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HIPAA Gets a Potential Counterpart in HISAA

"[The Health Infrastructure Security and Accountability Act (HISAA)] looks to reshape how healthcare organizations address cybersecurity by enacting mandatory minimum security standards to protect healthcare information and by providing initial financial support to facilitate compliance.... HISAA in an effort to bring the patchwork of healthcare data security standards under one minimum umbrella and to require healthcare organizations to remain on top of software systems and cybersecurity standards." [Legislative text and one-page summary]

Update to the Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption (QPAM)

"QPAMs must now maintain records demonstrating compliance with the Exemption for six years from the date of any transaction relying on the Exemption and must make these records available to various regulatory agencies and certain benefit plan fiduciaries, contributing employers, and plan participants upon request."

Update to the Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption

"Current QPAMs must send a one-time email notice to the DOL no later than December 14, 2024, in order to rely on the Exemption ... QPAMs must now maintain records demonstrating compliance with the Exemption for six years from the date of any transaction relying on the Exemption and must make these records available to various regulatory agencies and certain benefit plan fiduciaries, contributing employers, and plan participants upon request. "

Lawsuits Lead to Inconsistent Judicial Rulings Regarding the FTC's Noncompete Ban

"Employers should remain mindful that the notice requirement does not apply to the Rule's enumerated exceptions. That is, employers do not need to deliver notice to workers [1] who are considered highly compensated senior executives (as defined in the Rule) with existing noncompetes or [2] entered into a noncompete pursuant to the bona-fide sale of a business. Employers likewise do not need to deliver notice to a worker in a situation where causes of action related to an existing noncompete accrued before the final rule."

FTC's Noncompete Ban Will Be Effective September 4

"The final rule was published in the Federal Register on May 8, 2024, and the FTC notes that its expected effective date is therefore September 4, 2024.... [T]he rule's effective date is employers' deadline to comply with the rule's notice requirement.... The final rule includes model language to assist employers in sending compliant notices to applicable workers, which can be delivered to workers via hand delivery, regular mail, email, and even text messages."

Wellness Programs as Alternative to Employer Vaccine Mandates (PDF)

"Employers seeking to increase employee vaccinations [may] explore using their health care wellness programs to incentivize vaccinations, but this approach has limitations and introduces other considerations."

Flexibility for Flex Accounts: Congress Provides New Relief to Employees

"Employers who implement these changes will likely experience higher costs due to reduced forfeitures and changes in plan administration. Additionally, changes to health FSAa could adversely affect the participant's eligibility to contribute (or receive contributions) to a health savings account."

Plan Fiduciaries: You Have No Right to Vote

"[T]he final regulations specify a plan fiduciary is not required to (and, should not) vote every proxy. Rather, when deciding whether to vote proxies and when actually exercising such rights, the plan fiduciary must act solely in accordance with the economic interest of the plan and consider any costs involved (including costs of research).... [T]he plan fiduciary cannot absolve itself of all fiduciary responsibility related to proxy voting merely by delegating such authority to a third party."

The Retailization of Healthcare (PDF)

"Population health initiatives are attempting to shift the focus of healthcare from simply treating sick people to proactively keeping entire populations of people well, while at the same time reducing costs of delivering care. In order to achieve these goals, providers are being forced to pay attention to patient satisfaction metrics and are beginning to provide healthcare services in more comfortable and convenient environments. This means diverting many traditional non-acute healthcare services away from the acute care setting and into comfortable and easily accessible buildings in the neighborhoods where their patients live and work."

Cybersecurity: Don't Become a Different Kind of Victim

"A former broker at a national brokerage firm was recently sanctioned by FINRA after accepting instructions to transfer assets out of a client account.... The instructions were actually sent by an imposter who had obtained access to the client's account, presumably through some form of cyber-crime. Unfortunately, the broker unwittingly contributed to the imposter's malfeasance by not only accepting the instructions but by also taking pro-active steps to circumvent his brokerage firm's controls."