Akerman LLP

In collaboration with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs, Akerman LLP is a client-driven enterprise. As ranked within the top 100 U.S. law firms, they assemble hand-picked teams for every engagement for navigating change, seizing opportunities, and to assist in overcoming barriers on innovation. With more than 700 lawyers and professionals across 25 offices, Akerman works to create better opportunities for the future through their financial services, real estate, and other dynamic sectors.

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HR Defense

Relief is Here Again! PPP2 Stimulus and Business Tax Benefits

By Felicia Nowels, Montaye Sigmon & Bill Sullivan

January 12, 2021

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”), signed into law on December 27, 2020, is the second-largest federal stimulus package of 2020, following the CARES Act. The CAA provides $900 billion in COVID relief and reserves $284 billion for small businesses through a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) forgivable loans, or as some are calling it, PPP2. But relief for businesses does not end at PPP loans. The CAA also provides additional tax…

HR Defense

What Employers Can Expect From a Biden Presidency: Part III, the Winds of Change are Upon Us

By Amy Moor Gaylord

January 11, 2021

With the certification of the Electoral College votes complete, Joe Biden will become President on January 20 and no doubt usher in sweeping changes. If you want to know what to expect, join us for a webinar on Tuesday, January 19 at noon Eastern. In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview:…

HR Defense

UPDATE: Payroll Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the FFCRA Extended Through March 31, 2021

By Montaye Sigmon

January 5, 2021

The pandemic relief package enacted by Congress in late December briefly extended the available payroll tax credits for leave provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) through March 31, 2021. The relief package did not extend the requirement to provide paid leave, so after December 31, 2020, employers are not mandated to provide paid sick or family leave under the FFCRA. However, eligible employers that elect to provide leave may claim a payroll…

HR Defense

Preparing for 2021: What New York Employers Can Expect in the New Year

By Andrew C. Karter

December 30, 2020

2021 is here, and with the new year comes changes for New York employers seeking to ensure full compliance with newly effective laws, or changes to the law, throughout the State. Employers are well-advised to review the changes for the new year, summarized below.…

Health Law Rx

January 1, 2021: The Deadline for Hospitals to Make Transparency Clear

By Kirk S. Davis & Danielle C. Gordet

December 28, 2020

Hospitals that are not ready for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) new transparency requirement must act quickly. CMS has advised that the new year will begin with new auditing and monitoring of these requirements.…

Health Law Rx

Second Circuit Sends PBM “Clawback” Litigation Plaintiffs Back to the Drawing Board

By Danielle C. Gordet & Amber Roberts

December 22, 2020

Anthem, Inc., (Anthem) and Express Scripts, Inc., (Express Scripts) had a big win this week, creating another setback for plaintiffs filing ERISA lawsuits against pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). On December 7, 2020, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos’s decision that Anthem and Express Scripts did not violate fiduciary obligations under the Employer Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) because neither party acted as an ERISA fiduciary with regard to decisions…

HR Defense

Employers May Compel COVID-19 Vaccinations, But…

By Ashlea Edwards

December 21, 2020

Employers may require employees in the workplace to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to newly issued guidelines from the EEOC. But employers may not necessarily terminate an employee who refuses. While the vaccine may still be months away for most Americans, employers should prepare now for the issues that will arise, including those relating to pre-vaccination screening, administering the vaccine, and handling employees who object on medical or religious grounds. The EEOC guidelines, appearing as…

HR Defense

Five New States Approve Marijuana Use, Leaving Employers Dazed and Confused

By Brittany Buccellato & Christopher S. Duke

December 16, 2020

Voters around the country recently approved a number of ballot initiatives legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational and/or medical purposes, further complicating the patchwork of existing marijuana laws found throughout the country. The confusion is compounded by the fact that marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby making it illegal (at the federal level) for an employee to use or possess marijuana for any reason. This…

Health Law Rx

Healthcare Providers: Please Be Wary of Accepting Those Gifts!

By Kirk S. Davis & Danielle C. Gordet

December 14, 2020

There has been a longstanding and regrettable practice in the healthcare industry of pharmaceutical and medical device companies giving physicians gifts as illegal inducements. Concerned about this continued trend, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued important warnings regarding providing inducements to healthcare providers (HCPs) – just in time for the holiday season! On October 29, 2020, the DOJ announced its first-ever…

Health Law Rx

Federal Trade Commission Challenge to Northern Philadelphia Hospital Merger Fails

By James M. Burns

December 10, 2020

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has failed – at least for now – in its efforts to derail a merger between Thomas Jefferson University Health System and Albert Einstein Health System, two Philadelphia-area health systems. In a decision announced on December 8, Judge Pappert, District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ruled that the FTC, which was joined in the action by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General (“PA AG”), had failed to…

Akerman LLP

Akerman LLP Blogs

Blog Authors

Relief is Here Again! PPP2 Stimulus and Business Tax Benefits

What Employers Can Expect From a Biden Presidency: Part III, the Winds of Change are Upon Us

UPDATE: Payroll Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the FFCRA Extended Through March 31, 2021

Preparing for 2021: What New York Employers Can Expect in the New Year

January 1, 2021: The Deadline for Hospitals to Make Transparency Clear

Second Circuit Sends PBM “Clawback” Litigation Plaintiffs Back to the Drawing Board

Employers May Compel COVID-19 Vaccinations, But…

Five New States Approve Marijuana Use, Leaving Employers Dazed and Confused

Healthcare Providers: Please Be Wary of Accepting Those Gifts!

Federal Trade Commission Challenge to Northern Philadelphia Hospital Merger Fails

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