Articles
A Legacy Lost
Today was a pretty sad day. No tears were shed, at least not in public, but you could see it in the eyes. It was a sad day. Sure, just like at a funeral. While the deceased is laid out for viewing and the mood is sober in the immediate area of the casket, in the rear...
Piercing the Corporate Veil (Again): Even a Company’s Bankruptcy Couldn’t Protect Owners From Personal Liability
Facts always make the case, and in a particular case across the state in Kansas City, the facts, when applied to the law, found the owners of a construction company liable to a building owner not only for the full contract amount but also for punitive damages. The...
Limited Liability Companies: How Much Protection Do They Truly Afford?
Limited liability companies offer the protections of a corporation without the strict and burdensome formalities. As such, they have become extremely attractive to small-business owners in recent years. Aside from the administrative and tax benefits they afford, one...
Employee With No Fixed Work Site May Impact FMLA Obligations
Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), to be eligible for leave, an employee must be at a location where 50 or more employees are employed within 75 miles of that location. Generally, the "worksite" analysis is fairly straightforward. The FMLA defines a worksite...
Can Jimmy John’s Sandwich Employees With an Enforceable Non-Compete Agreement?
A recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch focused on a lawsuit involving sandwich maker Jimmy John's and a two-year, non-compete agreement barring a former assistant manager from working for a sandwich-making rival within three miles of a Jimmy John's store. The...
Were Trade Secrets Lurking in the Safe-Deposit Box?
In a fact pattern that resembles the Clue board game, the Missouri Supreme Court had to decide whether a former employee locking his former employer's customer list in a safe-deposit box constituted the unlawful misappropriation of a trade secret. Under the Missouri...
Affordable Care Act 2015 Update
During 2014, we saw a variety of additional guidance issued by the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") as well as the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") regarding the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") or Obamacare, impacting businesses both large...
DOL Reaffirms and Adds to Recent IRS Guidance Regarding Employer Payment Plans — Effectively Shutting Down Any Payments by Employers for Individual Health Insurance Premiums
Does your business or employer pay for, or reimburse employees for, individual health insurance coverage? Did you know that as a result of the Affordable Care Act, such arrangements were prohibited beginning Jan. 1, 2014? On Nov. 6, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor...
When Is a Duck Not a Duck? When a Duck Is an Individual Health Insurance Premium Reimbursement to a More-Than-2% Shareholder of an S Corporation
It's not business as usual if you are a shareholder of an S corporation which is either paying directly, or reimbursing you, for your individual coverage health insurance premiums. Did you know that changes were required starting Jan. 1, 2014? Recently an FAQ was...
Real Estate Sale Contracts and Attorneys’ Fees Provisions … What Do They Mean for You?
In Missouri, residential sale contracts are generally boilerplate agreements that contain a number of fill-in-the-blanks which are used to identify the key terms of the sale. These boilerplate agreements almost always contain an attorneys' fees provision tucked away...
What Is the Intent Behind Your Letter of Intent? Should You Even Bother?
This may come as a shock, but contract negotiations are rarely smooth and risk-free endeavors. There are a multitude of issues to consider, from terms of payment, to performance and damages provisions, to choice of law provisions and arbitration clauses, and many more...
New Illinois Pregnancy Law Takes Effect Jan. 1, 2015
A new pregnancy law/amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) that prohibits discrimination and provides accommodation/protection to expectant mothers during their pregnancy and childbirth will take effect next year. The amendments apply to all Illinois...