Karen M. Buesing

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Karen Buesing has 35 years of experience counseling and representing small and large employers in employment law matters. Karen is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and one of only 200 lawyers Board Certified by The Florida Bar as specialists in Labor & Employment Law. Chambers USA describes her as “passionate about helping her clients,” which include small and large businesses. In addition to counseling, she represents management in litigation before local, state, and federal agencies, state and federal courts, and arbitration panels.

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ALERT! Your COVID-19 Policies and Procedures Need a BOOSTER!

Employers who are conducting automatic COVID-19 testing of employees or gathering test results of employees’ families should beware: the Equal Employ­ment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued new guidance limiting the former and has penalized a healthcare practice recently for doing the latter.… Continue Reading

Medicare & Medicaid Facilities Are Put On Notice: Employees Must Be Vaccinated

Medicare and Medicaid certified facilities will be required to ensure that their employees are vaccinated for COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on September 9, 2021. Healthcare providers with 100 or more employees also may be subject to a forthcoming Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational … Continue Reading

Decision Reminds Providers of Limits on Restricting Employee Communications with Media

Hospitals and medical groups that bar staff from communicating with the media should take another look at those prohibitions following a recent federal appellate decision finding such a policy unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Multiple news accounts have detailed incidents where doctors and nurses were disciplined or fired for speaking out about … Continue Reading

Managing the Healthcare Workplace During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Healthcare providers have special concerns for their employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health pandemic. Because COVID-19 spreads primarily as a result of close exposure to an infected person, healthcare employees are at higher risk of infection. While OSHA has a standard to protect employees from the spread of bloodborne pathogens, it currently has no … Continue Reading

Justice Department Continues to Target Health Care Providers with “Barrier-Free” Initiative

The Department of Justice’s recent settlement with a Chicago-based hospital system is the latest reflecting the agency’s continuing pursuit of claims against health care providers – small and large — who fail to provide adequate service to persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired. Under the settlement, Franciscan St. James Health is required to conduct disability assessments … Continue Reading

Patient Records: Increasing Exposure for Privacy Breaches

Healthcare providers and businesses that store or process protected health information (“PHI”) face increased scrutiny and significant fines for data privacy breaches and security lapses in the coming months. In the past 12 months, the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has recovered more than $10 million in fines … Continue Reading

Justice Department Continues to Target Healthcare Providers with “Barrier Free Initiative”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has stepped up its pursuit of healthcare providers for failing to provide adequate service to persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired. In May, the DOJ announced multiple settlements with healthcare providers including a hospital, rehabilitation centers, an ear, nose, and throat practice, and a sports medicine center. The DOJ … Continue Reading
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