The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has recently announced its first settlement agreement related to a ransomware attack. Interestingly, it was not the ransomware incident itself which spurred OCR’s enforcement action. Instead, the trigger likely came from the regulated entity’s failure to detect and subsequently report the breach…
The WellLife Network, Inc. (“WellLife”) has reported a data breach, notifying its patients that sensitive personal and health information was accessed by an unauthorized party, according to a notice filed on November 6, 2023, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. As stated in the notice, the breach impacted…
New York City stands at the forefront of workplace anti-discrimination initiatives as it enacts novel protections against height and weight bias. This legislative development places the city amongst a select group of American jurisdictions that have adopted such protective measures – a visionary action heralding consequential change. The new law, slated to come into effect…
Two recent developments involving the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (DOJ) underscore a series of potential risks and opportunities that lie ahead for companies navigating through immigration-related employment matters. This comes into sharper focus in the backdrop of the DOJ’s immigration-employment program facing a challenging environment amidst an important settlement scenario. The news…
Last week, the Islamabad High Court issued a halt order to the planned in-prison trial of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently held on judicial remand in the high-security Adiala prison in Rawalpindi. The court is now questioning the details surrounding the extraordinary circumstances that led to the decision to conduct the…
As legal professionals, it is important to stay updated with the current regulations and legal statutes in order to provide the most comprehensive service to clients. With the significant legislative changes happening throughout the world, one such important regulation that legal professionals, especially in the education sector, must be aware of are the K-12 Title…
Southwest Behavioral Health Center (SBHC), on November 13, 2023, submitted a data breach notice to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This stems from a discovery that confidential information entrusted to the institution was subject to unauthorized scrutiny. According to the submission, the breach was large enough to…
Recent developments have shown an increase in cyber threats to industries across the board, and the healthcare industry is not immune. The case in point, the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center (“MGRMC”), which fell prey to a ransomware attack and confirmed a data breach. The incident culminated on September 29, 2023, as MGRMC filed a…
Healix Infusion Therapy, a prominent provider of ambulatory infusion services, has reportedly filed a notice of a data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR). This action took place on November 9, 2023, following the company’s discovery that an unauthorized entity had succeeded in accessing its confidential…
PeakMed Colorado, LLC, a leading healthcare service provider, disclosed a significant data breach impacting over 27,000 of its patients. The company filed a notice of the incident with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights on October 27, 2023, after detecting that an unauthorized party had accessed an employee’s login…
The ongoing Level 2: K-12 Title IX Coordinator/Administrator Training is set to continue on December 6th, from 9:00 am to 11:30 am Eastern Time. This program, part of a winter training series hosted by Bricker Graydon LLP attorneys, is specifically designed to educate on how to remain compliant with the current Title IX regulations. A…
Coinbase Global Inc.’s pursuit of legal action against securities regulators for their implied stalling on the company’s crypto rulemaking request is not being overlooked by other corporations and advocacy groups. Coinbase has taken their plea to an appeals court, lodging a request for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to respond to a submission for…
Westat, Inc., a renowned research organization, recently reported a significant data breach, affecting numerous healthcare providers, including Henry Ford Health. This disclosure follows the filing of two data breach notices by Westat with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in October and November of 2023. The unfortunate intrusion…
On November 7, 2023, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) unveiled its Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). This missive aims to remind schools about their responsibilities under Title VI in assuring a discrimination-free learning environment for students. DCL’s release occurs against the backdrop of a nationwide increase in reported hate crimes and harassment….
When one thinks of constitutional protections, perhaps the first things that come to mind are rights such as due process and free speech. Now, Lindsey Hoopes, involved in the wine industry in Napa, California, is seeking to add wine to that list. Specifically, Hoopes is fighting to secure the right to conduct wine-tasting tours on…
Financial Asset Management Systems, Inc., also known as FAMS, recently disclosed a significant data breach, which has reportedly reached about 164,796 individuals. This breach, as declared by the company on November 4, 2023, has far-reaching potential impacts with the unauthorized party gaining access to a plethora of sensitive consumer data. According to the notice filed…
Over the past few months, the decision of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (“MSG”) to ban all lawyers from any law firm representing a client against MSG from all its venues in New York City and Chicago, has drawn much scrutiny and criticism. This action impacts access to iconic locations like the Radio City Music…
In a recent development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has released two in-depth documents. Intended to educate healthcare providers, these resources focus primarily on the privacy and security risks associated with telehealth, a medium witnessing unprecedented growth amidst global health crises. The OCR’s initiative is significant, considering…
The Supreme Court’s recent decision not to hear the case of a former Illinois inmate who was kept in solitary confinement for approximately three years, has drawn strong reactions within the legal community. This individual, Michael Johnson, had accused prison officials of violating the Eighth Amendment – the bar on cruel and unusual punishment through…
In light of the recent Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the Department of Education (DOE) in the United States has issued a notice to universities and colleges across the country encouraging vigilance against ancestral and ethnic discrimination on campuses. The outreach comes in response to observed instances of antisemitism and Islamophobia within postsecondary and K-12 educational spaces. As…
On September 29, 2023, Georgia Northside Ear, Nose, and Throat, LLC (Northside ENT) reported an extensive data breach to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. The healthcare provider discovered that unauthorised access had been gained to private and confidential information that had been entrusted to the company. The breach…
On November 7, 2023, Pharmacy Group of Mississippi, LLC reported a data breach to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. It revealed that an unauthorized party gained access to sensitive consumer information trusted to the company, detailed in a notice of data breach filed by Pharmacy Partners. Despite disclosure…
In the wake of soaring tensions and rising hate crimes occurring on university campuses countrywide, the Department of Education recently reminded educational institutions receiving federal funding of their essential role in fostering inclusivity and tolerance. Increasing threats to specific ethnic and religious groups such as Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students have necessitated a…
In November 2023, the world of privacy law and corporate legal governance witnessed some interesting developments. We focus on two main areas below: the controversy surrounding online tracking pixels on hospital websites and the American Hospital Association’s response to Senator Bill Cassidy’s request for information on the lasting implications of this matter. An online tracking…
British Airways, recently used by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) as an example of the catastrophic potential of ransomware attacks, faced its own cyber threat. However, its swift recovery didn’t foresee the significant fine that would follow. As reported by JdSupra, the company was depicted as having reiterated the importance of adequate data protection…