Posts tagged 'ARRA'

August 7, 2011

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Last of COBRA Subsidy Recipients Rolling Off the Rolls

As part of the government's effort to combat the pitfalls of the recession, Congress in March 2009 passed a 65-percent government-funded subsidy for laid-off employees who signed up for a COBRA health insurance extension. The program ran from September 2008 to May 2010, with 15 months of subsidies available for any employee who was "involuntarily terminated," a phrase that was int...

February 24, 2010

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HHS Begins Listing Medical Record Breaches on Web

ARRA HITECH

As required by law, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has begun publicly listing breaches of private health information (PHI), generally in medical records, when the breach totals 500 or more individuals. Though breach notification rules under HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) went into effect in September 2009, a grace period provi...

January 4, 2010

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Who's Gobbled the Most ARRA Pork?

ARRA

Just got my hands on a list of the "Top 10 Bailout Money Recipients" detailing the companies that have received the largest grants from ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds. Topping the list is an organization called Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS). SRNS operates the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, which--get t...

October 26, 2009

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New HIPAA Breach Rule Breached by CalOptima

ARRA breach rule HIPAA HITECH

Provisions in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was part of the stimulus package passed in February, created new security and breach rules for those covered by HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), but afforded everyone a six-month window to achieve full compliance that runs into 2010. Nonetheless,...

July 30, 2009

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Has the Republic Windows Recovery Door Slammed Shut?

ARRA Joe Biden Republic Windows and Doors Serious Materials

Vice President Joe Biden even visited the factory to proclaim a great victory for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the new owners pledged to hire back everyone laid off in December 2008. However, despite plans for Republic Windows and Doors to be back in full operation by May or June 2009, the Chicago-based factory has so far managed to hire only 15 or so of the 240 worke...

February 13, 2009

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Stimulus Plan: $798B, But Just 18.5 Percent* for Jobs

ARRA Barack Obama Harry Reid Nancy Pelosi Rahm Emanuel stimulus plan

I just went through the list of items covered in the final version of the stimulus plan (so called) and added up all the sums that were targeted at projects that could actually lead to jobs. I came up with $146.2 billion, which figures out to be 18.5 percent of the whole pie. The rest goes to what could be called the welfare state. The implication here is pretty obvious: The Democrats decided ...

February 10, 2009

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Tom Daschle Lives On in the Stimulus Package

ARRA stimulus plan Tom Daschle

Those who were fretting that the extinction of Tom Daschle as potential secretary of Health and Human Services might delay health care reform needn't worry. The inclusion of several stealth provisions in the stimulus package now sailing through Congress will implement, mostly unnoticed, provisions from Daschle's government-heavy idea of reform in his book, Critical: What We Can Do About the He...

January 22, 2009

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Health IT Funds Included in Stimulus Package

ARRA Health IT HIT stimulus plan

The latest version of the economic stimulus legislation includes 187 pages called the Health IT for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, with $20 billion in funding to implement a nationwide system of electronic health records (EHRs). This is something that President Obama spoke of frequently during his campaign, and now it appears to be coming into fruition. The Congressional Budget ...

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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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