The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently heard arguments in PMTD Restaurants LLC v. Houston Casualty Co., case number 22-11391. PMTD, the owner of a KFC/Taco Bell franchise, argued that a Georgia federal district court erred in defining the word “claim” in its employment practices policy. More specifically, PMTD alleged that an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The year of 2022 has been a year for major legal rulings impacting various aspects of health care and pharmaceutical law. The following is a summary of the most significant of those decisions:
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade
The U.S. Supreme Court’s highly controversial ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, overturned nearly
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has reached an $875,000 settlement and an extensive corrective action plan (CAP) with a university medical center concerning its violation of HIPAA’s privacy, security, and breach notification rules. Hacking a medical center web server, containing protected health information (PHI) by an unknown
In Gimeno v. NCHMD, Inc., 2022 WL 2309436, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the trial court’s dismissal of a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty concerning an ERISA-governed life insurance plan. In reinstating the lawsuit, the Court of Appeals ruled that ERISA permits claims to recover money equal to benefits lost due to a breach
A three-judge panel has summarily denied a request for rehearing by the plaintiffs in Ramon Valle et al. v. Ceres Environmental Services Inc. et al., case number 21-12020, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In Valle, six laborers were seeking unpaid overtime and wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) from two environmental response companies stemming from
A Wisconsin federal judge approved a $5.1 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against Costco concerning its 401(k) plan. Costco Wholesale Corp.’s retirement plan participants alleged that the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). An independent fiduciary, Fiduciary Counselors, approved the settlement, which represents an amount that is about 16% of the allegedly excessive fees that
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is making employer compliance with some federal laws, such as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, more complicated. In addition, the rise of the remote workforce also is making compliance more difficult. Court ruling and changes in state laws are contributing to these ongoing issues concerning the WARN Act.
The WARN
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has significantly delayed the issuance of guidance on the ability of employers to offer certain incentives for employees to participate in wellness programs. These delays are attributable to the current composition of the EEOC, which consists of three Republicans and two Democrats, who have been unable to publish a regulatory agenda for the agency
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued guidance about mandatory COVID-19 testing in the workplace. Until now, employers could require worksite COVID-19 testing without assessing current conditions or justifying its necessity. The EEOC stated in its guidance that employers now must perform an individualized assessment of the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic and other circumstances in the workplace
Employers who allow workers to work remotely, or on a hybrid work schedule, could face challenges related to wage and hour compliance issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Hourly workers who are not exempt from the FLSA overtime rules, which have no set or enforced policies on where and when they can work, could create major liability for