Articles
Home Care Developments – NYS Governor’s Budget
Yesterday’s publication of the Governor’s Budget kicks off what promises to be an exciting Budget season for anyone in healthcare. In no particular order, below are the Proposals contained in the Governor’s Memorandum in Support of the Health and Mental Hygiene sections of the Budget: If you’d like to read up on any of these proposals, please […]
Gov. Hochul’s Executive Budget Proposal Contains CON-Like Review of Certain Physician Practice Control Transactions
Responding to what is termed a lack of sufficient oversight of “unregulated” non-Article 28 practices and management services organizations, Governor Hochul proposed within her 2023-2024 Executive Budget submission legislation that would require certain transactions made related to these organizations to be reviewed and approved by the state Department of Health. If enacted, the proposal would […]
NY DOL Proposes Updates to Model Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy
The New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) has published an updated model Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy. The proposed policy is subject to public comment until February 11, 2023, after which the DOL will adopt a final version of the policy. By way of background, effective October 9, 2018, covered New York employers were required […]
NY Now Requires Electronic Distribution of Mandatory Workplace Posters
Effective December 16, 2022, Labor Law Section 201 was amended to require New York employers to provide employee rights notices electronically. Traditionally, employers satisfied their workplace notice posting requirements by physically posting government-issued posters in the workplace, often on bulletin boards or pre-printed posters. However, with this amendment of the Labor Law, employers are now […]
NY DOL will Soon Issue New Requirements for Employers’ Mandatory Sexual Harassment Policies
The New York Department of Labor announced that it will release an updated Sexual Harassment Prevention Model Policy following a comprehensive effort to gather and review recommendations from stakeholders, including businesses around the State. Also according to the State, key updates to the new policy include: Following the release of the policy, the DOL will […]
Denial of Remote Work Tops COVID-19 Litigation Activity
The impact of COVID-19 on the workplace was expected by many to generate a great deal of employment litigation. Those expectations unfortunately have been met as numerous cases have accrued across the nation based on various claims of discrimination and harassment in the context of a new COVID world. The primary employment claim filed by […]
NYC Launches Mediation Center for Domestic Workers
New York City recently launched a new program addressing wage and other employment issues specifically for the City’s domestic workers. The initiative, termed the “Domestic Worker Mediation Program,” will be overseen by the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution, which is part of the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. According to a report by the […]
The Federal “Speak Out Act” Prohibits Certain NDA Clauses Associated with Sexual Assault and Harassment
On December 7, 2022, President Biden signed the Speak Out Act into law. The law takes effect immediately and it limits the enforceability of pre-dispute nondisclosure and non-disparagement provisions relating to disputes involving sexual assault and sexual harassment. Thus, agreements in which employees agree to keep confidential any future sexual assault or harassment claims arising within their employment […]
Upstate Minimum Wage for Home Care Workers is Going up by $1.00, not $0.70
In August, the Department of Health (“DOH”) held a presentation for MLTCs regarding the State’s rate setting for Medicaid services. On one of the PowerPoint slides, the DOH noted that the minimum wage (“MW”) rate for upstate home care workers would be increased by an additional $.70 (on top of the $2.00 that was going into […]
Payroll Software Data Breach Results in Multi-Million Dollar Liability for Companies whose Employees were Paid Incorrectly as a Result of that Breach
A recent case reinforces the principle that employers may ultimately be held responsible for wage and hour errors, even when those errors are caused by a technology or payroll system error. Earlier this month, United States District Judge Nelson Roman issued preliminary approval of a $12.75 million settlement stemming from the failure of PepsiCo and […]
Reminder: Home Care Providers cannot test for Marijuana Use, in Almost all Cases
Given the recent legalization of recreational marijuana use in New York State, and the regular application of drug tests in the home care industry, it is imperative for employers to understand the limitations of their ability to screen and test for marijuana use. The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”) amended Section 201-d of the […]
It’s not just the Minimum Wage that is Increasing. Effective December 31, Certain Exempt Employees will need to receive a Salary Increase in order to Maintain their Overtime Exempt Status.
As a reminder, effective Dec. 31, 2022, the minimum wage for all industries in upstate New York will increase from $13.20 to $14.20 per hour. The minimum wage for employees working in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties remains unchanged at $15.00 per hour. An increase to the salary threshold for employees who […]
Merger and Acquisition Considerations for Healthcare Providers
As the year comes to a close and operators continue seeking ways to grow through acquisitions and capitalize on some of the COVID relief to grow their businesses, we provide this article and overview of the key issues to consider in corporate transactions. While mergers and acquisitions present considerable potential benefit, they can also present […]
New Legislation Protecting Employee Absences is Passed into Law
Several days ago, Governor Hochul signed into law Bill A8092B (the “lawful absence law”), which amends Section 215 of the New York Labor Law (NYLL), to prohibit employers from disciplining employees who take legally protected time off from work. Thus, employers cannot threaten, penalize, discipline, fire, or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against employees for their use of […]
DOH has taken Steps to Address Healthcare Worker Bonus Portal Challenges for LHCSAs
The Healthcare Worker Bonus Portal (the “Portal”) is not accessible to LHCSAs that have a “non-billing” provider number, the MMIS. LHCSAs that only bill managed care and not Medicaid directly might have been assigned a MMIS that is a “non-billing provider” MMIS. Unfortunately, this non-billing MMIS precludes the LHCSA from accessing the Portal and processing requests […]
DOH Updates Return-to-Work Protocols for Healthcare Personnel
The State Department of Health (DOH) has updated its guidelines on return-to-work protocols for healthcare personnel (HCP) with COVID-19 infection or exposure. The guidelines supersede the most recent guidance from the DOH, which had been issued on February 4, 2022 and point providers to the CDC’s guidelines, which are available here and here. The CDC guidelines provide that, generally, asymptomatic HCP […]
DOH Extends Waivers of Regulatory Requirements
On November 23, 2022 Governor Hochul signed Executive Order (EO) 4.15, which continues certain regulatory relief measures for home care providers until December 23, 2022. As its predecessor, EO 4.15 provides that: Note that while the above relief measures continue, the state Department of Health still expects agencies to adhere to existing state regulations […]
NY CDPAP RFO Moves Forward
This afternoon, the New York State Department of Health released attestation forms and supporting information forms for fiscal intermediaries that had applied for the CDPAP RFO but which had not previously been selected as lead fiscal intermediaries. As home care insiders will recall, there was a first round of CDPAP RFO awardees (68 agencies in total) […]