In a recent development, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw revealed on Thursday a significant jump in Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes in the city. The rise in such hate crimes has been linked to the ongoing war in Gaza, which began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. No comprehensive data for overall…
Four years after an undergraduate student at Columbia University lodged a complaint of “severely pervasive and hostile environment” due to antisemitism, the US Department of Education has finally decided to open an investigation into these claims. Jonathan Karten, the student, first approached the Department in 2019, urging them to probe if the university’s actions were…
On November 2, 2023, a lawsuit was brought forward by multiple health associations against the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The parties to the lawsuit include the American Hospital Association (AHA), Texas Hospital Association, Texas Health Resources, and United Regional Health Care System. Their aim is to obstruct…
Apple Inc. has agreed to a settlement sum of $25 million which it will pay to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. This decision comes in the wake of accusations of discrimination against U.S. workers that were leveled against the corporation regarding its recruiting and hiring practices. The…
In a significant move, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on October 31, 2023, that it has reached a settlement with Doctors’ Management Services Inc. (DMS). The settlement pertains to a ransomware attack that DMS self-reported in 2017. This development is of particular interest to legal professionals,…
In a notable development, the US Supreme Court declined to review former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s state convictions for the murder of George Floyd. For those unaware, Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd in 2020, an incident that sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and rekindled the Black Lives Matter movement. Chauvin was…
Macy’s Inc., a large American retailer, has recently come under investigation by America First Legal (AFL), a conservative legal group led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The group has asked the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate Macy’s for what it claims to be “patently illegal” diversity quotas. This is not AFL’s…
In an unsettling development, the University of Michigan (“U of M”) recently notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights about a significant data breach. This vulnerability had allowed an unauthorized entity to gain access to sensitive information possessed by the university. According to a notice filed on October 23,…
Prestige Care Inc., a provider of senior living and skilled nursing services, announced on November 6, 2023, that they had experienced a data breach. It was reported that an unauthorized party was able to gain access to the company’s computer network. The company, after discovering the breach, promptly filed a notice with the U.S. Department…
Warren General Hospital (WGH) has been compelled to notify 168,921 patients after an unfortunate data breach in September 2023. A statement from WGH clarified that an unidentified actor was able to infiltrate certain hospital computer system, leading to the exposure of sensitive patient data. The breached patient information included details such as names, addresses, dates…
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…