Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

 

September 27, "Discovering Business in the New Economy" hosted by AltaPacific Bank and Montgomery Niemeyer & Co.

 

October 3, "Where's the Strategy in Your Strategic Plan?" hosted by the Irwindale Chamber of Commerce

 

Failure to Erase Health Information from Photocopier Costs Health Plan $1.2 Million

Under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a health plan serving the New York metropolitan area will settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules for $1.2 million.

 

The not-for-profit managed care plan filed a breach report with the HHS Office for Civil Rights on April 15, 2010, as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The HITECH Breach Notification Rule requires HIPAA-covered entities to notify HHS of a breach of unsecured protected health information.

 

The health plan indicated that it was informed by a representative of the CBS Evening News that, as part of an investigatory report, CBS had purchased a photocopier previously leased by the health plan. CBS informed the health plan that the copier contained confidential medical information on the hard drive.

 

The health plan estimated that up to 344,579 individuals may have been affected by this breach. The HHS investigation indicated that the health plan impermissibly disclosed the protected health information (PHI) of these affected individuals when it returned multiple photocopiers to leasing agents without erasing the data contained on the copier hard drives.

 

In addition, the investigation revealed that the health plan failed to incorporate the electronic protected health information (ePHI) stored on photocopier hard drives in its analysis of risks and vulnerabilities as required by the Security Rule, and failed to implement policies and procedures when returning the photocopiers to its leasing agents.

 

In addition to the $1.2 million payment, the settlement includes a corrective action plan requiring the health plan to use its best efforts to retrieve all hard drives that were contained on photocopiers previously leased by the plan that remain in the possession of the leasing agent and to take certain measures to safeguard all ePHI.

 

Note: Under HIPAA all employers that maintain PHI need to train their employees in the Privacy and Security Rules of HIPAA.

 

ABC Cake Shop & Bakery Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit for $220,000

The ABC Cake Shop & Bakery in Albuquerque, which is owned and operated by Early Bird Management Group, LLC, has agreed to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC for $220,000.

 

The EEOC's lawsuit charged that an owner of ABC subjected female employees, including some teenagers, to sexual harassment.  The sexually offensive conduct included sexual comments, innuendo and unwanted touching. The EEOC's suit also alleged that some women were forced to quit their jobs because of the sexual harassment.

 

At least 19 women are expected to receive relief through the consent decree settling the suit.  In addition to the substantial monetary relief, the decree prohibits ABC from further discriminating or retaliating against its employees and requires it to implement policies and practices that will provide its employees a work environment free of sex discrimination and retaliation.  ABC also agreed to provide the harmed women with letters of reference and apology letters.  Finally, ABCs must also provide its employees with anti-discrimination training and notice of the settlement.

 

Employers must comply with federal law that requires them to maintain workplaces where employees are not subjected to illegal sexual harassment or forced to quit because of it.  Women should not be forced to choose between intolerable abuse and making a living for themselves and their families.

 

Note: The EEOC recently updated its Youth@Work website at http://www.eeoc.gov/youth/, which presents information for teens and other young workers about employment discrimination.  The website also contains curriculum guides for students and teachers and videos to help young workers learn about their rights and responsibilities in the work force.

 

Factoids

• 19% of employees lose more than 1 hour per day of work due to personal tasks
• 18% say juggling work and personal life is their top stressor
• 77% of companies surveyed allowed telecommuting (Korn/Ferry)
• 67.1 is the target retirement age according to employees surveyed, an increase of 2.6 years from 2008 (Unum)
• People between 55 and 64 spend an average of $54,000 per year to live.
• 6% of people in their 60s have children living at home

 

Quotes

The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad.
~Colin Powell~