Starting on July 1, 2022, the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have agreed to three changes in how medical collection accounts are reported. The three credit reporting agencies will no longer include paid medical collection debt…
Client Alerts
MA Seeks to Protect Tenants from Foreclosure
A House and corresponding Senate bill aimed to protect tenants who occupy a foreclosed property from eviction has had favorable responses and has strong potential to become law in MA. H. 1483 and S. 1047, “An Act preventing unnecessary vacancies…
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Ending Certain COVID-19 Regulatory Waivers for Skilled Nursing Facilities
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued Memorandum QSO-22-15-NH & NLTC & LSC (Memorandum) announcing that certain staffing, treatment, and life safety regulatory waivers applicable to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and in effect during the COVID-19 state…
New Jersey Extends Statute of Limitations for Special Education Compensatory Education Related to COVID-19
On March 3, 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law legislation that extends the statute of limitations for filing a due process petition regarding the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child with a disability, or the…
Education Alert: Open Meetings Act
On February 24, 2022, the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General completed an investigation into an Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) complaint filed against the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education (“Council”) and issued a decision finding the Council violated…
EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on Accommodating Employees’ Religious Objections to COVID-19 Vaccines
On March 1, 2022 the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) issued new technical guidance (the “March 1 Guidance”) for employers on how to address an employee’s religious objection to COVID-19 vaccinations and requests for accommodations. The March…
Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules Connecticut Choice-of-Law Provision Does Not Apply to Determining the Applicable Statute of Limitations in a Foreclosure Action
Despite seemingly concrete language in loan agreements and mortgage documents, a recent case decided by the Rhode Island Supreme Court highlights that contractual language is not always as clear as it appears. In Webster Bank v. Rosenbaum, et al., the…
Connecticut Supreme Court Holds Compliance with HUD Regulations Is a Condition Precedent to Foreclosure Actions
Recently, in Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Lorson, et al., the Connecticut Supreme Court held that compliance with applicable federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulatory requirements is a condition precedent to the acceleration of a debt, enforcement…
NY Education Update: Staff and Student COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Requirements
With COVID numbers rising as many charter schools are returning from winter break, questions have been raised regarding adding a booster requirement to staff vaccination policies, and whether it is permissible to require students to submit to a COVID test or…
Education Law Update: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ends Wolf Administration’s School Mask Mandate
On Friday, December 10, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court effectively ended the school mask mandate implemented by the Acting Secretary of Health of the Wolf Administration. Local school leaders now have the authority to determine the appropriate COVID-19 mitigation measures…
Understanding the Impact of OSHA’s New COVID-19 Policies on Employers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers to implement policies for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing. The ETS applies to private employers with more than 100 employees. While the…
Pennsylvania Education Law Update: Commonwealth Court Determines Mask Mandate in Pennsylvania Schools Will Expire December 4, 2021
On November 16, 2021, the Commonwealth Court ordered the school mask mandate to expire on December 4, 2021. Although the current mask mandate is to expire on December 4, 2021, the opinion by the Commonwealth Court leaves open the possibility…
Emergency Temporary Standard: Understanding the Impact of OSHA’s New COVID-19 Policies on Massachusetts Charter Schools
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers to implement policies for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing. The ETS applies to private employers with more than 100 employees. While the…
New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines Effective October 4, 2021
Every four (4) years, the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines are reviewed and updated by a Task Force appointed by the Chief Justice of the Trial Court. Following the review by the Task Force, on October 4, 2021, the new Massachusetts…
Court Reaffirms Decision in Special Education Tuition Reimbursement Case
Recently, in I.G. v. City of Linden Board of Education, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (the “District Court”) affirmed the decision of an Administrative Law Judge (the “ALJ”) that parents of a student with…
Education Law Update: United States Department of Education Issues Q&A on Title IX’s 2020 Amendments
Our school clients should be made aware of a Question and Answer Sheet (“Q&A”) (which can be found here) recently issued by the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (the “OCR”) with respect to Title IX and…
Education Law Update: United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Launches Investigations Regarding Prohibitions of Indoor Masking in Schools
On August 30, 2021, the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (the “OCR”) opened directed investigations in five (5) states to explore whether statewide prohibitions on universal indoor masking discriminates against students with disabilities who are at…
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Explains Tolling Period for Statutes of Limitations due to COVID-19
On September 3, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a decision that clarified the provisions of its COVID-19 Orders concerning the tolling of statutes of limitations. The SJC held that the COVID-19 Tolling Order applied to all civil…
Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Health Issues Order Requiring Face Coverings to be Worn in Schools
On August 31, 2021, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Health issued an Order requiring face coverings to be worn in all school entities—including school districts, brick and mortar and cyber charter schools, private and parochial schools, career and technical centers, intermediate…
Education Client Alert: Executive Order Allowing Remote Public Meetings in Rhode Island Ends July 23, 2021
This week Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee’s office announced they will no longer continue to renew former Governor Raimondo’s Executive Order 20-05 (“Order”) allowing public bodies to meet remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the Order, the…