As the gig economy surges, on-demand workers are popping up in wider variety of industries. Trends indicate that the proportion of the U.S. workforce engaging in some form of gig arrangement will continue to increase, rising...more
1/3/2020
/ Continuity of Care ,
Employee Retention ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Nurses ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Wage and Hour
When it comes to physician employment agreements, non-compete provisions can be controversial and tricky. The use of these agreements is nonetheless increasing and evolving as hospitals and other groups try to protect their...more
The burgeoning gig economy helps companies attract talent and gain new levels of nimbleness in support of efforts to satisfy customers and gain an edge on the competition. The gig relationship is obviously attractive to many....more
As we reported just a few weeks ago, Congress has begun to gather information and consider the “future of work,” with considerable emphasis on the role of the gig economy. Although this emergency economy is growing rapidly,...more
11/12/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
A New York federal judge just struck down a rule that was about to permit the government to withhold federal funds from healthcare providers that don’t allow workers to refuse to perform procedures because they violate their...more
When railroad crossing lights flash and whistles blare, everyone knows to stop, look, and listen. Those signals represent a warning, not a permanent roadblock to proceeding. The same is often true of workplace controversies....more
11/5/2019
/ Corrective Actions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Medical Leave ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Investigations
When dealing with a difficult adversary, sage advice suggests that one should consider “killing them with kindness.” That advice does not work out well, however, when healthcare managers are too kind when addressing (or...more
When a medical or mental condition prevents an employee from working at full capacity, the situation can quickly become complicated for everyone, including the employee, human resources leaders, and well-intentioned...more
2/13/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Best Practices ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Job Duties ,
Medical Leave ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Even though the #MeToo movement has rightfully commanded overwhelming attention during the past year or so, supervisors cannot afford to lose sight of their substantial legal duties in complying with the Americans with...more
11/7/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Caregivers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Duties ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Patient Safety ,
Physicians ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave
Most people probably do not enjoy sitting in a doctor’s reception area with other coughing and sneezing people while waiting for an appointment, or devoting hours to getting a prescription refilled. The concept of...more
2/9/2018
/ Best Practices ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
OSHA ,
Physicians ,
Provider-Sponsored Health Plan (PSHP) ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
It is always unpleasant for a healthcare entity or medical practice to have to sever ties with an employed physician, but it is sometimes necessary. Perhaps the physician has committed serious policy violations or lost an...more
11/6/2017
/ Continuity of Care ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Records ,
Notification Requirements ,
Physicians ,
Poor Job Performance ,
Severance Pay ,
Termination ,
Workplace Communication
Today’s workplace is fraught with legal traps for well-intentioned but unwary managers. But one issue stands out far above the rest as perhaps the single biggest employee challenge in today’s workplace: malingering employees...more
8/14/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Confidential Communications ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interactive Process ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Notification Requirements ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Driven by a scarcity of qualified talent and the need for their companies to be increasingly agile and cost-effective, human resources (HR) leaders are increasing their focus on and preparing to embrace the mounting gig...more
As a healthcare employer, it must be tempting to want to develop rigid workplace rules that will help newbie bosses reach conclusions almost automatically, especially where the best nurses or techs often become supervisors...more
2/10/2017
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
Dress Codes ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitals ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Willful Misconduct
As most in the healthcare industry know, the United States Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues its scrutiny of the industry. According to OSHA, more workers are injured in the...more
Lessons To Be Learned For Organizing Campaigns -
For the first time in American labor law history, a jury found that a union defamed and disparaged an employer while waging a bitter organizing campaign, costing the...more
In our last edition of the Healthcare Update, we reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had filed a June 2016 lawsuit against that Baystate Medical Center in Massachusetts, claiming that the employer...more
In its continuing effort to press employers to accommodate workers under a variety of circumstances, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently sued a Massachusetts hospital over its flu shot policy. The June...more
A putative class action case, alleging that online food delivery service GrubHub misclassified its drivers, has survived a motion to dismiss and will proceed in California federal court. Noting that GrubHub’s view of the...more
Each new headline in the news describing the latest workplace violence tragedy reminds managers and human resources executives of their tremendous responsibilities in attempting to help prevent such senseless acts....more
As shifting privacy lines allow employers to reach further and further into employee conduct, it’s increasingly important that you know the legal limits. Many employees will question the legality of increased employer...more
A federal judge has scuttled key aspects of the U.S. Labor Department's (DOL's) rule that would have extended the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime requirements to many home care workers. The rule...more
A federal judge has scuttled key aspects of the U.S. Department of Labor's rule that would have extended the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum-wage and overtime requirements to many home care workers starting January...more
How should an employer respond when it learns that an employee is planning a trip to West Africa to visit family? What if other employees refuse to come to work because they fear that the returning employee may have been...more
In August, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit affirmed dismissal of five purported class or collective actions brought against a number of healthcare systems and their affiliates. Although favorable for the...more