Posts

Half of all small businesses close their doors within five year of opening. There are many reasons for this and many. Overwhelmed by other issues, financial responsibilities quickly slip to the wayside, and you figure each month that you’ll deal with all the figures around April, when taxes are due. Do not let your finances undo you. Instead, stay on top of expenses with the following five startup and small business budgeting tips, recommended by Small Business Computing....

After a fellow colleague from the University at Buffalo Law School passed away in a tragic plane crash this past summer, I was plagued with a question that is surprisingly common: After death, what happens to your accounts online? This seems to be a hot topic now. Here is a rundown on what happens to your online accounts when you happen to pass away. According to Make Use Of.com, every site has its own protocol to deal with the matter....

Most public sector employees have the right to form a union, and to collectively bargain for the key terms and conditions of employment. But before any of that, you need a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board declaring that you are, in fact, an employee. And this can get a little tricky. Graduate students, who are often expected to perform similar work as tenured professors but without the same pay and benefits, have found it difficult to unionize....

Breaking up is hard to do. Fortunately for unmarried couples, it’s a little bit easier. However, unmarried couples that disagree about how to divide their joint assets may find themselves in a different world than divorcing married couples. Under the law, unless an unmarried couple has signed some sort of written agreement governing their finances, or outlining their obligations to each other, courts tend to treat disputes between unmarried couples similarly to an informal business partnership....

Nearly every one of the formerly-trapped Chilean miners are suing the government, each asking for more than $500,000 in damages. The Chilean miners’ lawsuit was filed in order to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future, according to the miners. The miners made headlines last year when an accident trapped them inside the mine located in San Jose, Chile, for 69 days, reports CNN. The lawsuit targets the agency in charge of mining safety, according to CNN....

Thanks to a $3 billion rescue plan by private investors, this lender to small business may still have a fighting chance. For over a century, CIT has built its name and brand to become one of the major players in lending in the U.S. CIT achieved its prominent place among banks largely due to serving small-and-mid-size business. CIT Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Peek joined the company in 2003 and pushed the institution to take more risks and focus on asset-expansion....

Pre-employment drug testing is a common condition for a job offer. But once an employee is hired, when is it legal to ask for a drug test at work? State laws often limit the situations in which an employer can conduct drug testing of current employees. In general, they include situations in which safety is an issue, or when an employer suspects an employee of illegal drug use. In all cases, an employer should have a written drug-testing policy....

The presence of the E. coli O157:H7 bacterium has been confirmed in prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday. The agency discovered the foodborne illness bacterium in a testing sample of the recalled cookie dough products, during inspection of a Nestle facility in Danville, Virginia on June 25. The nationwide recall of all varieties of pre-packaged Nestle Toll House cookie dough was announced on June 19, after the products were linked to multiple E....

Back in March, Florida passed significant gun control legislation just a month after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Part of that legislation, the ban on possession of bump stocks, went into effect on October 1. “You could have purchased a bump stock a week ago, a year ago, or two years ago,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told WFLA, “but possession of it after October 1 is a felony....

International Kissing Day is an unofficial holiday that began in Britain as National Kissing Day, but has since become celebrated worldwide as International Kissing Day. And whatever you call it, it can’t be denied that more or less everyone enjoys a good kiss every once in awhile. But what about a bad kiss? Well, those can often be less than enjoyable, and sometimes even illegal. For International Kissing Day, here are our five favorite stories of smooches gone wrong – and the legal consequences that followed:...

When an employee leaves on good terms, most employers are happy to give them positive reviews when a future employer calls for references. When the parting is on no-so-good terms, well, that makes the reference decision not-so-easy. Most employers are wary of speaking ill about their former employees, especially when they run the risk of a defamation lawsuit. Of course you can always choose not to respond to reference requests, but how can employers provide negative references and avoid getting sued?...

As hackers and cyber attackers get more sophisticated, preventing digital security breaches in business becomes more difficult. As soon as the good guys find a way to stop one virus, the bad guys write another two. Over the past few years, cyber attackers have set their sights on businesses that rely on digital data to operate. The goal in a ransomware attack is to gain access to the business’s computer systems, then encrypt the business’s files, and require the business to pay a ransom in order to have their files un-encrypted....

Normally we think of hospitals as places people go to get well. Every now and then, though, we can come out in worse shape than we went in. Considering the foot traffic, liquid supplies, and (ick) bodily fluids present in the halls, rooms and just about everywhere else, it’s a wonder that there aren’t more slip-and-fall injuries in hospitals. Medical Malpractice? Unless you’re a patient at the hospital or your fall occurred during or as part of your treatment, medical malpractice will probably not apply....

The Internal Revenue Service announced this week that it has extended the grace period allotted for small business owners to pay certain tax-shelter penalties. It is the second time the IRS has extended the deadline, the first time being in July when the deadline was set for the end of September. The extensions have less to do with the ability or inability of small businesses to pay the penalties and more to do with passage of potential new law that will change small business responsibility regarding the tax-shelter penalties....

Before he was President Donald Trump, he was host of the reality TV series “The Apprentice” Donald Trump. But his actions then may come back to legally haunt him now. Summer Zervos, a former “Apprentice” contestant, is suing the president, claiming his denials of her sexual harassment claims amounted to defamation. But Trump’s attorneys are planning to argue that the president is immune from this and other civil lawsuits while he remains in office....

Do you know how to deal with a bounced check? Everyone is vulnerable to bouncing a check or receiving a bounced check. Sometimes, it’s not really anyone’s fault and just a matter of circumstance. The point is, it can happen. When it does, it can often be an embarrassing situation, especially if it’s one of your own checks that gets bounced back. But don’t fret. In most cases, the issue can be fairly resolved without having to pay too many hefty fines....

On Tuesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a requirement for health plan providers to notify some former employees of small businesses that they have a second chance to enroll in Cal-COBRA continuation of health plan coverage, this time with a possible premium subsidy under the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In offering this second chance at health care to former employees of businesses with fewer than 20 employees, California joins a growing list of states....

Qantas Airlines has grounded its entire fleet of Airbus A380s after part of an engine fell off during a flight from Singapore to Australia on November 4. Flight QF 32 had been on its way from London to Sydney, when a major portion of one engine dislodged and fell to the ground midflight. The pieces that fell from the aircraft landed on houses and a shopping mall in Batam, Indonesia....

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is being sued for sexual harassment by a former aide. The lawsuit has inspired two more women to step forward with their own accusations. Filner believes he will eventually be vindicated, but he also acknowledged, “I need help,” and added, “I’m clearly doing something wrong,” CNN reports. From verbal comments to unwanted physical contact and derogatory gestures, sexual harassment is alive and well. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect yourself....

Friday, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) raised the limit for SBA backed surety bonds for small businesses from $2 million to $5 million. With the increased limit, the SBA hopes more small businesses will be able to compete for larger public construction and service contracts. Surety bonds are like insurance – they guarantee to the party hiring a contractor that the contractor will not default on the contract or fail to perform....