Stephen Riga concentrates his practice in the areas of privacy and security, employee benefits, and healthcare matters. He is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a privacy professional in U.S. and European privacy. He speaks regularly on both privacy and employee benefit topics, and provides his insights in regular requests for interviews, including on COVID vaccination status for CNN and SHRM. He represents clients in the healthcare, technology, retail, and manufacturing industries.
Privacy and Security
Stephen counsels clients on a variety of data privacy and information security compliance issues regarding healthcare, employment and other company data. Work with clients includes:
- Analyzing regulatory compliance under state, federal and international standards, including HIPAA privacy and security rules, FMLA and ADA confidentiality, GDPR, and the CCPA
- Developing data privacy and information security programs, including internal and external corporate policy preparation and review
- Workforce training
- Counseling clients during and after security incidents and breach events, evaluating scope, applicable law, and methods to mitigate harm
- Representing clients in governmental investigations
Employee Benefits
Stephen’s benefits practice includes work with both qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans. Services include:
- Counseling on compliance under tax law, ERISA, the Affordable Care Act and HIPAA
- Preparation of plan documents and supporting documents
- Benefit communication counseling
- Conducting due diligence related to benefit plan issues for mergers and acquisitions
Healthcare
Stephen represents a number of clients in the healthcare industry, providing services regarding:
- HIPAA compliance advice
- Privacy policy and security program design
- Workplace training
- Breach incident evaluation and mitigation
Stephen received his J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis in 2006. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he earned an undergraduate degree in English and History from Ball State University.