Law Commons^™

The Covid-19 Safety And Health Accreditation Program: How Food Safety Inspectors And Building Inspectors Can Incentivize Osha Compliance To Protect Workers During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Lindsey Tanita

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

The coronavirus pandemic exposed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) severe lack of commitment and resources to enforce standards aimed at providing a safe and healthful workplace for millions of workers who are at an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 every time they step foot into the workplace. We’ve seen nurses treating COVID-19 patients pleading for personal protective equipment all across the county,1 a bus driver in Detroit dying of COVID-19 after complaining about lack of protections from a coughing passenger,2 and more than three hundred workers testing positive for COVID-19 in one Los Angeles factory, even after …

Empowering The Minority Healthcare Worker Amidst Racial Patient Bias & Covid-19, Rachel Tran

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

While the discussion surrounding implicit physician bias has become more prevalent, patient bias is often overlooked. For decades, the United States’ healthcare system has normalized accommodation of patients’ racially biased requests, providing little to no support for minority healthcare workers. This paper presents social, ethical, and legal arguments for the creation of effective patient bias policies while challenging traditional barriers to implementation. It also advances a guideline of recommendations for healthcare institutions, civil rights organizations, and governments to draw from. These recommendations include the right to turn away patients who repeatedly discriminate against healthcare professionals.

Covid-19 Should Not Create A New Class Of Criminals, Alaina Lynch

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

This paper offers a critique of the punitive response to COVID-19 in the United States and argues that punitive resources must be redistributed. Specifically, this paper suggests that no criminal charges be brought related to the novel disease transmission because policing and arrests related to COVID-19 exposure crimes are counterproductive. Defunding these punitive efforts and reallocating funds towards virus containment, the spread of factual information about disease transmission, vaccine research, the delivery of resources to communities in need, and support for victims of crimes in alternative ways is a more effective strategy to support public health and safety. To make …

Mail-Voting During Covid-19: Protecting Public Health And Expanding Voting Accessibility, Emily Kawahara

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

The 2020 presidential election will be held during the COVID-19 public health crisis. In response to the COVID-19 situation, there is an immediate need to universalize mail-voting. However, President Donald Trump consistently downplays COVID-19 and asserts that mail- voting causes voter fraud and favors the Democratic Party. This Article examines modifications made in prior elections held during or in the wake of crises. Though these modifications are not applicable for the COVID-19 pandemic, they provide two important distinctions: crisis-specific measures should prioritize protecting public health and, if there is an opportunity to preserve the right to vote through election modification, …

Death By Virus: Why The Prison Litigation Reform Act Should Be Suspended, Divya Sriharan

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

In order to save the lives of inmates, as well as redress some of the harms the prison system and the pandemic have caused them, Congress must pass a bill to temporarily suspend the Prison Litigation Reform Act. As of August 13, 2020, 95,398 inmates have contracted COVID-19. Prisons refuse to adapt or implement measures to save lives. Because of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, it is near impossible for inmates to take their cases to court. The Prison Litigation Reform Act’s requirements include: exhausting all internal administrative remedies before filing in court, not allowing suits based on mental or …

Humanity For Asylum Seekers: How Migrant Protection Protocols And The March 20th Cdc Order Violate The Constitutional Rights Of Asylum Seekers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Madison Beck

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

In late 2018, the Trump Administration introduced Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain in Mexico Policy, to curb illegal immigration. The protocols allow the U.S. to remove immigrants, including asylum seekers, to Mexico while their claims are processed. This is problematic on its own, but even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic; makeshift asylum tent-camps are home to thousands of vulnerable individuals where viral spread would be devastating. Additionally, in March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an “order suspending introduction of certain persons from countries where a communicable disease exists” further worsening …

The Right To Health In Immigration Detention During The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Examination Of Federal And International Law, Alaina Dye

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

This article examines the United States’ response to the severe impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in immigration detention centers and considers the United States’ obligations to the vulnerable population of immigrant detainees. This article argues that the COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrates the United States’ lack of guaranteed health care for immigrant detainees and deportees despite international recognition of the human rights to health and life. The United States violates international law when immigrant detainees’ human rights are disregarded by lack of appropriate access to health care during a global pandemic. This article recognizes that discrimination against immigrants under the Trump …

Not Everyone Is Safer At Home: The Harsh Reality That Many Domestic Violence Victims Face In Light Of Covid-19 “Stay At Home” Orders, Megan Divine

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

Domestic violence victims are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Home is not a safe place for everyone. Abuse thrives in silence and isolation. Isolation exacerbates the types of violence and abuse that victims experience. The coronavirus pandemic presents a perfect opportunity for abusers to exercise increased levels of coercive control. This includes not only physical abuse, but also emotional, financial, and psychological abuse. Survivors too, are impacted by many of these concerns. Limited finances and decreased access to housing, support, and affordable childcare increases the potential for survivors to return to their abusers. Many have considered the coronavirus crisis …

Child Maltreatment Reporting Statistics During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cursory Analysis, Alison L. Hansen

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

This goal of this research is to provide a cursory analysis of publicly available child maltreatment data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of total allegations of child maltreatment between the months of March and June—a span of time representative of the COVID-19 pandemic thus far—were analyzed in five different states in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. An analysis of total numbers of allegations and the percentage change in allegations per year revealed a disproportionate decline in child maltreatment reports during the COVID-19 pandemic. This data corroborates nationwide reports of decreases in child maltreatment allegations in the …

U.S. Border Expulsions Further Jeopardize Asylum Seekers And Unaccompanied Minors In The Time Of Covid-19, Evan Harris

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a public health order on March 20, 2020, restricting people seeking asylum in the United States, as well as unaccompanied non-citizen children attempting to cross into the United States, from accessing legal protections guaranteed to them under U.S. and international law.1 Under the order, such individuals are instead immediately expelled from the country in an effort to protect border facilities and the citizenry of the United States from COVID-19.

2 As the order reasons, these immediate expulsions minimize the introduction of persons into “congregate settings” at border facilities and thereby reduce …

Housing The Homeless Population During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Governments’ Ethical Responsibility, Amy Holmes

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

COVID-19 took the world by storm in late 2019. Governments acted to ensure that their populations were as protected as possible through stay-at-home orders and the closure of stores, restaurants, and public spaces around the world. Stay-at-home orders work well when citizens have somewhere to stay, but those experiencing homelessness face the almost insurmountable challenge of staying safe and healthy without access to a safe place to stay. COVID-19 has spread rapidly through the homeless population, and as such poses a risk to the population as a whole as the world begins to reopen. Without access to adequate sanitation supplies …

Challenges In Navigating Disability Discrimination And Privacy Laws In Addressing Physician Health, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

2018 Legal Update: Npdb Reporting, Retaliation, Physician Well Being, And Medical Staff Litigation, Preparing For A Successful Judicial Review Hearing, Rick D. Barton, Natalie V. Mueller

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Bylaws: How To Solve And Minimize Difficult Staff Solutions, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Patient Safety, Peer Review, And Credentialing: Navigating Sovereign Immunity And Balancing State And Federal Law In Your Quality Department, Rick D. Barton, Natalie V. Mueller

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Retaliation And Healthcare Providers: Navigating Health And Safety Code Section 1278.5, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

New National Practitioner Data Bank Guidebook Impact On Bylaw Standards, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Legal Aspects Of Assessing The Aging Physician—An Update, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Confidentiality & Reporting Requirements For Physician Well-Being Committees, Rick D. Barton, Natalie V. Mueller, Shelly A. Carder, Mitchell J. Green, Tom Curtis

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Managing The Multiple Layers Of Physician Oversight, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Retaliation And Healthcare Providers: Navigating Health And Safety Code Section 1278.5, Rick D. Barton, Natalie V. Mueller

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Medical Staff Boot Camp, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Medical Staff Bylaws: Meeting New Medicare Conditions Of Participation And Joint Commission Requirements, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Medical Staff Boot Camp, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

The Dilemma Of The Aging Physician: Legal And Practical Challenges, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Medical Staff Bylaws: Meeting New Medicare Conditions Of Participation And Joint Commission Requirements, Rick D. Barton, Alma L. Saravia, Scott C. Gardner

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Pursuing Quality Through Medical Staff And Physician Oversight, Rick D. Barton

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.

Legal Aspects Of Assessing The Aging Physician, Rick D. Barton, Jamie D. Quient

Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics

No abstract provided.