Integration Advantage
Q4 of any calendar year is the busiest time of year for many business functions, but it certainly is for HR professionals. Now add into the mix the closing of one or more transactions and the pressure for HR teams increases exponentially. What is a strategy to help ensure a successful closing and day one transition for employees and benefit plans? Connect your employee benefits counsel (who are part of your deal team’s lawyers), your benefits consultants and/or insurance broker, and your internal HR/benefits lead (or team) as early as possible in the deal process.
The Matrix
Washington state’s My Health My Data Act (“MHMD”) goes into effect on March 31, 2024. Entities should carefully evaluate whether MHMD applies to them in light of the law’s broad applicability, an expansive definition of consumer health data, strict consent requirements and a unique private right of action. This post answers questions about which entities are subject to MHMD, and what the law requires entities to do.
Privacy and data security laws and regulations continue to evolve quickly, and companies processing personal data have an increasing array of issues to manage. As we enter 2024, below are five key considerations for companies managing privacy and data security risks.
Justice Muse
On Saturday, the DOJ announced a settlement with Cigna Group (“Cigna”), where Cigna agreed to pay $172 Million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by submitting and failing to withdraw inaccurate diagnosis codes for its Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees in order to increase reimbursements from Medicare.
On Monday, the DOJ announced a settlement with Verizon Business Network Services LLC (“Verizon”), where Verizon agreed to pay $4.1 M to settle allegations that it failed to completely satisfy certain cybersecurity controls in connection with an information technology service provided to federal agencies. The settlement resolves allegations that Verizon’s Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (“MTIPS”), which was designed to provide federal agencies with secure connections to the public internet and other networks, did not completely satisfy three required cybersecurity controls related to its General Services Administration (“GSA”) contracts from 2017 through 2021.
The Employer’s Wage and Hour Advisor
Michigan historically has been at the forefront of labor law changes. This remains the case with the implementation and recent repeal of Michigan’s right-to-work legislation. Michigan workplaces are no longer governed by a “right-to-work” law, as the repeal took effect on February 13, 2024. Once again employees can be required to join a union to keep their jobs. Employers and employees alike question what effects this repeal may have on the relationship between labor unions and Michigan employers.
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) is poised to make significant changes this year to various wage-and-hour regulations interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The changes are expansive and include both the already released independent-contractor test and increases to the salary threshold for white collar exemptions. These changes will effect employers across the country in all industries. Nonetheless, they are not going unchallenged. The expected legal challenges to the changes have already begun and will likely continue to mount.