State attorneys general from Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, and South Dakota have joined Arkansas (collectively the “States”) in an amicus brief to the Eighth Circuit, urging the court not to join the Seventh Circuit and Second Circuit in interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination.

The States submitted this brief in a case brought by Mark Horton against Midwest Geriatric Management LLC (“Midwest Geriatric”) in which the plaintiff alleges sexual orientation and religious discrimination in violation of Title VII. More specifically, Horton alleges that Midwest Geriatric revoked his job offer after the company learned he was gay. In their brief, the States assert that Horton wrongly petitioned the court to ignore precedent and reverse its prior position that sexual orientation discrimination is not covered by Title VII.

The States argue that until last year, when the Seventh and Second Circuits expanded the scope of Title VII to encompass sexual orientation discrimination, federal courts had unanimously found that sexual orientation was not a protected category under Title VII, and the Eighth Circuit should follow this long-standing view. The States add that, despite numerous opportunities to revise Title VII to include sexual orientation, Congress has chosen not to do so. Finally, the States contend that Horton’s arguments simply are not persuasive.

In addition to the States’ brief, the Eighth Circuit has also received amicus briefs supporting Horton’s argument from 18 other states and Washington D.C., in addition to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various businesses.

The Eighth Circuit’s decision remains pending, and we will be watching for it. In the meantime, employers operating within the Eighth Circuit—comprising Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota—are encouraged to evaluate their non-discrimination policies with this potential change to the federal law in mind, to the extent they have not already done so to comply with state or local laws.

Featured on Employment Law This Week: NJ Senate Advances Ban on Sex Harassment Confidentiality Agreements.

The New Jersey Senate wants no more secrecy around harassment claims. On a 34-to-1 vote, the chamber approved legislation banning

involving sexual harassment claims. The bill is still pending in the House, where a vote is expected in the next few weeks. The legislation would also allow victims to keep their identities confidential and would establish jurisdiction in Superior Court, arguably bypassing arbitration agreements.

Watch the segment below.

Our colleague Joshua A. Stein at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Hospitality Labor and Employment Law blog that will be of interest to our readers in the health care industry: “The Generally Prevailing Website Accessibility Guidelines Have Been Refreshed – It’s Time to Officially Welcome WCAG 2.1.”

Following is an excerpt:

After nearly ten years, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, the World Wide Web Consortium (the “W3C”), the private organization focused on enhancing online user experiences, published the long awaited update to its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (“WCAG 2.0”), known as the WCAG 2.1. Those who have been following along with website accessibility’s ever-evolving legal landscape are well aware that, despite not having been formally adopted by regulators for the vast majority of the private sector, compliance with WCAG 2.0 at Levels A and AA has become the de facto baseline for government regulators, courts, advocacy groups, and private plaintiffs when discussing what it means to have an accessible website. …

Read the full post here.

Our colleague Stuart M. Gerson at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Health Law Advisor blog that will be of interest to our readers in the health care industry: “NIST Seeks Comments on Cybersecurity Standards For Patient Imaging Devices.”

Following is an excerpt:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST) has announced that it will be seeking industry input on developing “use cases” for its framework of cybersecurity standards related to patient imaging devices. NIST, a component of the Department of Commerce, is the agency assigned to the development and promulgation of policies, guidelines and regulations dealing with cybersecurity standards and best practices. NIST claims that its cybersecurity program promotes innovation and competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and related technology in ways that enhance economic security and quality of life. Its standards and best practices address interoperability, usability and privacy continues to be critical for the nation. NIST’s latest announcement is directed at eventually providing security guidance for the healthcare sector’s most common uses of data, inasmuch as that industry has increasingly come under attack. …

Read the full post here.

On April 17, the Joint Commission—a nonprofit organization that provides accreditations to health care organizations—issued a list of seven steps hospitals should take to improve safety and reduce the risk of workplace violence perpetrated by employees, patients, and visitors. While the seven steps are advisory rather than mandatory, health care organizations risk jeopardizing their accreditation status if they fail to take appropriate action in response to episodes of workplace violence.

The Joint Commission’s alert seeks to address what it characterizes as the prevalence of workplace violence in the health care industry, citing a 2015 report from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suggesting that approximately 75% of workplace assaults reported annually occur in health care and social service. The Joint Commission suggests that health care workplaces are particularly susceptible to workplace violence because of the daily care of patients dealing with mental health issues.

In the last few years, OSHA has taken action to address workplace violence in health care settings, including by overhauling its Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers, and by issuing citations to health care employers with allegedly inadequate workplace violence programs. Yet OSHA has not proposed an explicit regulation applicable to workplace violence in health care and instead has relied upon the General Duty Clause when issuing citations. And as our colleagues have reported, as of April 1, 2018, California is the only state that expressly requires all health care facilities to maintain a comprehensive plan to prevent workplace violence. The Joint Commission’s recent alert now adds additional incentives for health care organizations to implement and update workplace violence prevention programs.

So what can health care organizations do to protect the workers who put themselves in harm’s way each day? According to the Joint Commission, organizations should clearly define the term “workplace violence.” Staff members should recognize that workplace violence comprises a broad range of behaviors, from verbal assaults to physical violence with or without use of weapons. Staff should be able to easily report episodes of workplace violence, and organizations should track and follow up on any reported incidents, providing support and psychological counseling to victims, witnesses, and others affected.

Once organizations begin tracking incidents, they should review and analyze the data to identify common contributing factors and use those to develop intervention strategies. These strategies may include changes to the physical environment, such as altering exit routes, improving alarm systems, adding restricted access doors, and implementing more regular security patrols, or altering work practices or administrative procedures, reducing stressors like crowding and wait times, identified as risk factors for workplace violence. Organizations should train employees on how to use de-escalation tactics, and run practice drills such as active shooter response simulations. Finally, organizations should regularly review and assess the effectiveness of their responsive strategies to recognize areas of success and ensure continuous improvement.

While these measures are unlikely to completely eliminate workplace violence in health care settings, they represent a step in the right direction toward managing the risks, thus enabling our health care workforce to focus on the business of healing. Health care employers are well-advised to consult with counsel to develop and implement effective workplace violence prevention programs to improve employee safety and morale, reduce the likelihood of receiving an OSHA citation or jeopardizing accreditation, and – in the case of California employers – comply with the law.

MeToo-shutterstock_1015266769-600x314

Our colleagues Frank C. Morris, Jr., Jonathan K. Hoerner, and Katie Smith—attorneys at Epstein Becker Green—authored an article in Healio titled “4 Ways to Address the #MeToo Era in Health Care.”

Following is an excerpt:

The #MeToo movement has its roots in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, but its branches extend into myriad other industries including journalism, the financial sector, government, athletics, tech, academia, and even the federal judiciary. The health care sector is no exception, despite its guiding principle to “first do no harm.”

Studies assert that sexual harassment is pervasive in the health care space. An academic medical faculty study published in 2016 found approximately 30% of female physicians surveyed reported having personally experienced sexual harassment by a superior or colleague, compared with 4% of men. Statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicate that at least 3,085 employees at general medical and surgical hospitals filed sexual harassment claims between 1995 and 2016 (or about 147 per year).

Some of these sex harassment claims turned out to be very costly for employers. In September 2013, a dental assistant at the University of Connecticut Health Center sued her employer claiming gender discrimination and a hostile work environment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A jury found in her favor on March 30, 2017, awarding her $200,000, although the court later reduced the award to $125,000. Though damages in Title VII claims are capped, plaintiffs may also bring claims under state or local laws, which provide for greater damages.

Read the full article here.

Our colleague Daniel J. Green at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility blog that will be of interest to our readers in the health care industry: “Colorado Places New Limitation on Physician Restrictive Covenants.”

Following is an excerpt:

Earlier this month, Colorado amended its law governing physician non-compete agreements (C.R.S. § 8-2-113(3)).  Since its enactment in 1982, that statute generally has prohibited agreements restricting the rights of physicians to practice medicine, but has allowed contractual provisions requiring a physician to pay damages arising from his or her competition if the damages are reasonably related to the injury suffered by the employer or other contracting party.  Under the amended statute, “a physician may disclose his or her continuing practice of medicine and new professional contact information to any patient with a rare disorder…to whom the physician was providing treatment.”   The goal of the amendment is to avoid interruptions to the continued care of individuals with rare disorders.  The statute looks to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. to maintain a database of diseases considered “rare disorders.” …

Read the full post here.

With the passage of A.B. 30, California became the first state to require all acute-care hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities to develop and implement comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans. After years of wrangling with California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”), the law became effective on April 1, 2018.

This statute was conceived by Cal OSHA, in conjunction with unions such as the California Nurses Association to address the high risk of workplace injuries faced by health care workers daily. Overall, health care workers suffer the greatest number of workplace injuries, with over 650,000 individuals injured each year. Violence in the health care industry, however, is historically underreported; one survey estimated that just 19% of all violent events are reported.

Under the law, affected employers in the health care industry must prepare a workplace violence prevention plan that includes:

  1. Annual personnel education and training regarding workplace violence;
  2. A system for responding to and investigating violent or potentially violent incidents; and
  3. Procedures for annual assessment and evaluation of factors that could help to prevent workplace violence.

Employers must provide annual education and training to all employees at their facility who administer direct patient care, including physicians and temporary employees. This training must include, but not be limited to, information regarding:

  • Identifying potentially harmful and violent situations and appropriate responses thereto;
  • Reporting violent incidents to law enforcement officials; and
  • Resources available to employees coping with the aftermath of a violent incident, such as critical incident stress debriefing and/or employee assistance programs.

Employers’ annual assessment identifying the factors that could possibly minimize the number of incidents of workplace violence should include a review of staffing and staffing patterns; the sufficiency of security systems at the facility; job design, equipment, and facilities; and areas of high security risk including entry and exit points for employees during late-night and early-morning shifts and employee parking lot safety.

Additionally, employers must develop these workplace prevention plans with input from their employees and any applicable collective bargaining agents. Employers are also expressly prohibited from taking punitive or retaliatory action against employees for reporting violent incidents.

Employers, however, should be aware of the dichotomy between interests regulated by Cal OSHA and by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). While Cal OSHA creates rules to ensure health care workers have a safe work environment free from harm, CMS creates rules to control aggressive patients in order to protect patients’ rights.  These competing interests often create conflicting obligations for health care facilities.  With Cal OSHA designating health care as a high risk industry for workplace violence and CMS focusing heavily on patient safety and patient rights, health care facilities must carefully navigate these competing obligations to appropriately protect both their employees and their patients.

Employers with affected health care operations in California should consult counsel for assistance with the development of a legally-compliant violence prevention plan and annual training materials in light of this new regulation.

Our colleagues David J. Clark and Erica R. McKinney at Epstein Becker Green has a post on the Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility blog that will be of interest to our readers in the health care industry: “Mile High Non-Compete Law: Colorado Court of Appeals Determines Enforceability of Liquidated Damages Clause in Physician Non-Compete Agreement.”

Following is an excerpt:

The Colorado Court of Appeals, in Crocker v. Greater Colorado Anesthesia, P.C., recently examined several unique enforceability considerations with respect to a physician non-compete agreement.  Of particular interest was the Court’s treatment of a liquidated damages provision in the agreement.  Pursuant to a Colorado statute (8-2-113(3), C.R.S. 2017), the Court held that the provision was unenforceable because the liquidated damages were not reasonably related to the injury actually suffered.

Michael Crocker, a former physician-shareholder at Greater Colorado Anesthesia (Old GCA), signed an employment agreement with Old GCA that contained a non-compete provision that prohibited Crocker from practicing anesthesiology within 15 miles of a hospital serviced by Old GCA, for two years following termination of the agreement. …

Read the full post here.

In the midst of one of the worst flu seasons to date, many hospitals and other health care organizations enforced mandatory flu vaccine policies for their employees to boost vaccination rates. However, recent litigation and governmental actions should serve as a reminder that health care entities should carefully consider safeguards whenever implementing mandatory vaccine policies and to not categorically deny all requests for religious exemptions based on anti-vaccination beliefs.

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the formation of a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and released a proposed rule to provide protections for health care workers who refuse to participate in services that run counter to their religious beliefs or moral conviction. Recent legal challenges to mandatory vaccination policies in the health care context have also gained media attention.

Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) accused a county-owned skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Wisconsin of violating a certified nursing assistant’s religious rights when it required her to be vaccinated or be terminated if she refused.  Although the certified nursing assistant believed that the Bible prohibited her from receiving the vaccine, the SNF refused to grant her an exemption from its vaccination policy because she was unable to produce a written statement from the clergy leader supporting her request, as the SNF’s exemption policy required. The DOJ complaint asserts that the SNF’s vaccination policy denies religious accommodations to employees who do not belong to churches with clergy leaders and that the SNF unlawfully denied the employee a reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs when it refused her request for an exemption.

However, not all requests for accommodation must be honored.  In Fallon v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center, an employee sued his hospital employer for wrongful termination alleging religious discrimination and a failure to accommodate in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when the hospital terminated him for refusing to get his annual flu shot. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the hospital and held that the employee’s “sincerely held beliefs” were not religious but based on health concerns, and therefore, the hospital did not violate Title VII.

In another recent development, a Massachusetts state Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association against Brigham and Women’s Hospital for lack of standing when the union challenged the hospital’s flu vaccination policy. The dismissal occurred a few months after the court denied the union’s request for an injunction.  Thus, a plaintiff’s standing to challenge mandatory vaccination policies will be scrutinized.

Key Takeaways

Despite the actions of DOJ and HHS, health care employers are well within their rights to implement a mandatory flu vaccination policy, especially considering the potential implications to patient safety. Employers need to be prepared to handle requests for reasonable accommodations made by employees who have sincerely held religious beliefs against flu vaccination.  When presented with such a request for accommodation, employers should engage in the interactive process with the employee as outlined in this recent blog post.

To lessen the risk of infringing on worker’s rights, many health care entities are employing non-mandatory tools and policies to boost employee vaccine participation through positive enforcement rather than with the threat of being fired. For example, health care entities can ensure that employees are educated and reminded about the benefits of being vaccinated, provide free and convenient access to vaccines, and issue small incentives and rewards to employees who are vaccinated.

Whenever implementing a mandatory vaccination policy, employers should be prepared for a challenge. Essentia Health required its employees to receive the flu vaccination and sustained a public legal challenge from three hospital unions.  Essentia prevailed, discharging 50 workers who refused to be vaccinated.

Lastly, health care entities should review applicable state-worker vaccination laws to ensure they are in compliance with such laws when deciding upon vaccination policies.