In this Q&A, Betsy Lawton, senior staff attorney at the Network’s Northern Region Office, discusses some of the key elements in the chapter she authored, “COVID-19 Illustrates Need to Close the Digital Divide.”
The following guidance document can help guide stakeholders in developing and implementing declarations as well as thinking through broader issues connected to race and racism.
In this Q&A, Dawn Hunter, deputy director of the Network’s Southeastern Region Office, discusses some of the key elements in the chapter she authored, Lessons from the 2020 Election Cycle, for the Report.
by Overview A county health department contacted the Network for guidance on whether the department could prohibit the recording of video and/or photography…
The Network has joined with public health law partners to produce a new report, COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future, examining policy challenges and opportunities in light of the pandemic. In this Q&A, the Network’s Corey Davis and Amy Lieberman discuss some of the key elements in the chapter they co-authored for the report including the positive impact of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, recent changes to increase access to that treatment, and recommendations for permanently reducing legislative and regulatory barriers to effective, evidence-based interventions for OUD.
Local health departments play a crucial role in prescribing and administering COVID-19 vaccines and in supervising and administering COVID-19 vaccination programs. This new role has raised questions about the liability protections available to local health departments and their employees under the Federal PREP Act.
by Overview At times, members of the public may incorrectly direct privacy complaints to a particular program or agency. The following templates provide…
A county health department seeks guidance on whether the department can issue a press release indicating that individuals who attended a party on a specific date at a specific address may have been exposed to COVID-19. As explained in detail below, there are no legal barriers to issuing the proposed press release. Instead, this is a policy question within the health department’s discretion.
A public health physician is seeking clarification of his/her duties in light of Michigan Governor Whitmer’s Emergency Declaration (Executive Order 2020-104) to increase COVID-19 testing. Does testing for COVID-19 establish a physician-patient duty to patients for whom a physician orders or conducts a test? Is it legally permissible to order these tests when no assessment is made on the tested patients? As explained in detail below, the answer to the first question is that Michigan law imposes a limited duty, but with immunity from personal liability. The answer to the second question is yes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised numerous questions with regard to public health reporting requirements. This guidance addresses whether domestic violence agencies or shelters have an obligation to report cases of COVID-19 to a state or local public health department.
Many states grant broad legal authority to local health departments to investigate the causes and spread of communicable diseases. These powers are often contained in the state’s public health code and communicable disease rules. This guidance provide information on which provisions of state law a local health department can cite to compel sharing of information needed for a communicable disease investigation.
This guidance document sets forth requirements imposed by federal law regarding use and disclosure of student education record data and will share strategies for devising agreements that allow legal and efficient data sharing in compliance with federal law.
