companies can opt out of the contraceptive clause of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on religious grounds. The requirement in question mandates that certain company-provided health insurance policies include contraceptive services. The ruling came in a review of a lawsuit brought by the owners of Hobby Lobby, furnitur...

June 27, 2014

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HHS Proposes Auto-Renewal of Current Obamacare Policies

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is floating a proposal for public commentary to automatically renew everyone who signed up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during the open enrollment period that ended in March. The rule would apply to everyone who signed up on a state website or on the federal marketplace site HealthCare.gov. The rule, which is open f...

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About author

Girish Anand

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog

On May 6th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey announced the bulk transfer of thousands of labor practice cases. Specifically, this action fulfills an initiative signed by the NLRB General Counsel earlier this year. Overall, the initiative...

Privacy Agency Invites Comments from Businesses on the CCPA’s Usage of Personal Data

Recently, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a call for comments on the current state of personal data collection under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, the invitation to deliver remarks was issued on April 20th, 2026. The information provided by the...

DOL Proposes New Joint Employer Rule To Unify Standards Under Federal Labor Laws

In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule to establish a single, clear standard for determining when joint-employer status applies under three major federal laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal...

DOL Updates Enforcement Approach for Employee Benefit Plans: What Employers Should Know

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a significant change in its enforcement of employee benefit plan rules. The DOL will now focus more closely on serious violations that harm workers and retirees, meaning compliant employers may face less scrutiny under the updated approach.

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Articles by Girish Anand