Earlier this year the European Commission published a draft Withdrawal Brexit Agreement. It is a draft treaty to embody the key principles from the Joint Report of the Commission and the UK on the first three elements of the Brexit negotiations (i.e., People, Ireland and Money - the "PIM" Phase). The draft Agreement sets out a roadmap for the EU's vision of the withdrawal process.This is a negotiating move by the EU - it is not an agreed draft. It is a move by the EU in the Brexit chess match ...
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the scope of the Dodd-Frank Act's anti-retaliation measures. The decision resolved a split in authority by excluding from Dodd-Frank's whistleblower protections those persons reporting suspected violations only within their companies. In reversing the Ninth Circuit, the Court held that "Dodd-Frank's anti-retaliation provision does not extend to an individual who has not reported a violation of the securities laws to the SEC ...
READ: SEC Enforcement Division Announcement On February 12, 2018, the SEC Division of Enforcement announced the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative self-reporting initiative (the SCSD Initiative) ...
Earlier this year the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) was implemented in all 29 participating states including Colorado, West Virginia and Kentucky. Illinois[1] and Michigan[2] are among the states with current legislation pending to adopt the eNLC, while Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California and a handful of other states do not yet have pending legislation ...
The State Medical Board of Ohio (Medical Board) recently released proposed rules that will create a non-disciplinary, confidential monitoring program for licensees with mental or physical illnesses. Historically, licensees with a mental or physical illness could not only be subject to formal disciplinary action pursuant to the Medical Board’s rules, but the licensee’s mental or physical illness became public information as a result of the disciplinary process ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) has announced its 2018 examination priorities. The 2018 priorities provide insight into what activities OCIE believes present the highest risks to investors and, as such, what the examiners will be highlighting during their examinations of registered entities this year ...
As the new year started, two Department of Justice memoranda began circulating that may bring a change in the way the United States focuses its efforts in the FCA arena. The first, entitled, “Factors for Evaluating Dismissal Pursuant to 31 U.S.C ...
On February 7, 2018 the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued the 2018 National Exam Program Examination Priorities. In introducing the examination priorities for 2018, OCIE describes the four pillars upon which the work of OCIE is based: promoting compliance; preventing fraud; identifying and monitoring risk; and informing policy. OCIE includes in the examination priorities factual data relating to the increase in examinations of investment advisers ...
IN THIS ISSUE: SEC Releases Update to 2018 Agenda of Regulatory Priorities The SEC Enforcement Division’s Initiatives Regarding Retail Investor Protection and Cybersecurity ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS: F-Squared Investment, Inc ...
Municipal Advisor Exam Results On November 7, the SEC’s National Examination Program issued a Risk Alert providing the SEC staff’s observations after conducting over 110 examinations of municipal advisors during the Municipal Advisor Examination Initiative ...
Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), a provider of products and services for people with chronic kidney failure, has agreed to pay $3.5 million to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and adopt a comprehensive corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules ...
The State Medical Board of Ohio recently proposed amendments to the existing regulations governing light-based medical devices (lasers), which will significantly impact the provision of laser services in Ohio. While the proposal adds a new category to existing delegation authority, it also imposes new regulatory requirements to existing delegation authority which will impact Ohio physicians providing laser services ...
We previously reported on oral arguments before the Supreme Court regarding which court has original jurisdiction to hear challenges to the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) definition. On January 22, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense that only district courts have original jurisdiction to hear such challenges ...
Personnel Season is fast approaching for county boards of education. Personnel offices are busy ensuring proper notices are sent to impacted employees, employees are afforded hearings before a reduction or transfer is acted upon by the board, and board of education agendas are legally compliant. At the same time, personnel offices are receiving early notice of year-end retirements from classroom teachers. W. V a ...
Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), large employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents) must report annually to the IRS information about the health coverage offered to their full-time employees during the prior year using IRS Form 1095-C. The IRS uses the forms to assess whether an employer "shared responsibility" penalty applies. Employers also must provide copies of the forms to their full-time employees ...
A new requirement will be introduced shortly that will affect all applications for employment visas. At the start of 2018, a Good Conduct and Behavior Certificate must be submitted along with the other supporting documents when an employer seeks to sponsor a residence visa for a new employee who is not a UAE national. It appears that the requirement will apply throughout the UAE, including the nation’s many free zones ...
On November 27, 2017, at the 34th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a revised FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, which purports to lend certainty for companies grappling with the question of whether to voluntarily disclose violations. This new policy comes on the heels of the year and-a-half long FCPA Pilot Program ...
Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), along with co-sponsors Sen. Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Burr (R-NC), Sen. Peters (D-MI), Sen. Rubio (R-FL), and Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN), introduced the “Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017” (FIRRMA) November 8, 2017. This proposed bill, and a companion bill of the same name introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep ...
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed rules to expand access to “Association Health Plans” for small businesses that are unaffiliated, but are in the same line of business or geographic area. An “Association Health Plan” or “AHP” is a group health plan adopted by members of an employer association to provide health coverage for their employees ...
Why is April 2, 2018 Important? April 2, 2018 is the first day on which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year beginning October 1, 2018 ...
Parents seeking to enroll their children in schools located in another county are required to comply with the statutory requirements of W. Va. Code 18-5-16(b) and WVDE Policy 7212. Step One: The parent must first obtain the consent of the sending county board and the receiving county board. The WVDE in the past has recommended parents make the requests to the sending and receiving counties at the same time. Step Two: The sending county must approve the request ...
The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) recently issued guidelines to address safety and health issues faced by workers who, by the nature of their work, have to stand or sit for long periods. The DOLE noted that the wearing of high heeled shoes and/or standing at work for long periods or even frequent walking lead to health issues such as strain on the lower limbs, aching muscles, hazardous pressure on the hip, knee and ankle joints and sore feet ...
Originally filed in October 2014, the long-running and high-stakes battle between two powerhouse companies, Amgen and Sandoz, continues to lay out the ground rules for a growing biosimilar industry. The Federal Circuit’s first decision under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) involved Zarxio, Sandoz’s Neupogen biosimilar product. Amgen v. Sandoz, 794 F.3d 1347 (Fed Cir. 2015) ...
Earlier this year, Decree No. 1 of the Ministry of Health (herein, the "Decree") was published on the Official Gazette. The Decree sets forth the graphic characteristics of the message for the promotion of healthy life habits that must be included in the advertisement of foodstuff products established in Article 5 of Law No. 20,606 -those that qualify as "High in" one or more critical nutrients- made through mass communication ...
How new technologies and changing consumer expectations is signaling disruption to the health industry and the importance of finding ways to better measure and translate patient satisfaction and outcomes. Do you know if your clinician is doing a good job? What about the track record of your surgeon? Should you be entitled to know as a consumer? The industry is being disrupted – no longer is the family GP the dispenser of all health advice ...
