Alaska Employment Law

In Nigg v. USPS, 2007 WL 2410165 (9th Cir. Aug. 27, 2007), the 9th Circuit held that a 1996 Postal Service statute allowing for relaxed OT eligibility did not directly conflict with the FLSA or implicitly repeal the FLSA as it applies to Postal Inspectors.  The Court refused to give Chevron deference to the Service’s interpretation (because “administration of the FLSA is not the special province of the Postal Service”), and held that the Postal Service’s interpretation of the 1996 statute conflicted with the clear meaning of FLSA.

In Webb v. Smart Document Solutions, 2007 WL 2410179 (9th Cir. Aug. 27, 2007), the court held that HIPAA’s guarantee of a “reasonable, cost-based fee” for individuals who request copies of their own medical records (45 CFR § 164.524(c)(4)) does not extend to attorneys seeking copies on behalf of their clients.  Because HIPAA does not provide for a private right of action, the plaintiffs (who sought class status) used the California unfair competition statute, which permits enforcement of federal statutory rights. The cost difference is significant; for third parties (now including attorneys), firms such as Smart Document Solutions charge not only $0.35/page, but also various flat “fees” that, for Webb, came to more than $65.