April 1 is the first day on which the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will accept H-1B cap-subject petitions for foreign nationals in specialty occupations to begin employment on October 1. For the last few years, every available H-1B visa has been claimed in the first few days of […]
Publications
EEOC Announces Proposed Addition of Pay Data to Annual EEO-1 Reports
On January 29, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced a proposed revision to the Employer Information Report (“EEO-1”) that would require certain employers with more than 100 employees to submit pay data on an annual basis. The EEOC claims the new data will assist the agency in identifying […]
Focus on Compliance Resources
HIPAA Individuals’ Right to Access to Records. DHHS recently posted a lengthy document providing very detailed guidance on the individual’s right under HIPAA to access their health information (45 CFR §164.524). www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professional/privacy/ guidance /access. The OIG website http://oig.hhs.gov features monthly update podcasts. The January 2016 podcast discussed recent enforcement actions […]
HIPAA Update: A New Permitted Disclosure for Certain Health Care Providers
On January 6, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Final Rule modifying the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The new Rule expressly permits the disclosure of PHI to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for certain covered entities. The Rule aims to strengthen the accuracy of […]
Five Big Things That Have Changed Since You Adopted Your Compliance Program
Vintage clothes, vintage wine and vintage cars are all great, but not vintage compliance policies. So what has changed that makes it vital for compliance policies and activities to be updated now? Updates to Compliance Guidance. The original compliance program guidance document was published in 1998 for hospitals, followed closely […]