Articles by Girish Anand

April 4, 2018

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CMS Cites Cost Effectiveness of 2018 Obamacare Open Enrollment

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its final report on the 2018 open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) policies, touting the cost effectiveness of the new approach. In 2017, CMS spent $100 million in advertising and promotion for open enrollment, coming out to $11 per enrollee; in 2018, it spent $10 million, or just $1 per enrollee. ...

HHS Releases Guide on Obtaining One's Health Records

April 4, 2018

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The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today released the ONC Guide to Getting and Using your Health Records, a new online resource for individuals, patients, and caregivers. This new resource supports both the 21st Century Cures Act goal of empowering patients and improving patients’ access to their electronic ...

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OCR Chief to Seek Changes to HIPAA Privacy Rule and Breach Enforcement

April 3, 2018

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Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) with enforcement powers over the HIPAA Privacy Rule and breaches of protected health information (PHI), announced he is looking to make some changes to both and will issue Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) and Requests for Information (RFIs) before proceeding. OCR ...

April 3, 2018

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PAID Wage Resolution Program Launches

With little fanfare (i.e., no announcement on its website), the Department of Labor (DOL) has launched its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, a voluntary initiative where companies can seek assistance in resolving wage-and-hour issues including back pay and overtime. Politico, the online magazine, claims a DOL spokesperson confirmed that PAID is launching today, April 3,...

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SCOTUS Rejects Obama DOL Overtime Interpretation

April 2, 2018

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In a win for auto dealerships, the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that "service advisers" -- those individuals who advise customers on which type of servicing or repair is needed on their car -- are exempt from overtime. The U.S. Supreme Court building, completed in 1935. The Department of Labor (DOL) in 2011 ruled that ...

Disability Benefit Claims Rule Takes Effect

March 31, 2018

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Following a 90-day delay to solicit comments, today (April 1, 2018) is the applicability date for employee benefit plans to comply with a final rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that will give America’s workers new procedural protections when dealing with plan fiduciaries and insurance providers who deny their claims for disability benefits. The new rule ensures,...

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New Law: Must Work for Food Stamps in West Virginia

March 28, 2018

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First it was Medicaid, and now it's food stamps, at least in West Virginia. With no fanfare or public announcement, that state's governor, Jim Justice, just signed a measure requiring able-bodied adults, 18-49 who are without dependents, to work, volunteer or participate in workforce training programs for 20 hours per week to receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro...

March 28, 2018

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Iowa Launches Association Health Plans

A bill has landed on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds's desk that will enable small businesses to band together to form association health plans that are exempt from the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She is expected to sign it. The bill merges two legislative efforts to sidetrack the ACA and provide less expensive health plans to Iowans. One is generic in that it allows small business...

Death by Overwork' Continues to Plague Japan

March 27, 2018

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Drones flying through the office blaring music to force employees to leave work; workers being forced to don purple "shame capes" for working late -- such are the latest strategies in Japan's continuing struggle against karoshi, or "death by overwork." The City of Tokyo. That nation's Labor Standards Act allows employ...

March 26, 2018

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DOL Touts Benefits from Federal Budget Reconciliation Measure

The $1.3 trillion federal budget (good till the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30), signed by President Trump on March 23, includes targeted spending for the Department of Labor (DOL). Key Provisions in Omnibus Appropriations Bill: Apprenticeships: Apprenticeship is a proven workforce development strategy that helps Americans both earn wages and learn skills. The omnibus appropriations bi...

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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