The design and operational failures of the federal insurance exchange and comparable failures of a number of state exchanges will generate contract disputes and litigations. Read on for more information.
This article sheds new light on an oft-discussed issue: What to do about employee use of personal electronic devices?
Consumer product manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers take heed. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been among the most active government agencies in the last four years. Companies must be proactive to ensure regulatory compliance and to protect their brand. This article suggests means to proactively design an effective product safety and regulatory compliance program.
The new regulatory framework for defined contribution pension arrangements is now live. It applies to all trust-based schemes providing DC-type benefits, whether wholly DC, elements such as AVCs in a defined benefit scheme or DC benefits with a DB underpin. The Regulator expects trustees to assess their schemes against its quality features and will monitor compliance. The following article provides an overview of the framework.
The Regulator has published a new and much more detailed statement on its approach to asset-backed funding arrangements. While acknowledging the advantages of these structures in principle, it is concerned to ensure that trustees take potential risks into account before signing up, and have a back-up plan available in case things go wrong. This article looks closely at the Regulator’s concerns.
Dormant pots carry a significant administration and cost burden for pension schemes; the number of these pots could increase quickly once the power to make short service refunds from DC schemes is abolished (expected in 2014). What can administrators do to limit the burden of dormant pots? This bulletin sets out options to help schemes and members minimise the accidental creation of DC pots and consider the full range of options for dealing with existing deferred pots.
This author tackles the question: Are corporations taking on excessive enterprise risks by failing to make prudent investments in their compliance and ethics functions?
Privacy laws are proliferating. This session will discuss how to implement a global privacy compliance program to address the EU Directives, as well as current updates and implementation of key country privacy laws, such the Personal Information Privacy Act in South Korea and similar laws in Malaysia and other Asian countries. This session will also address equally important US state law privacy developments.
Each of the respective industries in healthcare face different issues when negotiating contracts. This program will highlight what are essential provisions to be included in health care agreements from the perspective of hospitals, providers, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies and health plans. Concepts to be discussed include the requirements of the variety of U.S. and international laws impacting the healthcare industry, the different needs of for-profits and non-profits, and the changes imposed by healthcare reform.
Breaches of patient privacy/security are considered the number one risk for liability in the healthcare industry today. Control over patient information in today’s society is becoming ever increasingly difficult with the expanding use of electronic health records, personal health records and social media, plus the advent of Health Information Exchanges. Outsourcing of healthcare operations provides additional risk, especially the enforceability of patient privacy/security law when patient information is sent outside the US. Unfavorable media, government enforcement, class action litigation and identity theft all pose a constant concern to in-house counsel, and vendors themselves are now at greater risk of liability with penalties now imposed on business associates. This panel will provide an overview of the principal federal laws & regulations concerning privacy/security (HIPAA/HITECH/Red Flags), their interaction with select state laws, international laws (EU Data Protection), and practical ways to minimize risk and keep patient information private and secure.