“The National Labor Relations Board’s (‘NLRB’) aggressive campaign to educate non-union employees about their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (‘NLRA’) is in full swing. In addition to the mandatory notice posting requirement that will go into effect for all employers on April 30, the NLRB recently announced its plan to launch a new… Read more »
On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which will help small businesses and emerging growth companies raise capital and go public: “The provisions of the JOBS Act represent a watershed change to the laws and regulations governing capital raising for private companies. Some of the provisions –… Read more »
On March 30, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its final rule on regulations governing the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The regulations, which will go into effect on April 29, 2012, outline the EEOC’s position on the “reasonable factors other than age” defense in age discrimination claims. The new rules lay out… Read more »
What’s on your mind? Employee theft, internships, social media, business funding, healthcare reform, and a range of other small business-related legal topics. For your (re)reading pleasure, here’s a look at the most-read Small Business Support posts over the past month: 1. Employee Theft: What Are People Stealing on the Job? “No, it isn’t a headline… Read more »
“Come together, right now, over…” JOBS! In late March, both Congressional chambers overwhelmingly voiced their support for the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. The bill, which President Obama signed into law on April 5, 2012, contains a variety of measures that will ease barriers for companies seeking to raise money and go public. For… Read more »
The old adage “time marches on” never seems more true than during tax season, especially during the last weeks when your docs are due.For small business owners and entrepreneurs still scrambling to complete their taxes, this roundup of legal advisories might help: New IRS Requirements for Electronic Furnishing of Schedules K-1 (Ropes & Gray LLP)… Read more »
“In EEOC v.Dillard’s Inc., the Court held that Dillard’s attendance policy violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act because it required any health-related absence to be supported by a doctor’s note stating ‘the nature of the absence (such as migraine, high blood pressure, etc…).’” (Employers Generally Cannot Require Reasons for Sick Leave by White &… Read more »
On March 20, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland that states are immune from lawsuits under the self-care provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In plain English: state employees cannot sue their employers, even when those employers violate one of the core provisions of… Read more »
“The answer to the question, ‘Are unpaid internships worth the risk?’ is that only the organization being asked to provide one can decide this in the context of its own circumstances, capabilities, and philosophy… If management concludes that is willing to allow unpaid internships, then it should plan, structure, and supervise them very carefully, bearing… Read more »
Starting a business takes more than hard work and a good idea. You need to be able to run a business, get financing, pay your taxes, protect your intellectual property, and more. For entrepreneurs and small business owners living the startup life, here’s a roundup of recent advisories covering the diverse legal considerations that come… Read more »
For most entrepreneurs and business owners, selling the company they’ve built and run is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And a difficult one: the stakes are high, the decisions are unfamiliar, and the transaction itself can be quite complex. To start off right, ask yourself these five questions as you consider the sale of your business: 1.What… Read more »
Thanks to a recent Federal Court ruling, leave policies that require written justification from an employee’s doctor in support of an absence may soon become a thing of the past, writes international law firm White & Case: “In EEOC v.Dillard’s Inc., the Court held that Dillard’s attendance policy violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act… Read more »
No, it isn’t a headline from The Onion. On the contrary: workplace theft – from stealing merchandise to customer lists to money from the corporate safe – is serious business, exacting significant costs on companies, fellow employees and customers alike. So what are employees stealing on the job? From lawyers and law firms on JD… Read more »
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before… The National Labor Relations Board’s poster rule, requiring both union and non-union employers to post notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act, is back in the news: “On March 2, 2012, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. upheld the authority of the National… Read more »
Be Careful With Background Checks (Sands Anderson PC) As employment lawyer Annemarie Cleary notes in the above video update, running certain background checks on job applicants can leave employers open to charges of discriminatory hiring practices. From labor & employment lawyers on JD Supra, here are five recommendations for using criminal and credit background checks… Read more »
