Recently, questions have been raised by community mental health facilities as to whether an electronic signature is given the same legal effect as a traditional, written signature. In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA). Two years later, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a draft of a proposed HIPAA security regulations. In part, the regulations addressed security obligations of “covered […]

For those of us who grew up in small-town America, most memories of childhood include happy hours spent outside, on the sidewalks of our neighborhoods. Even today those memories of the old neighborhood still speak to you of “home,” “safety,” and a carefree outlook on life. As a homeowner, however, one place of potential liability to consider is the sidewalk and parkway in front of your house. Local Law: the […]

Whether you are a small, medium or large sized business owner or human resources professional, working your way through the State of Michigan unemployment process can be daunting at best. The fact that the state recently shortened the name of its agency from the Michigan Employment Security Commission to the less unwieldy Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has done nothing to simplify the process of dealing with former employees who apply […]

Jim Acho, attorney for former Detroit Lions Ernie Clark, is pleased to announce that after several months of negotiating, Mr. Clark is the new spokesman for Health Alliance Plan (HAP). HAP is a non-profit health plan based in Detroit that provides health care coverage to 570,000 members. Mr. Clark followed up a Big 10 run at Michigan State with a career as a linebacker with the Detroit Lions from 1961-1968 […]

By taking proactive steps to anticipate legal issues on campus, college administrators can manage risk in the area of student affairs.  Anticipating legal issues can be done in a couple ways. Firstly, many colleges belong to associations that provide updates regarding the status of pending legislation.  Typically these updates are provided to the college’s liaison to the association.  Administrators should seek out these updates as well.  By doing so, administrators […]