News

Report Finds The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Relied On Inadequate Science To Propose Delisting The Gray Wolf

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

A report issued by a group of independent scientists claims that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) relied on inadequate scientific evidence to support its proposal to delist the gray wolf (Canis lupus) under the Endangered Species Act...

Quirky Question #219, Is Unemployment Status a Protected Category?

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

Quirky Question: We recently interviewed an applicant with a very spotty resume; there were repeated gaps in his employment history which were apparent from his resume. He was not hired and called HR to complain that it is illegal for us to...

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Reviewing Two Proposed Fraud & Abuse Rules

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

On February 5, 2014, the OMB received two proposed rules from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG). One proposed rule would, among other things, update OIG’s regulations to reflect the Affordable Care Act...

“We have to offer COBRA, When?” The “In Anticipation of Divorce” Rule

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

Most plan administrators know that the recipe for a group health plan’s COBRA obligation includes three ingredients – a qualifying event that occurs while the individual is covered by the plan that triggers a loss of such coverage. One of the more...

The Strike Force Approach To Combatting Health Care Fraud

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and other federal and state agencies are aggressively prosecuting health care fraud and related offenses through a strike force approach that has...

Cyber Espionage And Insurance Coverage

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

In the United States alone, it is estimated that the cost of “[c]yber-espionage and other malicious cyber crimes...[i s] between $24 billion and $120 billion annually.” In 2008, the U.S. Department of Defense’s classified security networks were...

Chicago Enforcement Officials Discuss 2014 SEC & DOJ Priorities: New Regime At SEC Takes A Page From The Prosecutors’ Playbook

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

Enforcement officials from the U.S. SEC’s Chicago Regional Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois gathered to discuss their enforcement initiatives at the “SEC & DOJ Hot Topics 2014” program on February 11, 2014....

SEC Staff Issues Risk Alert Addressing Adviser Due Diligence on Alternative Investments

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a National Examination Program Risk Alert that summarizes OCIE staff observations on investment adviser due diligence practices with respect to alternative investments....

Cyber Security: Are You At Risk?

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

In This Issue: - Prevention - Notification - Potential Litigation - Conclusion - Excerpt from Foreward: As the recent Target and Neiman Marcus data breaches made clear, cyber security is one of the top threats to business today. These...

President Signs Federal Contractor "Minimum Wage" Order

By EsqSocial Corporation 14/02/14

The White House Press Office reports that President Obama has now signed an Executive Order to raise the minimum-wage rate for workers on federal contracts, as he announced he would do in his recent State of the Union speech. His intentions are...

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