By Pamela Williams, Partner, Fisher Phillips   With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has placed an increased focused on the obligations of healthcare employers to provide employees a safe work environment.  OSHA recently published an alert regarding COVID-19 guidance for nursing home and long-term care facility workers, with recommendations for practices to reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. While the suggested practices are laudable, some of the...

By A. Kevin Troutman, Partner, Fisher Phillips   As the nation and its healthcare system appear to be gaining the upper hand in the COVID-19 crisis, many challenges remain.  One of the biggest challenges is the toll this crisis has taken on healthcare workers across the board.  Some of these challenges are obvious while others are incredibly ironic.  For example, while the demands and uncertainties of this outbreak placed huge demands on parts of a...

By Brian London, J.D., Fisher Phillips, Associate The vast majority of sexual harassment lawsuits involve the actions of another employee or supervisor.  “But not always,” as the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently noted in a case that is drawing attention from healthcare employers. The Gardner Case In Gardner v. CLC of Pascagoula, L.L.C., the plaintiff, Kymberli Gardner, worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at an assisted living facility in Mississippi operated by CLC.[1] ...

By Mauro Ramirez   A top priority for healthcare employers is to reduce and prevent workplace violence and maintain a safe work environment.  As a result of various factors, health care employees experience nearly as many serious injuries due to workplace violence as do employees in all other industries combined, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).   OSHA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor charged with assuring safe and healthy...

By Joe Gagnon, Fisher Phillips, LLP The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed employers an important legal victory with respect to managing employees with disabilities and considering accommodation requests. While the case involved a security company, the Court’s opinion offers important reminders to employers in other industries, including health care. As medical facilities strive to maintain the delicate balance between competing interests such as ensuring patient safety and complying with employment law, the Court’s...

By A. Kevin Troutman, Partner, Fisher Phillips   At the dawn of a new year, experts agree that human resources professionals in the health care industry face daunting challenges. In fact, even the single most long-standing challenge now comes with new twists.   Including huge hospital systems, neighborhood physician and dental practices, clinics, diagnostic centers and home health agencies, to name a few, the health care industry comprises a vast slice of the country’s economy...

By Pamela Williams and Felix Digilov, Fisher Phillips   As the United States grows increasingly diverse, so does the American workforce. This diversity is encapsulated not only in race and gender but also in the age of workers. About 27% of 65- to 74-year-olds were employed either full- or part-time in 2016. That number is expected to reach 30% by 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.   The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that,...

By Mauro Ramirez and Felix Digilov, Fisher Phillips   On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced significant changes to fundamental requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which will expand overtime pay obligations to an estimated 1.3 million additional workers. This new “overtime rule” will take effect in a few weeks, on January 1, 2020. Coupled with a historically tight labor market, the changes could place greater strain on health...

By A. Kevin Troutman   It has often been said that the very purpose of a hospital is to provide nursing care. In today’s sophisticated, high-tech medical world, that statement actually may be truer than ever. Although more and more procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis (usually with nurses involved), patients admitted to a hospital are there primarily for the nursing care. This statement is not intended to diminish in any way the...

BY A. Kevin Troutman, Fisher Phillips Houston   While at-will employment remains a bedrock principle in most states, including Texas, healthcare employers must ensure that their leaders and supervisors never make the mistake of relying exclusively upon this principle when making employment decisions. The “myth” of at-will employment is especially dangerous when decision-makers do not recognize the myriad limitations on the proposition that either the employer or employee may terminate the employment relationship for any...