By: Liz Deckman and Joy Sellstrom

Seyfarth Synopsis: In August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived a challenge by Airlines for America (“A4A”), to San Francisco’s Healthy Airport Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which requires airlines that use the San Francisco International Airport, which the City runs, to provide enhanced health plan benefits to the airlines’ employees and their dependents. 

Continue Reading The Benefits of Flying into SFO; Employees Have Free Family Health Insurance – For Now

By Parnian Vafaeenia and Jonathan L. Brophy

Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 14, 2023, the California legislature passed S.B. 525, which will raise minimum wages for health care workers across the state. The bill includes five separate minimum wage schedules for covered health care employees depending on the nature, size, and structure of the employer’s business. Unless Governor Newsom

Continue Reading Paging Healthcare Workers! California Legislature Passes Bill Raising Minimum Wages

Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth’s Health Care industry group is pleased to release the 2023-2024 edition of our 50-State Survey of Health Care Information Privacy Laws.

There are several resources available on how federal rules such as HIPAA may apply to sharing personal health information. However, there are far fewer resources on how state privacy laws apply. Meanwhile, the challenge to

Continue Reading Now Available! 50-State Survey of Health Care Information Privacy Laws (2023-2024 Edition)

By Nancy ChawlaBen ConleyCaroline PieperJoy Sellstrom, and Joel Wilde

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires group health plans and insurers to cover treatments for mental health and substance use disorders in a manner that is equitable to the plans’ coverage of medical and surgical treatments. Exactly how

Continue Reading Mental Health Compliance Report Issued to Congress Spoiler Alert – Plans All Fail

By Julia Tape and Linda C. Schoonmaker,

Seyfarth Synopsis: Workplace violence costs employers billions of dollars per year. More importantly, these incidents can cause immense physical and psychological harms to employees. The consequences of these harms impact productivity and morale, and can lead to individuals leaving the workforce. Compared to other job sectors, professionals working in the healthcare industry

Continue Reading Texas Takes the Lead in Addressing Workplace Violence in Healthcare Facilities

By Adam R. YoungMelissa A. Ortega, A. Scott HeckerJames L. CurtisBrent I. ClarkBenjamin D. Briggs, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 11, 2022, the CDC, through a press release, eased its COVID-19 guidance to “help us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer
Continue Reading CDC Eases COVID-19 Guidelines

By Adam R. Young, Brent I. Clark, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal OSHA is rolling out an aggressive COVID-19 enforcement program to inspect “high hazard” employers, as well as re-inspect those healthcare employers who have received COVID-19 complaints in the past. 

In March 2022 at the ABA OSHA conference, OSHA enforcement leadership publicly declared the “COVID-19
Continue Reading COVID-19 “Endemic” is Not Over: OSHA is Opening New COVID-19 Programmed Inspections

By Daniel B. Klein, Christina Duszlak, and Alex J. Reganata

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Insurance has announced that the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“MEPSL”) will expire on March 15, 2022.  Employers have until April 29, 2022 to file their applications for reimbursements.

On May 28, 2021, a temporary Massachusetts law providing
Continue Reading Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Will Expire On March 15th

By James L. Curtis, Brent I. ClarkMark A. LiesAdam YoungPatrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that “U.S. healthcare workers experienced a staggering 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates in 2020, based on employer-reported data, as
Continue Reading OSHA To Address Soaring Injury Rates at Healthcare Facilities

By Adam R. YoungMelissa A. Ortega, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 28, 2021, an amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act passed the Illinois General Assembly and made its way to Governor Pritzker’s desk. The amendment creates a COVID-19 carve-out, but it will not go into effect until June 1,
Continue Reading A Swing and a Miss: Right to Conscience Objections to COVID-19 Vaccinations to Endure Until June 2022