By Lynne Curry If you think the national division over guns hasn’t hit your workplace, you haven’t been listening. Not only are the employees who advocate for increased gun control, including a ban on assault-style rifles like the AR-15, engaged in an active argument with those who argue for fewer restrictions on gun owners’ ability to carry concealed firearms—but some of … [Read more...] about Are there guns in your workplace?
Risk management
Signs of potential disaster were present at Walmart—Are they at your workplace?
By Lynne Curry There were signs of potential disaster that later erupted in six deaths when Walmart supervisor Andre Bing shot and killed six coworkers in November. There always are. Four decades of investigating violent workplace incidents have convinced me of this. “I didn’t want to say anything,” someone always says, “but….” “That was just ‘Jon,’ but we all sort of knew … [Read more...] about Signs of potential disaster were present at Walmart—Are they at your workplace?
Physician and medical office to pay over $2.6M for false claims and kickback allegations
Allegations of improper billing and kickbacks have led to a penalty of more than $2.6 million for a Connecticut medical practice and physician. United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced that Feel Well Health Center of Southington, PC, (formerly doing business as “Feel Well Health Center”) and Kevin P. Greene, M.D. … [Read more...] about Physician and medical office to pay over $2.6M for false claims and kickback allegations
What to do when an employee uses FMLA to cover drinking
By Lynne Curry Question: We suspect one of our employees of using intermittent FMLA leave to cover her abuse of alcohol. We see a clear pattern. She takes leave two to three Mondays a month. Prior to her requesting FMLA leave, she claimed occasional sick days on Mondays. Other employees have noticed her leaving early on Fridays as well. With this fact pattern and given the … [Read more...] about What to do when an employee uses FMLA to cover drinking
What you should know about new COVID-19 guidance
CDC is streamlining its COVID-19 guidance to help people better understand their risk, how to protect themselves and others, what actions to take if exposed to COVID-19, and what actions to take if they are sick or test positive for the virus. COVID-19 continues to circulate globally, however, with so many tools available to us for reducing COVID-19 severity, there is … [Read more...] about What you should know about new COVID-19 guidance
How to handle office romance in 2023
By Lynne Curry Three potential hot messes. In company Z, a senior manager considered his workplace a dating pool in which he fished. When he put the moves on a new female employee, the workplace grapevine ignited. In company Y, the head of marketing had serial crushes on one after another of the male management trainees. Because she was attractive and personable, several of … [Read more...] about How to handle office romance in 2023
Love contracts: Help for hot messes
They arrive at work separately. They never touch each other in your presence. Then, as you chair a meeting, you see his gray eyes seek hers out across the conference table. She returns his gaze; her eyes linger. Suddenly you know. The senior manager, despite all the sexual harassment seminars he’s attended, appears romantically intertwined with an accounting clerk. If you’re … [Read more...] about Love contracts: Help for hot messes
How to stay vigilant without hiring a surprise attack ninja
Remember the Pink Panther movies? Peter Sellers’ character, Inspector Clouseau, hired “Cato” to randomly attack him. He thought unexpected ninja attacks would keep him every vigilant. While the over the top comedy is ridiculous, it does remind us of how to approach cybersecurity. You do not need to hire someone with a kendo stick to beat your staff into compliance, but frequent … [Read more...] about How to stay vigilant without hiring a surprise attack ninja
5 ways your medical office can violate HIPAA
The HIPAA Privacy Act is a federal law that was established in 1996 to set provisions and standards for the protection of personal health information. The rule puts limits and conditions on the use and disclosure of patient medical information. It also gives patients the right to obtain a copy, examine, and request corrections to their records. Though most medical practices are … [Read more...] about 5 ways your medical office can violate HIPAA
Is your contact form providing a back door for cybercriminals?
By Doug Striker As automated email filtering gets better at screening for phishing attempts, criminals are responding by looking for attack techniques that evade those tools. Believe or not, their newest tactic is to fill out online contact forms and then use the response process to sneak malware into your system. By now, we are all familiar with email phishing. Most medical … [Read more...] about Is your contact form providing a back door for cybercriminals?