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Ladner Quoted On Regulatory Compliance Issues At Houston Conference

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Marian Ladner, a Member of the Firm in the Business Law practice of Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall in Houston, was noted in The Pasadena Citizen as a featured speaker on regulatory compliance issues during the University of Houston’s International Business and Logistics conference.

The article titled, “Conference explains imports, exports along Port of Houston,” reported that

Ladner shared with participants some of the major laws regulating exports from and imports into the United States. She added that a major challenge for those in international trade is educating others of the need for compliance with regulations. Often, she said, sales and manufacturing departments of companies, and even senior management, are unaware of the detailed reporting and regulatory mandates.

District Judge Enforces Settlement Reached by Epstein Becker Green

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On March 24, 2009, a New Jersey federal judge granted Epstein Becker Green’s motion to enforce a settlement it reached on behalf of its clients during a court mediation. In doing so, the court reinforced the principle that New Jersey litigants must abide by settlement agreements made by attorneys with settling authority.

Although the settlement was entered in court, the defendants later claimed it was based on a misunderstanding with their lawyer regarding the amount of money involved in the settlement. U.S. District Judge Jose Linares, however, upheld the settlement reached by the parties based on the defendants’ lawyer’s authority to settle and New Jersey’s strong public policy of fostering settlement.

The New Jersey Law Journal reported on the decision in an article entitled, “Client Thwarted in Move to Undo Settlement Brokered by His Lawyer.” It noted that the plaintiffs’ team —Epstein Becker Green attorneys Diana Costantino Gomprecht and Patrick Lucignani—reached a settlement with the defendant’s attorney by which the plaintiff agreed to turn over two Web sites and the defendant agreed to pay 380,000 euros.

Diana Costantino Gomprecht is an Associate in the Litigation and Labor and Employment practices in the New York office.

Patrick Lucignani is an Associate in the Litigation and Labor and Employment practices in the Newark office.

Roberts Quoted on Whistleblower Protections in Obama Stimulus Plan, in BizSanDiego

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In an article titled, “What’s In It for My Business? The Economic Stimulus Plan Explained,” Allen Roberts, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment in the New York office, was quoted on the Obama administration’s stimulus plan’s tax breaks.

Employers that receive certain funds from the bill will have to comply with new “whistleblower” laws. The stimulus bill “includes whistleblower protections that are deeper and different from those that are familiar to many employers,” noted Roberts.

Gerson Quoted On Likely Rise of Lawsuits Under FTC ‘Red Flag’ Rule

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Stuart Gerson, a Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Health Care & Life Sciences Practices in the Washington, DC and New York offices, was quoted on the possibility of new lawsuits being brought against home health agencies under the Federal Trade Commission’s new “red flag” rule.

The article, “Up To Speed on HIPAA? Now Comes ‘Red Flag’ Compliance Rules,” reported that under the “red flag” rule, which takes effect May 1, home health agencies and other providers will be required to protect against identity abuses that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules don’t necessarily cover.

Gerson pointed out that the “red flag” rule opens the danger of a suit by a present or former employee or by the Justice Department, alleging that a home health agency’s non-compliance led to a false certification that caused Medicare claims violations of the False Claims Act.

Swirsky Quoted On Hiring Bias Against Parents In Wall Street Journal

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Steven Swirsky, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment and Health Care and Life Sciences Practices in the New York office, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on the issue of bias against parents in hiring.

In the paper’s Work & Family column, in response to a reader’s question about the legality of being queried on child-care arrangements during a job interview, Swirsky said that employers may ask candidates whether they’ll be able to fulfill the job requirements, to stay as long as necessary to get it done, and so on. But, he added, interviewers should focus neutrally on an applicant’s ability to meet the requirements of the job.

Barnes Quoted On Legal Challenges Facing Former NAHSE President Miller

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Clifford Barnes, a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences Practice in the Washington, DC and New York offices, was quoted in Modern Healthcare magazine on legal issues facing Rodney Miller, who quit as president of the National Association of Health Services Executives a few days after the release of an audit report cataloging his alleged misappropriation of hospital funds for personal use while chief executive officer of a public hospital in the Virgin Islands from 2002 to 2007.

In the article, titled, “Miller a nonissue, execs say: former CEO’s legal woes will have no impact,” Barnes said the decision to resign was Miller’s, and he praised Miller’s performance during a fast rise through NAHSE’s ranks, particularly his success persuading its board to hire their first full-time executive director. “There is a sense of disappointment that it happened at all,” Barnes said of the situation, which he described as Miller’s personal challenge.

Marc Mandelman Featured in Q&A “Navigating a Minefield Through Reductions in Force”

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Marc A. Mandelman, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, in the Q&A “Navigating A Minefield Through Reductions in Force.”

Following is an excerpt:

Editor: What protected classes have to be considered as excluded?

Mandelman: The law doesn’t require any particular or protected category to be excluded from the selection process of a reduction in force, but selection criteria must be neutral as to all protected classes. In other words, the selection process should not be based on any protected class or status. There should be an objective business rationale as to how people are being selected. Nevertheless, it is important to analyze any potential adverse impact on all protected classes to assess the potential litigation risk that a neutral selection criteria might inadvertently adversely impact a protected class.

It is worth noting that insofar as particular protected classes are concerned, one area of difficultly for many employers is understanding how to manage the selection for layoff of employees who are on Family Medical Leave Act or disability leave. Whether or not dismissal is appropriate in these circumstances may depend on whether other similarly situated employees who are not on leave are selected.

Bradley Thompson Quoted on Combination Product-Makers’ Impatience with FDA

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Bradley Thompson, a Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences Practice in the Washington, DC office, was quoted on the issue of combination product companies growing frustrated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s slowness in issuing key rules and guidance documents.

In the article, “Combo Product Firms Lose Patience As Regs, Guidance Are Delayed Again,” Thompson said: “Our concern is that FDA—through inadvertence, not through intention—is not paying a whole lot of attention to combination products.” Combination product companies, said Thompson, want the next FDA commissioner to raise the profile of combo product issues within the agency.

“Our number one concern is that the agency focus more on combination products, that they give that subject matter a higher priority, and that they start moving the freight on these important policy issues,” he said.

Marc Mandelman Quoted in “New York Publishes Emergency Rules for 2008 WARN Act, Citing Layoff Pace”

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Marc A. Mandelman, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted by Bloomberg BNA, in “New York Published Emergency Rules for 2008 WARN Act, Citing Layoff Pace.”

Follow is an excerpt:

Calling the New York law “one of the most restrictive advance notification laws in the United States,” Mandelmansaid in an interview that it is “making it more complicated to effectuate the reductions and reorganizations that are happening with increasing frequency and depth these days.”

The timing of the law and the economic climate, he told BNA, have created a “perfect storm of circumstances” that could leave employers vulnerable.

Most large, sophisticated employers have had the law “on their radar screens” since it was signed in August 2008, but smaller employers—those with 50 to 100 employees, which were not covered under the federal WARN Act but are covered under the state’s lower threshold—may not be prepared, he added.

“The timing of most business decisions does not allow for the kind of lead time required by this statute,” Mandelmancontinued, referring to its 90-day notice requirement, longer than the federal 60 days. “To meet the notice requirements, you’d need to plan at least four to five months in advance. Most businesses do not move at that speed, and in this economic climate, it’s hard for employers to say just which employees will be laid off so far in advance.”

Roberts Quoted on Fallout from Salary and Bonus Caps, in Employment Law360

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Allen Roberts, a Member of the Firm in the Labor & Employment practice in the New York office, was quoted in EmploymentLaw360 on a preference among many executives to seek an agreement with employers over recent caps on salary and bonuses, rather than challenging them in court.

In the article, “Uproar Over Exec Pay Unlikely To Spur Many Suits,” Roberts said: “I think it’s clear that even people who have contractual rights are stepping down from receiving everything that they otherwise could claim because it’s simply practical.”