The long-awaited final Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in January become effective on March 26. According to the HHS, the regulations represent “the most sweeping changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules since they were first implemented.” The regulations are based on changes under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

New provisions

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By Jane Pfeifle

Though a similar measure was narrowly defeated in 2006, this year South Dakota resoundingly rejected Initiative 13, which called for the legalization of medical marijuana. As a result employers can breathe a sigh of relief because the measure raised numerous questions about how they might be called on to respond to employees who were registered users.

Under the proposal, an employer couldn’t refuse to hire someone who held a marijuana registration. Yet what was unclear under the initiative was how employees who were under the influence at work could be treated: read more…