Lance's Corner

NYSAG Issues Website Privacy Guides

Jul 30, 2024

Per the notice below, the New York State Attorney General (NYSAG) has issued two guides on Website privacy for businesses and consumers.

Attorney General James Launches Website Privacy Guides for New York Consumers and Businesses

AG James’ Consumer Guide will Help New Yorkers Better Understand How to Safeguard Against Unwanted Tracking Online

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the launch of two privacy guides on the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) website: a Business Guide to Website Privacy Controls and a Consumer Guide to Tracking on the Web.  The Business Guide will help businesses better protect visitors to their websites by identifying common mistakes businesses make when deploying tracking technologies, processes they can use to help identify and prevent issues, and guidance for ensuring they comply with New York law.  The Consumer Guide will help New Yorkers by offering tips they can use to protect their privacy when browsing the Web.  OAG issued these guides following a review that uncovered unwanted tracking on more than a dozen popular websites, collectively serving more than 75 million visitors per month.

“When New Yorkers visit websites, they deserve to have the peace of mind that they won’t be tracked without their knowledge, and won’t have their personal information sold to advertisers,” said Attorney General James.  “All too often, visiting a webpage or making a simple search will result in countless ads popping up on unrelated websites and social media.  When visitors opt out of tracking, businesses have an obligation to protect their visitors’ personal information, and consumers deserve to know this obligation is being fulfilled.  These new guides that my team launched will help protect New Yorkers’ privacy and make websites safer places to visit.”

While many websites provide visitors with information about the tracking that takes place and controls to manage that tracking, not all businesses have taken appropriate steps to ensure their disclosures are accurate and their privacy controls work as described.  Most tracking on the internet relies on cookies, which are small text files created by a web browser when visiting a website.  Cookies often contain an identifier unique to a user’s device which helps websites and other online services recognize the user as they click from one webpage to the next.  Cookies can also be used by advertising companies to track the websites a user visits, the buttons a user clicks, and the searches a user runs, and then be used to serve highly targeted ads to that person.

To help businesses better protect New Yorkers and comply with New York consumer protection laws, Attorney General James launched a Business Guide to Website Privacy Controls.  This new guide identifies common mistakes that businesses make and includes steps that can be taken to identify and prevent issues.  The Business Guide also provides information to help businesses comply with relevant New York laws, including ensuring that the representations made about tracking, whether express or implied, are truthful and not misleading.  The Business Guide provides areas where businesses have run into trouble and tips for avoiding these issues.

In addition to a guide for businesses, Attorney General James launched a guide to help New Yorkers understand how to better protect themselves from unwanted tracking online.  The OAG’s Consumer Guide to Tracking explains how website visitors are tracked, what cookie pop-ups do, and to what extent websites’ privacy controls can be relied on to protect users’ privacy.  The Consumer Guide explains that on many websites, tracking cookies are created as soon as the first webpage loads, often before consumers have a chance to opt out.  Attorney General James wants New Yorkers to appreciate that using a website’s privacy controls to opt out will not delete cookies that already exist on a consumer’s computer, including those created before a webpage visitor had the chance to opt out.  This means consumers can be tracked and targeted by personalized ads even if they seemingly opted out.

The online privacy guides released by Attorney General James are part of OAG’s ongoing work to protect New York consumers and help businesses enhance their privacy and data security.  Earlier this month, Attorney General James issued a consumer alert to raise awareness about free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services available for millions of consumers impacted by the Change Healthcare data breach.  In March 2024, Attorney General James led a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) addressing the recent rise of Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers and frauds.  In April 2023, Attorney General James released a comprehensive data security guide to help companies strengthen their data security practices.  In January 2022, Attorney General James released a business guide for credential stuffing attacks that detailed how businesses could protect themselves and consumers.

USDOL Issues Comprehensive Employer Guidance on Long COVID

The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) has issued a comprehensive set of resources that can be accessed below for employers on dealing with Long COVID.

Supporting Employees with Long COVID: A Guide for Employers

The “Supporting Employees with Long COVID” guide from the USDOL-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) and Job Accommodation Network (JAN) addresses the basics of Long COVID, including its intersection with mental health, and common workplace supports for different symptoms.  It also explores employers’ responsibilities to provide reasonable accommodations and answers frequently asked questions about Long COVID and employment, including inquiries related to telework and leave.

Download the guide

Accommodation and Compliance: Long COVID

The Long COVID Accommodation and Compliance webpage from the USDOL-funded Job Accommodation Network (JAN) helps employers and employees understand strategies for supporting workers with Long COVID.  Topics include Long COVID in the context of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specific accommodation ideas based on limitations or work-related functions, common situations and solutions, and questions to consider when identifying effective accommodations for employees with Long COVID.  Find this and other Long COVID resources from JAN, below:

Long COVID, Disability and Underserved Communities: Recommendations for Employers

The research-to-practice brief “Long COVID, Disability and Underserved Communities” synthesizes an extensive review of documents, literature and data sources, conducted by the USDOL-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) on the impact of Long COVID on employment, with a focus on demographic differences.  It also outlines recommended actions organizations can take to create a supportive and inclusive workplace culture for people with Long COVID, especially those with disabilities who belong to other historically underserved groups.

Read the brief

Long COVID and Disability Accommodations in the Workplace

The policy brief “Long COVID and Disability Accommodations in the Workplace” explores Long COVID’s impact on the workforce and provides examples of policy actions different states are taking to help affected people remain at work or return when ready.  It was developed by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as part of its involvement in USDOL’s State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) initiative.

Download the policy brief

Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID

The report “Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID” summarizes key themes and takeaways from an ePolicyWorks national online dialogue through which members of the public were invited to share their experiences and insights regarding workplace challenges posed by Long COVID.  The dialogue took place during summer 2022 and was hosted by USDOL and its agencies in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Surgeon General.

Download the report

Working with Long COVID

The USDOL-published “Working with Long COVID” fact sheet shares strategies for supporting workers with Long COVID, including accommodations for common symptoms and resources for further guidance and assistance with specific situations.

Download the fact sheet

COVID-19: Long-Term Symptoms

This USDOL motion graphic informs workers with Long COVID that they may be entitled to temporary or long-term supports to help them stay on the job or return to work when ready, and shares where they can find related assistance.

Watch the motion graphic

A Personal Story of Long COVID and Disability Disclosure

In the podcast “A Personal Story of Long COVID and Disability Disclosure,” Pam Bingham, senior program manager for Intuit’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Tech team, shares her personal experience of navigating Long COVID symptoms at work.  The segment was produced by the USDOL-funded Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) as part of its ongoing “Future of Work” podcast series.

Listen to the podcast

HHS OIG Issues Annual Report on State MFCUs

Per the notice below, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued its annual report on the performance of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs).

Medicaid Fraud Control Units Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report (OEI-09-24-00200) 

Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) investigate and prosecute Medicaid provider fraud and patient abuse or neglect. OIG is the Federal agency that oversees and annually approves federal funding for MFCUs through a recertification process. This new report analyzed the statistical data on annual case outcomes—such as convictions, civil settlements and judgments, and recoveries—that the 53 MFCUs submitted for Fiscal Year 2023.  New York data is as follows:

Outcomes

  • Investigations1 - 556
  • Indicted/Charged - 9
  • Convictions - 8
  • Civil Settlements/Judgments - 28
  • Recoveries2 - $73,204,518

Resources

  • MFCU Expenditures3 - $55,964,293
  • Staff on Board4 - 257

1Investigations are defined as the total number of open investigations at the end of the fiscal year.

2Recoveries are defined as the amount of money that defendants are required to pay as a result of a settlement, judgment, or prefiling settlement in criminal and civil cases and may not reflect actual collections.  Recoveries may involve cases that include participation by other Federal and State agencies.

3MFCU and Medicaid Expenditures include both State and Federal expenditures.

4Staff on Board is defined as the total number of staff employed by the Unit at the end of the fiscal year.

Read the Full Report

View the Statistical Chart

Engage with the Interactive Map

GAO Issues Report on Medicaid Managed Care Service Denials and Appeal Outcomes

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes.  GAO found that federal oversight is limited because it doesn't require states to report on Medicaid managed care service denials or appeal outcomes and there has not been much progress on plans to analyze and make the data publicly available.  To read the GAO report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes, use the first link below.  To read GAO highlights of the report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes, use the second link below.
https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106627.pdf  (GAO report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes)
https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106627_high.pdf  (GAO highlights on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes)

CMS Issues Latest Medicare Regulatory Activities Update

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its latest update on its regulatory activities in the Medicare program.  While dentistry is only minimally connected to the Medicare program, Medicare drives the majority of health care policies and insurance reimbursement policies throughout the country.  Therefore, it always pays to keep a close eye on what CMS is doing in Medicare.  To read the latest CMS update on its regulatory activities in Medicare, use the link below.
https://www.cms.gov/training-education/medicare-learning-network/newsletter/2024-03-14-mlnc