On July 10, 2020, in United States v. Ruan, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions of two Alabama doctors for running an opiate “pill mill.” Among many other things, the government charged that the doctors used “incident to” billing to charge Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama under the doctor’s identification for visits conducted entirely by nurse practitioners, which that insurer (unlike some others) prohibited under its policy ...
An application software (app) is a program designed to help customers perform particular activities. These apps, which are usually on our electronic devices, are used to control several things ranging from health & fitness, music, movies, online shopping, gaming to mobile money transfers and even household appliances. In this article, our Davidson Oturu, breaks down the IP considerations app developers should note ...
On 9 July 2020, the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2019 (Bill) was passed at the Legislative Council. The Bill introduces amendments to the Employment Ordinance (Ordinance) to extend the statutory maternity leave period from 10 weeks to 14 weeks, and technical amendments to rationalise the current statutory maternity leave regime (Amendments). We summarise the effect of the Amendments as follows: Current position New position 1 ...
U.S. Trademark laws are based on the premise that rights in a trademark exist so long as the mark is continuously used in interstate commerce. Once you cease use of the mark without an intention of resuming such use, the mark may be subject to cancellation or abandonment by a third party ...
By: John Epperson San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed an Emergency Ordinance on July 7 entitled “Cleaning and Disease Prevention Standards in Tourist Hotels and Large Commercial Office Buildings” (the “EO”). The EO is expected to be signed by the Mayor and go into effect soon ...
Key Points The Supreme Court's upcoming decision regarding the Affordable Care Act could render its tax provisions retroactively unconstitutional. Depending on the outcome, there is a potential opportunity for refunds on open tax years for taxpayers who paid the net investment income tax and additional Medicare tax. For most taxpayers, the deadline for a protective claim of refund on a 2016 tax return, filed without extensions, is July 15, 2020 ...
The Ninth Circuit Holds that Callers are Subject to TCPA Liability if the Callers Intend to Make Automated Calls to a Consenting Customer, but Instead Call Someone Else Introduction On June 3, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dealt a blow to callers governed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) ...
With the exit from lockdown in full swing, many companies are recalling their staff to the workplace. This article answers 10 FAQs that employers, business managers and HR specialists must consider during employees' return to work. FAQs Must employers respect health and safety measures on their employees' return to work and, if so, which ones?Yes, to the extent possible, social distancing (ie, maintaining a distance between people of at least 1 ...
On July 3rd, 2020, Supreme Decree No. 18/2020 of the Ministry of Labor and Social Securitywas published,approving the regulation of Article 152 quater M of the Labor Code, establishing specific health and safety conditions at work applicable for employees rendering services in regimes of remote work or telework (hereinafter, the “Regulation”) ...
With the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) since 18 March 2020, the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) as well as the Recovery Movement Control Order, the Government has issued a number of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic ...
Introduction The Covid-19 global pandemic which has swept the globe and caused many countries to introduce various degrees of lock down measures has given rise to various issues and scenarios which an employer must deal with and manage. This is no different for employers in Malaysia where the Government has implemented the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) since 18 March 2020 which saw the economic activity brought to a halt ...
As is painfully obvious to even the most casual of observers, the COVID-19 public health emergency has been disruptive to all industries. And, the healthcare industry has been at the epicenter of this disruption. Nonetheless, not all disruption is negative. One bright spot for many healthcare practitioners during this public health crisis has been the emergence and normalization of telehealth ...
As is painfully obvious to even the most casual of observers, the COVID-19 public health emergency has been disruptive to all industries. And, the healthcare industry has been at the epicenter of this disruption. Nonetheless, not all disruption is negative. One bright spot for many healthcare practitioners during this public health crisis has been the emergence and normalization of telehealth ...
The glacial pace at which the federal government has implemented cannabis policy–particularly in light of the rapid evolution of cannabis laws at the state level–is at the same time predictable and frustrating to those seeking a measure of certainty ...
Setting the right standard to ensure compliance with the technical and organizational safeguards for data security required under Art. 32 GDPR is a challenge for many companies when it comes to electronic communications – not least e-mail. The German Conference of Independent German Federal and State Data Protection Supervisory Authorities (DSK) has issued guidance on the topic. The guidance represents a majority resolution of the German states, with Bavaria dissenting ...
The impact on human health of the global pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the resulting disease termed COVID-19 cannot be overstated. Not since the influenza pandemic of 1918 have so many regions of the world been so acutely impacted by a single pathogen. Society in 2020 has the advantage of a more sophisticated biotechnology industry. Testing is considered crucial in controlling (or at least mitigating) the pandemic, and tests from several companies have become widely available ...
How successfully a business emerges following this pandemic will depend to a great extent on how quickly it identifies and implements long term necessary changes. Nobody is yet clear what the post-Covid-19 world will look like. It is possible that things revert back to the way they were quicker than anyone imagines. That said, it is very difficult to imagine no lasting or consequential changes to the way we work or live ...
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has adopted a statement on restrictions on data subject rights in connection with the state of emergency in Member States. The EDPB emphasises that, despite the international crisis, the GDPR remains applicable and allows an efficient response to the pandemic, while still protecting fundamental rights and freedoms. The EDPB’s statement was made in response to a Hungarian government decree dated 4 May 2020 ...
Many jurisdictions have put in place legislation to regulate merger activities. There have been discussions that it is high time for Malaysia to implement a general merger control regime under the Malaysian Competition Act 2010. As it presently stands, general merger activities which do not fall within two specific sectors (will be discussed below) are not regulated and no prior sanction is required from the Competition Commission before a merger transaction takes place ...
This new Workplaces Manual covers all General Preventative Measures set for the by the following: Governmental Agreement 79-2020 Ministerial Agreement 146-2020 Presidential provisions in force Provisions of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance Guide to the identification of occupational hazards by Covid-19 and preventive measures in the workplace - IGSS Regulation of Occupational Health and Safety The Manual covers the specifics of all factors involved in halting
On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) broadened its guidance on who’s at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions and age. Under the new guidance, the CDC departs from previous guidance stating that only individuals over 65 years of age were at increased risk of COVID-19 due to age, and now states that risk from severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age ...