Welcome to LegalBriefs
Legal tips on how to prevent problems & avoid lawsuits
Provided as a courtesy for friends and clients of Innovative Law Group by Oregon Business Attorney Alan Thayer, who welcomes your questions and comments. Call 541-345-2325 or email Alan at alan@thinkILG.com.
Simple, Effective & Illegal
Would you be interested in an effective, proven way to resolve conflicts, restore trust, repair relationships and yes, even reduce your risk of legal liability?
Would you be interested to know that once the University of Michigan Health System began using this method, attorney fees dropped from $3 million to $1 million per year and malpractice lawsuits and notices of intent to sue were cut in half? What works in the high risk medical field could also help resolve your disputes with employees, customers, vendors and the public.
What is this magical dispute resolution method?
New Military Family Leave Law
Employers must follow new undefined law.
There are two new types of leave under federal law for families of active service members - active duty family leave and injured service member family leave. What are your obligations under this new law? We do not know. The statute passed by Congress requires you to follow rules that will be adopted by the Secretary of Labor. You must follow this new law effective January 28, 2008 even though no new rules have been adopted.
Military Family Leave Notice
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new Military Family Leave poster that employers are required to post. We put a copy of the poster on our website so that you can download it for free.
Military Family Leave Policy
You must revise your current FMLA policy to include Military Family Leave. If you would like language we prepared that is consistent with new Military Family Leave requirements, simply call our office at 541-345-2325 and ask Rose or Stephanie for a copy.
Alan Thayer
Business Attorney
Reinventing Business Law
How would you reinvent the way lawyer’s serve business?
Since Henry II first assigned five judges to his King’s Court in 1178, law has been a reactive profession. When you have a problem, any one of a number of great attorneys can help you reach a resolution. What businesses need, however, are strategies and tactics they can use to head off potential problems in the first place.
How could you be better served by Lawyers?
New Changes for the New Year
With the new year come changes for businesses - particularly businesses with employees.
There is a new minimum wage. New employment posters are required. There is a new I-9 form for new employees. Copyright notices must be updated. There are also strategies you can implement to avoid common legal problems.
With the new year, there have also been changes to my law practice and Perrin & Thayer.
Update Copyright Notices for the New Year
If you have a website, publish printed or electronic newsletters or produce other publications, remember to update your copyright notices for the current year.
New I-9 Form
Alert LegalBriefs readers have noticed that the I-9 immigration form has an expiration date and that date has long passed. The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have stated employers should continue to use the old form until a new form has been issued. That new form is now available.
This issue of LegalBriefs will tell you how you can get the new form and the government’s Handbook for Employers for free. Changes in the new I-9 form will also be discussed.
If It’s Not in Writing ... It Did Not Happen
The question in any legal proceeding is how do you prove your side of the story? Sure, you can introduce testimony about what you said and what others said, what others did and what others failed to do. But what do you do when others remember something different or they outright lie? How do you protect yourself?
Alan Thayer
in General Business
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Rehiring Former Employees
Have you ever rehired a former employee? Are there any circumstances where you might possibly do so in the future? If you have or if you might, what are the rules on benefits? Do their former years of service count towards current vacation levels and other benefits?
Arbitration Clauses Enforceable in Oregon
If you have subscribed to LegalBriefs for a while or attended one of my many seminars, you know that I am a big fan of arbitration. You may have noticed, however, that the 2007 Oregon Legislature passed an anti-arbitration bill last Spring or that the Oregon Court of Appeals had struck down certain arbitration clauses.
You might be wondering whether arbitration clauses in consumer contracts, contracts with consumers, employment agreements and business-to-business documents are enforceable.
Don’t Get Spooked With A Halloween Lawsuit
Are you hosting a Halloween party for your employees? Will you allow people to come to work next Wednesday (Halloween) dressed in costume? If you answer “yes” to either of these questions, are you taking steps to prevent your business from being haunted by a lawsuit?
Final Paycheck - Show-Up Pay
Let’s say you decide to fire Joe. First thing when he shows up, before he starts working, you pull him aside, explain that things are not working out and let him go. You know that you need to give him his paycheck within 24 hours. Do you have to pay Joe for coming in the day he was fired?
No-Match Letter Update
Two weeks ago we told you about a pending immigration case with important ramifications for all employers - Immigration - Employers Caught in the Crossfire.
A Federal judge in San Francisco had temporarily blocked enforcement of new Federal immigration regulations. Those new rules seek to require employers to take action after receiving notice that a Social Security number given by an employee does not match Social Security Administration records.
Oral arguments were heard on October 1, 2007 on whether to continue the enforcement ban. The judge has now entered his ruling.
Simple Receipts - Complex Lawsuit
Do you print receipts for your clients or customers? Do your receipts include credit card expiration dates? If so, change them immediately!
Proving Your Case Without Documents
Last week we talked about how to document agreements, events and expectations so that you can avoid disputes, What is The Hardest Case to Win?
But what do you do when it is too late, a dispute has arisen and there are no documents? You may find the following story amusing …
Immigration - Employers in the Crossfire
Major candidates for President have privately stated that the number one issue on the campaign trail is immigration. The immigration issue is bigger than healthcare. It is even bigger than the Iraq war.
Everyone has questions. Employers probably have more questions than anyone.
What is the Hardest Case to Win?
If you were asked that question, what would you say? Would you say a sexual harassment case? Would you say an employee retaliation case? Would you say a contract case with a consumer or a vendor? Maybe you think the hardest case is defending a regulatory action brought by state or federal authorities?
You are correct that it can be difficult to prove that you did not do anything wrong when your business is charged with harassment, retaliation or even breach of contract. It is always hard to prove a negative but there are ways this can be done.
Unexpected Friends
Never assume a third-party is aligned with an opponent.
It happens all the time in disputes. You believe that a friend of an opponent will be against you. A client and I just received a reminder of the opportunities that can be created by working with friends of an opponent.
We were able to resolve a dispute that was beyond settlement. This resolution prevented almost certain bankruptcy for my client and will likely lead to fabulous success instead.
CYA with Thank You Notes
We all are familiar with CYA letters. The "you said this," "I said this" and "in reliance on what you told me, I did the following . . ." style of correspondence. Recipients almost always know that the purpose of the letter is to protect the writer or gain advantage.
There is a subtler approach, one that does not raise as many concerns for the recipient, but can be just as effective to "CYA," if not more so.