By: Michelle D. Wyrick
In General Counsel Memorandum 22-04, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo takes aim at “captive audience” meetings that include discussions about employees’ statutory labor rights. On April 7, 2022, she announced that she will ask the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to find these mandatory ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On April 20, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had brought criminal charges against 21 defendants in nine different federal district courts alleging participation in various health care related fraud schemes that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some defendants are accused of offering COVID-19 tests ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On April 14, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer, the first COVID-19 diagnostic test that detects the chemical compounds associated with a SARS-CoV-2 infection in an individual’s breath. The InspectIR COVID-19 ...
By: Glen M. Krebs
On November 12, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that spouses of E and L visa holders were no longer required to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to work in the United States. Instead, L-2 and E dependent spouses are authorized to work in the United States just by ...
By: Alexa J. Elder
On March 24, 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that a non-lawyer does not engage in the unauthorized practice of law by requesting an administrative hearing on behalf of a corporate entity. The decision, Cabinet for Health & Fam. Servs. v. Appalachian Hospice Care, Inc., provides important clarification pertaining to the ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On April 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that those enrolled in Medicare Part B, including those enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, can now access over-the-counter COVID-19 tests that have been approved, authorized or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at no ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On April 12, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the COVID-19 public health emergency will be extended another ninety (90) days, effective April 16, 2022, the day it was set to expire. The extension allows certain programs to continue that were implemented under the powers granted to ...
By: Liam McMillin
It was looking a little sketchy, but baseball is finally back. After a bit of a pause, the long-standing unofficial Cincinnati holiday of opening day is tomorrow when the Cincinnati Reds (and every Reds’ fan who scored a ticket) will step into Great American Ball Park to kick off the 2022 season. After a 99-day lockout, the owners ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On April 7, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it was phasing out certain temporary emergency declaration blanket waivers that had been in effect during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). This announcement pertains to specific blanket waivers for skilled nursing ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
According to a Bloomberg Law report, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) plans to reopen the Provider Relief Payment Fund (PRF) Phase One reporting period, giving providers that received over $10,000 in PRF payments during Phase One another chance at reporting use of those funds before owing it all back.
By: Marianna J. Michael
On March 29, 2022, Governor Beshear signed HB 506, which creates new sections of KRS Chapter 336 to underscore the valuable service to commerce that professional employer organizations, staffing companies, and staff leasing companies (collectively, “PEOs”) provide. As a result, the Act was created to properly ...
The last two years brought changes that no one could have ever anticipated, and it is safe to say that life as we know it was forever changed by COVID-19. From an employment perspective, many employees embraced the ability to trade in uncomfortable high heels, mind-numbing commutes, and bad office coffee for sweatpants, more opportunity for ...
By: Alexa J. Elder
With COVID-19 restrictions decreasing and summer right around the corner, many employers are struggling to find workers to keep up with increasing demands. Because many young people seek employment during the summer months while they are out of school, it may be tempting for businesses to take advantage of this readily ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
According to an ABC report, free COVID-19 testing options for uninsured Americans are dwindling, with free vaccines likely at risk next, due to a lack of sufficient funding that is forcing some companies “to either absorb the cost of uninsured customers – or begin charging them.”
Quest Diagnostics told ABC News ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
As reported by Bloomberg Law, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is clawing back $100 million in funds from health care providers who did not comply with the reporting requirements attached to the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments they received to assist them in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. According ...
By: Emily H. Lineweaver
On March 29, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for two select groups of individuals: (i) those 50 years of age and older; and (ii) those 12 years of age and older who are immunocompromised, which is defined as “people ...