It is not a new development in employment law that many employers take into account an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history information, including
arrests or convictions, when making employment decisions. Nor is it unprecedented for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to
come out with policies and guidance on the subject.
Business Law
LLC Member Personally Liable
The owner of a lot on which a four-unit condo complex was to be built contracted with a small residential construction company to build the condos. The
construction company was formed as a limited liability company (LLC), the only members of which were a licensed home builder and his wife. The licensed
builder served as general contractor on the project, overseeing subcontractors that the LLC had selected.
ADA Primer for Small Businesses
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently revised its regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This revision clarifies some issues that have arisen over the past 20 years and contains some new requirements, including the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design. DOJ has published a document, ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business, which provides guidance to assist small business owners in understanding how the new regulations apply and how to comply with them.
Business Entities Video
Attorney Bob Ross discusses business entity basics, including Sole Proprietorships, Corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and some issues to watch for those starting businesses or business partnerships.
Hiring A Lawyer? Important questions and considerations.
This video considers some of the reasons for hiring a lawyer and discusses some ways to evaluate lawyers that you interview.
SBA Loans Can Help To Finance Small Businesses
It is no secret that businesses generally, and small businesses in particular, have been through rough times, and those are not over yet. Still, there is some
assistance to be had as a small business owner if you know where to look. One prominent example is the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its
Guaranteed Loan Programs.
Deleting Company E-mail
When a telecommunications company went defunct, almost literally on his way out the door, the former president and CEO of the company allegedly deleted certain e-mails from the company’s computers. When the company was placed in receivership, the receiver sued the former executive for a variety of his actions taken in connection with the collapse of the company. Among these claims was an assertion that when he deleted the e-mails, allegedly to cover up some misconduct, the executive violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
Cybersquatting and the Courts
A former employee who refused to give up a domain name that he had registered for the benefit of his former employer has been hit with a sizeable damages verdict. The federal appeals court that heard his case looked unfavorably on his having held the domain name for “ ransom,” and agreed that the employee had violated the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Meanwhile, an Illinois company was unsuccessful in bringing a claim against a Texas company under the ACPA. Although the Texas company had registered a domain name similar to one held by the Illinois company, there was not sufficient jurisdiction for the Texas company to be sued in Illinois.
Employment Retaliation Claims Surging
The case can be made that discriminating against an individual in the workplace because of the person’s gender, race, religion, and similar characteristics is something of a behavioral aberration that is not a part of human nature—or at least most people would like to think that is the case. But what about the scenario in which a manager takes it out on an employee who has sued or threatened to sue the employer (and maybe the manager, too) for some type of discrimination? Such retaliation may not spring from the most noble of instincts, but it is rooted in common human emotions.