The aging of the U.S. workforce poses some unique challenges for employers in the healthcare industry. Older clinicians often possess experience and institutional knowledge that is highly valued and difficult to replace, and many such providers deliver excellent care into their late 60s and beyond. On the other hand, there may sometimes be legitimate concerns that some older workers are prone to physical and cognitive impairment or diminished competence, which can impact quality, lead to poor performance, and pose a risk to patient safety.
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 employers, this decision illustrates that plaintiffs’ lawyers remain eager to challenge various aspects of timekeeping practices that arise frequently in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
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 exposed to Ebola Virus Disease?
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) and subsequent regulations have changed several aspects of compliance with HIPAA, including the way covered entities should think about misuses of Protected Health Information (PHI).
When a misuse of PHI occurs, HIPAA requires covered entities to conduct a thorough, good-faith analysis to determine whether the misuse rises to the level of a breach. A “breach” is the unauthorized acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of unsecured PHI which compromises the security or privacy of such information.
The long-term-care industry depends on shift workers to provide patient care 24 hours per day, seven days per week. But even experienced and sophisticated employers can find the application of state and federal labor and employment laws particularly challenging in a shift-work setting. This article will identify a few common pitfalls and provide strategies for avoiding them.