On November 26, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) published guidance on the two methods for de-identifying protected health information (“PHI”) in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule ...
The Quebec Court of Appeal rendered an important decision on the legality of termination of employment for some 190 employees of the Wal-Mart store in Jonquière. In the context of several proceedings which were filed to obtain compensation for those job losses, the United Food and Commercial Workers, local 503 (hereinafter the "Union") argued that the store's closure in April 2005 was contrary to section 59 of the Labour Code (hereinafter the "L.C.") ...
Since the adoption of Bill C-451 amending certain provisions of the Criminal Code in march of 2004,2 employers have had to take on increased responsibility in the area of occupational health and safety. Indeed, the effect of sections 22.1 and 217.1 of the Criminal Code is to facilitate the laying of criminal negligence charges in cases involving the health and safety of workers. Section 217 ...
The rapid growth of the hospice industry has attracted the attention of Congress and federal and state healthcare regulatory and enforcement agencies. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”), signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, included several provisions aimed at hospice providers ...
On Wednesday, October 3rd., it was published in the Official Gazette the provisional suspension issued by the Constitutional Court of Section 180, 4., of Decree 10-2012 which abrogated the withholding exemption contained in Section 12 of Decree 80-2000 ...
Temporary Suspension of the Definition of Pension Plans (employees' deductible expenses) as those approved by the “Corresponding Authority” Provisional Suspension of mandatory use of Banking System to evidence Payments and Disbursements of Expenses Higher than Q.30,000.00 In the past, the Tax Administration questioned on a case by case basis Pension Plans administered by private Banks, as employees´ deductible expense ...
According to the provisions of Law 18,131, as of December 31 of each year, all taxpayers should compare the contributions actually made to the National Health Fund ( hereinafter "FONASA" ) with the annual cap filler ( hereinafter "STOP ANNUAL " ) ...
Article 63 of Government Regulation Number 74 of 2011 on The Procedures for Exercising Tax Rights and Fulfilling Tax Obligations (“Regulation 74/2011”) mandates the promulgation of a Minister of Finance (MOF) Regulation on the suspension of a tax crime investigation ...
On Monday October 29, 2012 the B.C. Property Assessment Appeal Board released an important decision reducing the assessed value for property tax of the upland land and improvements at the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal to a nominal value ...
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Cole, 2012 SCC 53 may have a significant impact on how employers manage the use of digital devices in the workplace. While a constitutional and criminal decision at its core, the case nevertheless recognizes the importance of employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy when using work computers and other digital devices. In Cole, the accused was a high school teacher who was issued a laptop computer by his employer ...
The constitutional right to privacy was discussed in the decision promulgated on 18 October 2011 by the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) in the case of Briccio “Ricky” A. Pollo v. Chairperson Karina Constantino-David, et al. (G.R. No ...
The use of social media is now a fact of life, but many employers are struggling to keep up with the consequences of rapid technological change.Technology develops fast: it is hard to believe that Twitter has only been with us since 2006. The law moves more slowly and regulating new employee behaviours within the existing legal framework can be a challenge ...
In an article published in the 09 August 2012 issue of Law Technology News, lawyer and media consultant Robert J. Ambrogi of Massachusetts gave some tips to keep social networking in line with ethics. First, remember that the same rules apply. Blogs, social networks, Twitter, and the like remain relatively new forms of media, but the same old ethical rules apply. Second, do not betray client confidences ...
The General Medical Council has issued definitive guidance on doctors' duties when they fear a child in their care is suffering from abuse. The GMC's 2012 Guidance on Child Protection came into effect on 3 September 2012 after a two-year working group - chaired by a senior family court Judge, the Right Honourable Lord Justice Thorpe - listened to evidence given by child protection experts ...
On 15 October 2012, the Federal Government announced the appointment of an expert panel to review pharmaceutical patents in Australia (Review). The Review will focus particularly on the extension of term provisions in Chapter 6, Part 3 of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth). Those provisions currently allow the extension of pharmaceutical patents up to five years beyond their standard 20-year term ...
With election fever in full swing, you might expect governing to take a back seat to politics. However, on September 28, 2012, President Obama signed Senate Bill 3245 into law. Senate Bill 3245 renews four U.S. Department of Homeland Security-administered programs, including E-Verify and the EB-5 Regional Center program. As such, both programs have been extended by three years from their original termination dates of September 30, 2012 to September 30, 2015 ...
Temporary Suspension of the Definition of Pension Plans (employees' deductible expenses) as those approved by the “Corresponding Authority” Provisional Suspension of mandatory use of Banking System to evidence Payments and Disbursements of Expenses Higher than Q.30,000 ...
On Wednesday, October 3rd., it was published in the Official Gazette the provisional suspension issued by the Constitutional Court of Section 180, 4., of Decree 10-2012 which abrogated the withholding exemption contained in Section 12 of Decree 80-2000 ...
Last summer, North Carolina adopted into law "An Act to Require Counties, Cities and Employers to Use the Federal E-Verify Program to Verify the Work Authorization of Newly Hired Employees" (the "Act"). What this means to private employers is that depending on the size of your workforce, you may be required to use the E-Verify program for all hiring. Effective October 1, 2012, all North Carolina employers with more than 500 employees must use the E-Verify program ...
Overview of the Mining Activity in Portugal: In 2010, there were 56 mines in operation across the country. In the same year, a total volume of 4,664,978 tons of mineral resources was produced and the export volume was of € 735 million[1]. These are impressive data from the Government evidencing a growing sector of activity ...
Currently a large part of politicians, economists and lawyers are working hard to ensure that a recent Lithuania’s bank bankruptcy story would not repeat itself. Sometimes people still associate the term “bank” with instability, possibility to lose something or lack of transparent governing. Maybe this is the reason why there are no biobanks in Lithuanian which are widespread in the EU and other countries of the world ...
On September 17, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a $1.5 million settlement with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates Inc. (“MEEI”) for potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule ...
On June 14, 2012, the Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed the validity of the second paragraph of section 56 of the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases1 (hereinafter the “AIAOD” or the “Act”)2. Although this paragraph establishes a distinction based on age, the Court of Appeal is of the opinion that it is neither invalid nor discriminatory. The Court came to this conclusion in particular because the appellant, Mr ...
