As legal professionals, we are privy to the various intricacies of law application in domains spanning from business transactions to civil rights. Recently, there is an important issue gaining prominence that sets a juncture between education, civil rights, and public financing. This concerns the protection of LGBT students against school voucher discrimination. For context, over…
In a recent legal development, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken legal action against Midwestern restaurant chain Fricker’s. The EEOC alleges that Fricker’s U.S.A., LLC, and Fricker’s Holding Company, Inc., have violated federal employment laws by exhibiting sex discrimination practices. The EEOC, the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws intended to prevent…
The United States Supreme Court recently rejected Alabama’s appeal to use a congressional map in the 2024 elections; a map that a lower court deemed in breach of the Voting Rights Act. The unsigned order revealed no public dissents, coming four months after a divided Supreme Court agreed that the 2021 version of the map…
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court’s summer decision in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, et al. v. Talevski has increased the pressures for nursing homes. The highest court ruled that private litigants are now authorised to present civil claims against facilities in order to recover damages for violations of particular provisions…
In a recent turn of events, there have been new legal changes concerning criminal background checks and noncompete agreements in California. These changes, which were approved by the Civil Rights Council, an arm of the Civil Rights Department, may have significant implications on all employers conducting background checks within the state. In addition to that,…
The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has filed another notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR), according to a recent disclosure. It’s crucial to note that this is the second notice this department has filed in recent months, raising pertinent questions about…
The interpretation of the “Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices” (UDAAP) authority by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was invalidated by a federal district court on September 8, 2023. The CFPB’s perspective posited that discrimination based on protected classes constitutes an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice. The court countered against this…
In a recent development, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum revealed that she will not be running for reelection in 2024. The Democrat has been serving in the AG position for the last twelve years. Ellen’s decision will signal a significant shift in the Oregon Department of Justice as her tenure saw numerous policy shifts and…
In a significant shift for workers’ rights, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has recently declared that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, plaintiffs need not allege discrimination with respect to an “ultimate employment decision” in order to survive a motion to dismiss. This ruling, overturning precedent, has consequent implications for…
Florida-based retail giant Hank’s Furniture Inc. has been accused of violating federal law in a recent lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The legal action materialised out of the company’s actions against an assistant manager from its Pensacola store. As detailed in the court charges, the assistant store manager, an adherent…
The Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has recently announced a settlement with LA Care Health Plan. The settlement relates to potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule by the said health plan. An official statement on JD Supra mentions that both HHS and LA Care…
Delta Dental of California, one of the largest dental insurance providers in the country, has recently experienced a significant data breach due to what appears to be a vulnerability within MOVEit, a file-transfer application widely utilized by the company. The breach was officially reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for…
As a notification to all involved legal parties, United Healthcare Services, Inc. has reported a significant data breach. Per the news divulged by JD Supra, the breach was brought to the attention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR) on September 7, 2023. It’s an established procedure for…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced a sizeable settlement with L.A. Health Care Plan, according to a report on JD Supra. Meet L.A. Care – the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, boasting a whopping roster of over 2.7 million members. The healthcare provider offers a…
The legal relationship between the California state bar and state government is currently being scrutinized by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, an issue that directly influences the outcome of a federal disability-accommodation lawsuit. The relationship between the state bar and the government has broad implications on the question of whether the…
In a substantial development aimed at clarifying standards for Title VII retaliation claims, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Carr v. New York City Transit Authority. The decision comes in the wake of a similar determination by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which clarified its perspective on properly pled Title VII disparate…
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has recently filed a lawsuit against the US Military Academy, otherwise known as West Point. The allegations state that the academy has been unlawfully using race as a deciding factor during its admissions process. The SFFA has previously been involved in lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North…
In a noteworthy ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has denied the South Side Area School District’s Motion to Dismiss regarding claims of a hostile work environment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments. The case, Colavecchia v. South Side…
Julia Rix, a former equity partner at the Polsinelli law firm, has filed a significant lawsuit against the firm and two senior partners, Gabriel Yomi Dabiri and Dov H. Scherzer. In the lawsuit, Rix alleges that she was a victim of persistent sexual harassment over the course of her time at the firm. The lawsuit…
In a complex and ongoing dispute, Alabama voters have turned to the justices of the Supreme Court, encouraging them to remain involved in a disagreement concerning the state’s congressional map. Alabama’s request to the Supreme Court was to temporarily postpone lower-court rulings which suggested that a map, newly established this year, likely infringes upon the…
As the deadline approaches for Southwest Airlines lawyers to undertake court-mandated ‘religious liberty’ training, a flight attendant who filed a lawsuit against the airline is urging the Fifth Circuit not to suspend the penalty while an appeal is pending. The attendant, who initially brought the case to the attention of the Texas federal court, accused…
On September 11, 2023, a significant event took place in the public health sector in the United States. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an unprecedented resolution agreement and corrective action plan (CAP) with L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, following investigations…
The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (HHS) and L.A. Care Health Plan (L.A. Care) recently entered a settlement over alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). L.A. Care, recognised as the largest publicly operated health plan in the nation, is reported to pay a whopping…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently announced the release of version 3.4 of their Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool. This recent version of the SRA tool is aimed to facilitate healthcare providers in conducting a…
Nine members of the California legislature recently issued a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. They are requesting an official court opinion on the constitutionality of Donald Trump’s potential 2024 presidential run, under the stipulations of the Fourteenth Amendment. This constitutional amendment prohibits any individual who has instigated “insurrection or rebellion” against the United…