On November 5, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule that requires vaccinations for certain health care workers. The rule is limited to only those entities who are surveyed by CMS and have Conditions of Participation, Conditions for Coverage, or Requirements for Participation in the Medicare and Medicaid … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced an initiative affecting inspections at in-patient care facilities. The Agency plans to: Expand the resources OSHA directs for inspections at these sites, and Direct inspectors to focus on five recently identified “key hazard” areas: (1) musculoskeletal disorders related to patient and resident handling; (2) bloodborn pathogens; (3) workplace … Continue Reading
Reed Smith's Global Regulatory Enforcement blog features a post on a December 2012 French Supreme Court ruling in a case involving a French Director in a health care company who had been dismissed on the grounds of a clear breach of health care compliance obligations as set forth in the French Public Health Code. The outcome: even though a company is acting in a highly regulated environment such as health care, compliance breaches must be integrated in the employer-employee relationship if they are to justify termination in France. As Reed Smith Partner Daniel Kadar notes, this case serves as a reminder to any international health care organization that the worldwide adoption of compliance guidelines and of a Code of Conduct is not in itself a sufficient protection against compliance breaches - everything depends on how these tools are implemented locally.… Continue Reading
On January 29, 2010, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury jointly issued interim final regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 ("MHPAEA"). The MHPAEA, as implemented by the interim final regulations, greatly expands the parity standards of its predecessor, the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 ("MHPA 1996").… Continue Reading
Across the country, plaintiffs’ attorneys are targeting health care facilities over their alleged failure to comply with meal break rules. These suits claim that employers have automatically deducted 30 to 60 minutes of time for employees’ meal periods, even if employees never took the breaks. Because employees can recover for violations that took place as … Continue Reading
