On March 30, 2020, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services ("Secretary") announced a blanket waiver ("Waiver") of sanctions for violations of Section 1877 of the Social Security Act, also known as the physician self-referral law or Stark law ("Stark Law") ...
On December 23, 2018, new State Medical Board of Ohio regulations became effective which marked another change in the legal standards governing provider use of opiates for treatment of pain ...
The CRMA seeks to encourage Member States towards undertaking Strategic Mineral Projects, focusing on essential minerals like Copper, Titanium, Nickel (battery grade), Lithium (battery grade), and Rare Earth Elements for magnets. The overarching objective is to enhance the EU’s extraction capacity and become less dependent on suppliers from outside the EU ...
The Pensions Regulator's General Code could be published any day now, but what is it, and why has it been so delayed? Back in March Charles Counsell, then CEO of the Pensions Regulator (TPR) confirmed in an interview with Pensions Age Magazine that the long anticipated consolidated code of practice would be published in the spring, under the new title of the “General Code” ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") continues its diligent examination of the Serbian competitive landscape in specific industries, this time with inquiries in two more industries – sportswear (including footwear and sporting equipment) and oil (petroleum products). Once again, the aim behind the market test was to identify potential issues on the relevant markets and provide broader insight into the functioning of the relevant markets ...
Special Economic Zones (“SEZs”) are geographically designated areas within a country that are set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems to promote industrial development. An SEZ is meant to be an economic development tool to promote rapid economic growth by using various support measures to attract targeted foreign and domestic investments and technology ...
Following the South African President’s speech on 15 March 2020 that a national state of disaster has been declared in terms of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a number of measures were implemented to counteract the impact of the virus by the South African Government. We cover below the legal implications of some of these measures, particularly the repayment of bookings and data protection ...
On 15 March 2020, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. This declaration will enable government to have an integrated and coordinated disaster management mechanism that will focus on preventing and reducing the outbreak of Covid-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus. The president announced measures that South Africa will take to prevent and control of the Coronavirus ...
The trade mark laws of the world are, by and large, fairly well harmonised, or at least well on their way to becoming so. Which makes perfect sense in an era where multinational companies operate in a global village – a multinational should ideally get the same protection for its brand in all the countries where it operates. It is for this reason that South African trade mark law offers the same sort of protection to trade mark owners that many other countries offer ...
At their core, the Regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 issued and brought into operation yesterday, 18 March 2020, outline the responsibilities of all government departments, the release and allocation of resources, and the conditions under which liquor industry may function. In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic being declared a national state of disaster, the Regulations are intended to contain the spread of the virus ...
This article is an updated version of the article published on 16 March 2020. On 15 March 2020, South African President Ramaphosa announced the declaration of a national state of disaster, as a result of the recent events surrounding the rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in South Africa. The declaration of a national disaster was made in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (the "DMA") ...
In Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Entertainment Software Association1 (the ?SOCAN Decision?), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on the obligation to pay a royalty for making a work available to the public on a server, where it can later be streamed or downloaded ...
Overview If you are thinking about outsourcing manufacturing but have no idea where to start, or if you are already sourcing your product overseas but running into complications, this book, So You Need To OutSource A Product?, will provide some helpful guidelines on navigating the process. You probably already know this, but it bears repeating: Manufacturing outsourcing raises profit margins, improves inventory management, and gets new products to market faster ...
Last week, Governor Snyder wrote Michigan's congressional delegation to stress the importance of fully funding upgrades to the Soo Locks. Snyder urged Congress to replace the Davis and Sabin Locks with a single, larger lock that would provide redundancy should the Poe Lock fail. The Poe Lock is currently the only lock capable of handling the 1,000-foot freighters used to transport raw materials like iron ore ...
Introduction In 2023, where do we stand in terms of liability where smart products are concerned? The rules governing product liability set out in the Civil Code of Québec were introduced early in the 20th century in response to the industrial revolution and the growing number of workplace accidents attributable to tool failures ...
Key Points As of January 2022, CMS is posting each skilled nursing home's weekend staffing levels and staff turnover rates on its public-facing Care Compare website. This information will be used in the Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System and will affect facilities' Five Star ratings starting in July 2022 ...
Beginning July 1, 2019, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) is requiring all Ohio managed care plans to make room and board payments directly to hospice providers when hospice services are provided to individuals residing at skilled nursing facilities (SNF) ...
Skilled nursing facilities have faced unprecedented challenges since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Individuals with many high-risk characteristics are the typical patients of these facilities. Add to this, necessarily close proximity of these patients, scarcity of personal protective equipment and shortage of testing common across the healthcare industry, and you have a perfect storm of increased risk with limited options for mitigation ...
On July 16, 2014, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that a “health care provider can bring the Medicare Secondary Payer Act’s (“MSP’s”) private cause of action against a non-group health plan that denies coverage for a reason besides Medicare eligibility.” In Michigan Spine & Brain Surgeons, PLLC v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the Court clarified a key holding in its prior decision in Bio-Medical Applications of Tennessee, Inc. v ...
In January 2020 the first signs of Covid-19 were of a commercial nature. Business activity related to China – which is a large part of the maritime industry in Asia – started slowing down considerably. Projects experienced delays, new ventures were postponed and a general slowdown could be felt throughout the maritime business world. As February and March came around, the first Covid-19 cases started being reported in Singapore ...
Aron Beezley of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP enumerates the key impacts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council's final rule adopting mandates of the executive order Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council recently issued a final rule1 that implements the requirements of the Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials Executive Order ...
Part of the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the condition labelled ‘long-covid’. This is still a relatively new condition that remains under study, but symptoms include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, loss of smell and muscle aches. Some people experience further complications and suffer memory problems known as ‘brain fog,’ difficulty sleeping, dizziness, depression and anxiety ...
In the tough times of battling the coronavirus, many tenants are seeking ways to reduce their rent, release themselves from the obligation to pay rent, or avoid other obligations under their existing leases ...
Following a landmark judgment issued this week, every local council in England must now keep to fixed legal time limits when reviewing the needs of children and young people with special educational needs. The annual review process involving Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans will now be subject to strict timelines following R (L,M, and P, v Devon County Council [2022] EWHC 493 (Admin). EHC plans, which must be reviewed annually, will now have to be reviewed within 12 weeks ...
