U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released guidance on the FY2023 H-1B lottery process. Despite attempts to change the structure of the lottery selection process, the Service announced that it would continue with a random-selection lottery for 2022. The registration system will be open from 12 p.m. ET March 1, 2022 until 12 p.m. ET March 18, 2022. The application fee will continue to be $10 for each case entered into the system ...
Only 180 days after the close of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, the world gathers again for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. In honor of the celebration, we are resharing our quick guide of key things to keep in mind if you want to cheer on competitors at the Olympics as a business over the next few weeks. Whether you are an Official Sponsor or not, you should feel confident participating in the conversation ...
Here’s a fun conversation starter for lenders, borrowers and attorneys who regularly work on HUD-insured multifamily and health care facility loans: If HUD had a list of Ten Commandments for obtaining a HUD-insured loan, what would be Commandment No. 1? Most professionals in the HUD-insured loan universe would likely put the “first lien” requirement at or near the top of the list of Ten Commandments ...
Summary The 2022 proxy season will continue to be affected by the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be predominantly shaped by the landmark events of the 2021 proxy season, where ESG matters moved from unconventional to mainstream, and women held a historic amount of board seats of the Russell 3000 companies ...
Background VAS Holdings & Investments LLC v. Commissioner of Revenue, No. SJC-13139, currently on appeal before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, seeks to answer whether a state can tax a nondomiciliary on 100%—or any—of its capital gain derived from the sale of its interest in a subsidiary solely because the subsidiary did business in that state ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States lifted the injunction on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate).[1] Previously, injunctions were imposed by district courts in Missouri and Louisiana, and affirmed on appeal by the Eighth and Fifth Circuits, respectively, thereby prohibiting enforcement of the Mandate in 24 states ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued an order blocking enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring (among other things) employers of 100 or more employees to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or ensure unvaccinated employees are tested for COVID-19 weekly ...
Over the years, employers have become accustomed to the practice of an injured worker filing a request for compensation (typically an initial award or increase in permanent partial disability) or medical treatment days before the applicable statute of limitations in order to keep the claim alive. It has long been held that an application for such benefits tolls the statute of limitations while that issue is adjudicated before the Industrial Commission ...
On Dec. 22, 2021, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed “Esther’s Law,” allowing long-term care residents to install and use video cameras and recording devices in their rooms. The law is named for Esther “Mitzi” Piskor, who was a victim of elder abuse at a nursing home in Cleveland. Esther’s Law is intended to combat elder abuse and neglect and will likely lead to increased enforcement actions against Ohio nursing homes and long-term care facilities ...
With yet another recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, the need for additional health care practitioners in the state of Ohio continues to grow. Recognizing that this shortage will not be resolved in the near future, the Ohio General Assembly has eliminated another barrier for physicians with a prior history involving a substance use disorder to seek licensure in Ohio ...
On Dec. 14, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unexpectedly issued a letter to U.S. Senator Ron Widen (D-OR)[1] indicating that CMS plans to use its “administrative authority to issue proposed rulemaking” addressing price concessions and direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have increasingly charged to specialty and retail pharmacy providers in Medicare and other pharmacy benefit programs in recent years ...
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth across Ohio and the United States was steadily increasing. However, out of necessity over the last two years, telehealth has expanded exponentially in order to reduce risks of COVID-19 transmission to practitioners and patients alike. Nearly overnight, the health care community was forced to change the way services were accessed, delivered, and received ...
On Dec. 21, 2021, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a Health & Human Services (HHS) OIG Data Brief on genetic tests provided under Medicare Part B. The goal of the OIG in reviewing this data was “to analyze nationwide trends in genetic tests provided and payments made under Medicare Part B.”[1] As a result of this analysis, the OIG determined that there is a significant risk of overuse and misuse of genetic testing ...
On Dec. 17, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ended the injunction preventing enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The ETS requires that large employers must implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate or testing protocol ...
On Dec. 11, 2021, The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs will issue final regulations launching a new licensure and certification process for drug and recovery homes doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Each individual drug and recovery home operating in Pennsylvania must obtain a license and demonstrate compliance with the final regulations within 180 days of their issuance ...
Ohio has more than 2,300 athletic trainers. H.B. 176, signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on Oct. 27, 2021, updates the scope of practice for athletic trainers for the first time since 1991. These changes to Ohio’s athletic trainer scope of practice may create new opportunities for your business, facility or practice. Beginning Jan. 25, 2022, athletic trainers will be able to enter into collaboration agreements with physicians and podiatrists ...
On Nov. 30, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments from a coalition of hospital plaintiffs who are challenging Medicare’s nearly 30% reduction in outpatient drug reimbursement rates for 340B Program-participating hospitals ...
On Nov. 10, 2021, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding an advisory fees examination initiative (the Initiative). The Division of Examinations conducted 130 examinations of investment advisers focused on advisory fees, predominantly those charged to retail investors. This Risk Alert supplements the Advisory Fee Risk Alert issued by the Division of Examinations on April 12, 2018 ...
On Nov. 9, 2021, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding investment advisers providing automated digital investment advisory services to clients (robo-advisory services and robo-advisers). These robo-advisers either exclusively provide online services or supplement their traditional investment advisory services by using proprietary software, third-party software, or a combination thereof ...
The 2022 edition of The Trademark Lawyer magazine is out, and Dinsmore intellectual property lawyer Sara Suleiman is the author of its cover story. She wrote about the five crucial actions companies must take to to protect their brands in the age of counterfeit goods sold on social media. An excerpt is below. The advent of social media has permanently transformed the way products and services are marketed and sold ...
On Nov. 10, 2021, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding an advisory fees examination initiative (the Initiative). The Division of Examinations conducted 130 examinations of investment advisers focused on advisory fees, predominantly those charged to retail investors. This Risk Alert supplements the Advisory Fee Risk Alert issued by the Division of Examinations on April 12, 2018 ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate)[1] has been preliminarily enjoined[2] on a nationwide basis due to a Nov. 30, 2021, decision by Judge Terry A. Doughty of the Western District Court of Louisiana, Monroe Division. Among other conclusions, Judge Doughty stated that mandating vaccination of health care workers should be done by Congress, not a government agency, although he also questioned whether even Congress had such authority ...
On Nov. 17, 2021, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (the Notice) concerning its potential development of telepharmacy regulations ...
On Oct. 19, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that would establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. The rule came in response to President Joe Biden’s July 9 executive order, which among other things, calls for wide availability of low-cost hearing aids in order to promote economic competition ...
In order to continue addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on nursing home residents, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a memo updating guidance for nursing home visitation. You can read the full memo here. Early in the pandemic, CMS implemented visitation restrictions to mitigate the risk of visitors introducing COVID-19 to nursing homes. Now, CMS is updating its guidance and allowing visitation for residents at all times ...
