Insights

On April 29, 2024, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) on the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other federal labor standards regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other automated systems in the workplace. The FAB also provides detailed guidance on the challenges that may arise with the use of AI and compliance with the FMLA.  For purposes of FMLA compliance, AI and other technologies are sometimes used

On May 21, 2024, in Scanlan, et al. v. American Airlines, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that employees are entitled to paid military service leave where their employer provides paid leave for bereavement and jury duty leave if the leaves are comparable in duration, frequency, purpose, and control.  The plaintiffs in this case, a group of American Airlines pilots, sued their employer under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USE

The DOL, HHS, and IRS have jointly updated the Submission Instructions and User Manual for the Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation (GCPCA), dated May 2024. Group health plans and health insurance issuers (insurers) offering group or individual health insurance coverage must annually submit a GCPCA to the DOL, HHS, and IRS (collectively, the agencies). The statutory provisions added by the CAA 2021 generally prohibit plans and issuers from entering into an agreement with healthcare pro

On May 30, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its amended final rule covering health breach notifications (HBNs) in the Federal Register. The HBN rule requires vendors of personal health records (PHRs) and related entities that are not covered by HIPAA to notify individuals, the FTC, and, in some cases, the media of a breach of unsecured personally identifiable health data.  The amendment brings developers of health applications (apps) and other direct-to-consumer health

On May 1, 2024, the Second Circuit declared provisions of an employee stock ownership plan (the Plan) that required participants to resolve any legal claims arising out of or relating to the Plan in individualized arbitration “null and void” because they amounted to prospective waivers of participants’ substantive statutory rights and remedies under ERISA. The plaintiff, Ramon Cedeno, was an employee of Strategic Financial Solutions, LLC, and a participant in its Plan. Because the Plan had i

On May 16, 2024, Gov. Moore signed several healthcare bills into law.  HB 1339/SB 778 requires insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for hearing aids and audiological services for adults in certain situations. Currently, these plans are required to cover hearing aids for minor children. Effective January 1, 2025, these provisions will also apply to adults for whom the hearing aid is prescribed, fitted, and dispensed by a licen

On January 16, 2024, the Division of Insurance issued Bulletin 2024-02 regarding the coverage and content of mandated behavioral health wellness examination coverage.  Applicable state statutes define a "mental health wellness examination" as a "screening or assessment that seeks to identify any behavioral or mental health needs and appropriate resources for treatment.” Such screenings and assessments can include but are not limited to consultation on healthy lifestyle changes, referral

On January 16, 2024, the Division of Insurance issued Bulletin 2024-03 regarding the state’s new step therapy protocol requirements of Chapter 254 of the Acts of 2022.  Massachusetts law defines a “step therapy protocol” as “a utilization management policy or program that establishes the specific sequence in which a prescription drug for a specified medical condition is covered by a carrier.” Chapter 254 applies to carriers that provide coverage of a prescription drug pursuant to a poli

On May 21, 2024, Gov. Whitmer signed Senate Bill 27 into law. The bill mirrors the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), in that it requires insurers regulated by the state to cover mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatments in the same way as physical health coverage. The state passed this law partly as a hedge against the possibility that Congress repeals MHPAEA. The law requires insurers that deliver, issue for delivery, or renew in this state a healt