Blogs

Employment Law

California Joins States Banning Employers from Asking Job Applicants about Salary History

In October 2017, California became the latest in a growing list of states and localities to ban employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories, a list that includes: Massachusetts, Delaware, Oregon, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York City. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in other states, including: Virginia, Maryland, New…

December 4, 2017

Business and Financial Services

How Much Can a Franchisee Expect to Earn – New Disclosure Guidelines for Franchisors

Almost everyone considering purchasing a franchise business wants to know how much he or she can expect to earn. Federal and state franchise laws and regulations restrict the type and extent of financial performance representations franchisors can make to prospective franchisees. The restrictions are intended to protect prospective franchisees from pie in the sky promises by the franchisor. The tension between what a franchisor can tell prospective franchisees about how much they can expect to…

November 21, 2017

Employment Law

OFCCP Announces Minimum Wage Increase and Hurricane Relief Measures for Federal Contractors

Minimum Wage Rate Increases Last week, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced an increase in the minimum wage applicable to federal contractors for contracts that are covered by Executive Order 13658. Effective January 1, 2018, the new hourly minimum wage rate will be $10.35, up from the current hourly rate of $10.20.…

September 25, 2017

Business and Financial Services

What Should You Choose? A Sub-S Corporation or an LLC

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) and a Subchapter S Corporation share a number of characteristics. Chief among them is that each provides participants – shareholders in a corporation, members in an LLC – with insulation from personal liability while avoiding the “double taxation” associated with C-Corporation status. Double taxation means that a C-Corporation pays taxes…

August 27, 2017

Employment Law

You Need What?: When Does Your Employee’s Request for More Leave Become Unreasonable Under the ADA?

Employee requests for extended leave as a reasonable accommodation of a disability continue to be among the most difficult for employers to evaluate under Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Consider this all too familiar scenario for many employers: Your employee is nearing exhaustion of all available forms of sick leave, including Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave and paid time off, and informs you that he is unable to return to work right now, requires additional medical…

August 4, 2017

Employment Law

New I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form Announced by USCIS

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced on July 17, 2017 that it has released a newly revised Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form. Federal law requires all employers to complete a Form I-9 for each individual hired for employment in the United States. Employers can begin using the revised version of the Form…

July 24, 2017

Construction

Arlington County Reviews Residential Parking Working Group Proposals

The Arlington County Board held a work session on July 11th to review and provide feedback on the Residential Parking Working Group’s recommendations for parking minimums in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Jefferson Davis Highway corridors. The group recommended establishing parking minimums in these corridors based on the residential project’s proximity to the Metro. The parking minimums…

July 12, 2017

Employment Law

New Minimum Wage Increases for the District of Columbia and Montgomery County

For employers in the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, Maryland, the cost of doing business just got more expensive. Effective July 1, 2017, the hourly minimum wage rate in the District of Columbia increased a dollar to $12.50, while in Montgomery County, Maryland, the minimum hourly wage rate went up to $11.50. Virginia’s minimum…

July 10, 2017

Intellectual Property

Supreme Court Strikes Down Trademark Registration Ban on Free Speech Grounds

In a significant victory for free speech advocates – and fans of the Washington REDSKINS – the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that section 2(a) of the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the registration of “disparaging” trademarks violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The Court held in Matal v. Tam that the statute “offends a bedrock First Amendment principle: Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend.” The decision pared back the “government-speech…

July 6, 2017

Business and Financial Services

Selling Your Business? Don’t Pay Unnecessary Taxes

Purchase price allocation and timing of payments are two of the issues to consider when structuring an asset sale or purchase of a business. The tax consequences can be enormous if company assets aren’t allocated strategically. Consider this scenario based on an actual client. John is an entrepreneur who starts a roofing company. John works…

July 4, 2017