The Washington Report
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June 15, 2022
Note to Subscribers
The Washington Report will not be published on June 22, 2022. Look for your next Aon Washington Report on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
Health
HHS Releases Guidance on HIPAA and Audio-Only Telehealth
On June 13, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), released guidance on how covered health care providers and health plans can use remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services when such communications are conducted in a manner that is consistent with the applicable requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, including when OCR’s Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth is no longer in effect. The guidance will help individuals to continue to benefit from audio-only telehealth by clarifying how covered entities can provide these services in compliance with the HIPAA Rules and by improving public confidence that covered entities are protecting the privacy and security of their health information.
The news release is available here.
The latest guidance is available here.
The Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth is available here.
Other HR/Employment
IRS Increases Mileage Rate Effective July 1, 2022
On June 9, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2022. Taxpayers may use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes. For the final six months of 2022, the standard mileage rate for business travel will be 62.5 cents per mile, up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of the year. The new rate for deductible medical or moving expenses (available for active-duty members of the military) will be 22 cents for the remainder of 2022, up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of 2022. These new rates become effective July 1, 2022. The IRS provided legal guidance on these new rates in Announcement 2022-13.
According to the IRS, “In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2022. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year. For travel from January 1 through June 30, 2022, taxpayers should use the rates set forth in Notice 2022-03.”
The news release is available here.
Announcement 2022-13 is available here.
IRS Notice 2022-03 is available here.
EEOC Announces Registration Now Open for Federal and Private Employer Training Courses
On June 8, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that its registration system for federal and private sector training courses is open. The EEOC provides technical assistance training to both federal and private sector employers. For federal sector employees, virtual courses start on June 13, 2022. Private sector virtual workshops begin June 28, 2022, and include such topics as pay equity, racial justice and systemic discrimination, civil rights and the pandemic, retaliation, algorithmic fairness and artificial intelligence, LGBTQI+ issues, legal updates, and many more. These courses are designed for human resource professionals, attorneys, supervisors and managers, and EEO professionals.
The news release is available here.
Additional details regarding private sector workshops including course lists, agendas, pricing information, and more, can be found here.
More information regarding the federal sector courses, (including the calendar of events), can be found here.