One aspect of PPACA that employers cannot lose sight of is its whistleblower protections. Section 1558 of PPACA added Section 18C to the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide protections to employees subject to retaliation for reporting potential violations of PPACA’s consumer protections or affordability assistance provisions. The reach of the law’s whistleblower protections is quite broad and applies to almost all public and private employees.
Indeed, it was only earlier this year that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the agency to which the Secretary of Labor has delegated PPACA whistleblower complaints investigative powers, issued an interim final rule establishing procedures and time frames for the handling of retaliation complaints under Section 18C. The protections afforded by PPACA and the OSHA rule are sweeping, and employers need to be aware of this aspect of PPACA and prepare accordingly.
To get there, please click here for a quick-hitting summary of facts about the statute and the interim final rule that every employer should know.