Rivkin Radler LLP

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently enacted a regulation that would effectively ban non-compete agreements for almost all employers. Unless the rule is blocked by legal challenges, it will take effect September 4. Long Island Business News hosted a webinar on June 26, which explored the ban’s viability. Ken Novikoff, who leads Rivkin Radler’s Employment & Labor Practice Group, was featured in the webinar. Key Points: 1. The ban will have little to no effect in New York, whose courts already have been interpreting them narrowly, regularly not enforcing them. Judges don’t want to deprive people of the ability to make a living. 2. A primary purpose of a non-compete agreement is to give the employer, which will often be losing a client-facing employee, time to secure its relationship with its clients so as to avoid losing business to the departing employee who will likely be joining a competitor. Employers can still protect themselves through carefully tailored “non-solicitation of client” agreements. 3. There may be workarounds to the ban, such as paying an employee significantly more at the beginning of their employment for entering into a non-compete agreement. Another workaround is to give an employee their regular salary and benefits for a period of time to sit on the sidelines after they have been terminated. 4. While Ken believes that the FTC’s ban will be struck down. New York State will likely promulgate legislation in the next session enacting a similar ban. For more information, please contact Ken Novikoff or visit https://lnkd.in/dBMbjmG5 #Noncompeteagreements #employmentlaw #newlaw #laborlaw #NYSlaw

Rivkin Radler Partners Barry Levy and David Wilck spoke at the 2024 USLAW NETWORK, Inc.'s Professional Liability Forum in Napa! The yearly conference is geared towards in-house counsel and heads of claims with professional liability carriers including those covering lawyers, accountants, real estate brokers, insurance brokers, architects and engineers, and other professionals. David was this year's conference Chair. Rivkin Radler’s Professional Liability Practice Group has an excellent reputation for tackling the challenges professionals face. Our attorneys are among the most skilled and experienced in the region, and most of our partners have represented professionals in liability matters for more than 20 years.

As of July 31, a new rule implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General could have significant consequences for eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals, eligible clinicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), accountable care organizations (ACOs), ACO participants, and ACO providers and suppliers participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The final rule establishes disincentives for certain health care providers that have committed information blocking, or any activity that is likely to hamper access, exchange, or use of electronic protected health information (PHI). This rule applies only to a subset of the health care providers impacted by the information-blocking rules: those who are Medicare-enrolled providers or suppliers. OIG is seeking public comment on establishing disincentives for other health care providers that are subject to the information-blocking regulations but not implicated by this new rule (e.g., non-Medicare-enrolled providers). To read Benjamin P. Malerba and Jeff Ehrhardt's full article, please visit https://lnkd.in/eq_TiU2t #healthlaw #OIG

Do you have a corporate-owned life insurance policy? The United States Supreme Court recently determined that corporate-owned life insurance proceeds used to redeem a decedent’s shares in the corporation must be included when valuing those shares for federal estate tax purposes. A decedent’s taxable estate includes the fair market value of shares that he or she owned in a closely held corporation as of the decedent’s date of death. The Connelly Court determined that the proceeds from a life insurance policy owned by the corporation and used to redeem such shares at the death of the shareholder should be included in calculating the value of the shares for estate tax purposes. What does this decision mean for businesses? Owners of corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships should carefully review both their existing buy-sell agreements and estate plans, taking into consideration their current use of life insurance policies and its estate tax consequences. To read the full article, written by Walter. Gumersell, Joseph La Ferlita Patricia Marcin and Lindsay Brocki, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eptApEXF #lifeinsurance #trustsandestates #corporatelaw

Marc Ullman recently authored “The Problem Isn’t DSHEA — It’s FDA Siloing” in Natural Products Insider. In the article, Marc explains the dangers of the silo effect and how it limits interactions between members of different branches of the FDA. This results in reduced productivity and the issuing of only single-center warning letters on noncompliant nutritional supplements, causing hospitalization and illness. “How is it possible for one part of FDA to warn these (and other) companies about one set of legal violations on their websites while totally overlooking at least two other issues that they agency has identified as creating public health risks?” Marc wrote. To read the full article, please click https://lnkd.in/ejSBJZRc #FDA

Rivkin Radler mourns the passing of Partner, Lawrence A. Levy. https://lnkd.in/eh2XxaPp

Congratulations, Ryan! Rivkin Radler is pleased to announce that Ryan Hyde was named to the 2024 Florida Super Lawyers list in the area of Creditor Debtor Rights. Ryan has been named to Florida Super Lawyers since 2021 and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2016 to 2019. He is a partner in the firm’s Insurance Fraud Practice Group, with experience in commercial, bankruptcy, real estate, and business litigation. Hyde has represented institutional and private equity lenders, midsize and small business owners, real estate developers, property owners, homeowners’ associations, and restaurants in all aspects of civil law from intake through trial to appeal. Being named a Super Lawyer is an honor reserved for only the top 5 percent of all lawyers in a state or region. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a research-driven, peer-influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The mission of Super Lawyers is to bring visibility to those attorneys who exhibit excellence in practice.

Eric D. Fader co-authored the article “OIG Advisory Opinion Cautions Against ‘Surgeon Deals’ in Neuromonitoring” in SpineLine, the magazine of the North American Spine Society (NASS), with Dr, Rich Vogel, Co-Chair of the NASS Section on Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM). The article includes a detailed analysis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General Advisory Opinion 23-05, previously discussed in Rivkin Rounds, which warned that a common arrangement under which surgeons profit from referrals of their patients for IONM services can violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The federal government has issued warnings against these types of “suspect contractual joint ventures” from time to time over many years, but this is the first time the analysis has been applied to IONM. Following the article, Eric and Dr. Vogel recorded a podcast, where they discussed the subject matter of the OIG Advisory Opinion itself (potential violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute within the intraoperative monitoring industry), what IONM is, which types of surgeries it is used for, and questions regarding patient safety vs. possible overutilization of the service when it is not medically necessary. IONM companies and surgeons enter into or continue these arrangements at their own potential peril – the federal government now has the IONM industry and possible abuses on its radar. The Advisory Opinion has broader implications to any arrangement in which a physician or practice receives compensation for entering into a “joint venture” with another party that does most or all of the work and the physician’s or practice’s contribution to the joint venture is merely patient referrals. To read the full article, visit https://lnkd.in/ehr2E4YH

Tamika (Sanders) Hardy has been named in Long Island Business News's "Long Island Business Influencers: Most Dynamic Women 2024” list. LIBN recognized "forward-thinking female leaders, who aren’t afraid to speak their minds and propel their respective industries to the next level." Congratulations Tamika! https://lnkd.in/efvtsHFT