INSIDE COMPLIANCE – Page 25 – Loyola University Chicago School of Law

The Legal Fight for Student Debt Forgiveness Is Underway

October 21, 2022Finance & Banking

In August, President Joe Biden announced that his administration would be implementing a one-time student loan debt relief program for Americans with student loan debt. Since the announcement, the administration has posted guidance on the Department of Education’s website that explains the plan in detail and attempts to answer some FAQs. The website outlining the plan states that $10,000 worth of debt would be forgiven for Americans making less than $125,000 a year who have outstanding federal student loans. For those who received Pell Grants to pay for college, up to $20,000 worth of student loan debt would be forgiven. The website states that “the Administration will launch a simple application in October” that must be completed by the end of the year to determine whether borrowers qualify for debt forgiveness. That application is now available on the Federal Student Aid website.

BidenBiden AdministrationDemocratic PartyDemocratsEducationelectionElectionsmidtermsPresident BidenRepublican PartyRepublicansStudent Loan DebtStudent Loan Debt Forgivenessstudent loans

Home Health Care: Cost-Effective, Convenient, and Vulnerable to Fraud

October 21, 2022Fraud & Abuse, Healthcare Compliance

Home health agencies (HHAs) provide health care services to assist individuals with a disability, or who are ill, injured, or elderly. It is a cost-effective and convenient method of receiving quality care that is provided from the comfort of the patient’s own home. While HHAs have been around for years, primarily to serve the elderly and avoid hospitalization, the post-pandemic “at-home” era has made it the fastest-growing healthcare industry in the country. However, the high demands and good intentions of instilling home health agencies come with its adverse counterpart- fraud and abuse.

#healthcarefraudCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Serviceshealth care fraud and abusehome health careMedicare Advantage Organizations

Department of Education Reinforces Protections Under Title IX

October 20, 2022Compliance Spotlight

It has been more than 100 days since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In the wake of this decision, on October 4, the Biden administration reinforced guidelines regarding legal protections related to abortion and pregnancy under Title IX.

complianceEducationRegulationTitle IX

Chicago Aims to Abolish Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

October 20, 2022Uncategorized

Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited in Chicago. To further instill this message, in April 2022, Mayor Lightfoot and the Commission on Human Relations amended the sexual harassment laws (Human Rights Ordinance) to provide sharpened tools to employers and employees for preventing sexual harassment. These amendments strengthened the existing laws in strictly enforcing zero tolerance of violence and harassment in the workplace through written employment policies, posters, and training. Starting July 1, 2022, strict compliance with these amendments became the standard throughout Chicago.

ChicagoJournal of Regulatory Compliancesexual harassmentworkplace

The Gig is Up: Government Efforts to Regulate Gig Work and the Changing Definition of Employment

October 20, 2022Uncategorized

On October 11, 2022, the Department of Labor released a proposal to redefine independent contractor classifications under the Fair Labor Standards act. The change in definition, if approved, will have major implications for gig workers and companies such as Uber, Doordash, Grubhub, etc. These companies have already had a drop in stock value because of the announcement and the companies are at risk of losing more value as the gig economy destabilizes.

Department of LaborLabor and EmploymentRegulationTransportation

Facing the Fire: A Lesson on Whistleblower Protections

October 19, 2022Finance & Banking

For compliance programs to be effective, bad behavior must be reported internally to management and an avenue must exist to report externally to regulators and the media. For whistleblowers to be willing to come forward, it is critical that they are protected.

Dodd-Frankfinancial regulationRegulationSarbanes-Oxleywhistleblower

Department of Justice Announces The Second Monaco Memo

October 19, 2022Uncategorized

On September 15, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco issued a memorandum to the Department of Justice (DOJ) titled “Further Revisions to Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies Following Discussions with Corporate Crime Advisory Group”. This memorandum is otherwise known as the “Second Monaco Memo”, named after the Deputy Attorney General. This is the second memorandum Monaco has issued in the past year, as the first memorandum was issued in October of 2021. The first memorandum announced the establishment of a Corporate Crime Advisory group, its purpose was to guide and review the DOJ’s approach to corporate criminal enforcement. These memorandums are important to both the defense bar and corporate counsel, as they establish rules and guidelines for corporate criminal enforcement.

Corporate AccountabilityCorporate Compliancecorporate cultureDepartment of JusticeJournal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulation

Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors: What the SEC Has Proposed & How Proposals May Impact the Regulatory World and Small Businesses

October 14, 2022Uncategorized

In March of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a new rule that would require public companies to disclose important information about their carbon footprint. Although many continue to sing the praises of the new rule, a fair share of critics has emerged as well. Additionally, while this proposal may have an impact on large public companies, critics question what this rule will mean for smaller suppliers.

climate actioncomplianceDisclosure Regulationenvironmental regulationSEC

U.S. Makes Forced Labor a “Top-Tier” Compliance Issue as Chinese Government Continues to Commit Human Rights Violations

October 14, 2022Uncategorized

China has long persecuted individuals in their Xinjiang region, mostly Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims. Specifically, the Chinese government has a long history of forcing Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims to do manual labor. These human rights violations prompted President Biden to sign the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law late last year. On June 21, 2022, the UFLPA went into effect, blocking the importation of goods made from forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China. The law has four main functions. It employs both an enforcement strategy and a diplomatic strategy, it applies a presumption that all goods from the Xinjiang region are barred, and it has required sanctions. Although the United States had previously restricted imports from the Xinjiang region under the Trump administration, this is the furthest step forward the US government has taken to eliminate imports from the region all together.

ChinaHuman RightsimportsInternational Affairslabor

OSHA’s New Directive: An Incentive or a Drawback?

October 13, 2022Uncategorized

In September 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a new instruction which broadens the scope of the agency’s inspection program, the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). The previous directive, which went into effect in 2010, allowed OSHA to place employers in the program if its employees committed certain serious violations, especially if they had already been cited for the violation once or received a failure-to-abate notice. The new instruction allows OSHA to place employers in the program that probably would not have met the criteria in the previous directive.

EmploymentHazardous MaterialsOSHA