Blogs

Employment Law

HR 101 from Abercrombie & Fitch

Most human resources professionals know this simple rule governing job interviews: don’t ask candidates about religion. In EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch , (2015) Abercrombie’s job interviewer complied with this axiom, but ran afoul of Title VII nonetheless. When Samantha Elauf applied for a position at Abercrombie & Fitch (“A&F”), she was wearing a headscarf or hijab. The interviewer didn’t ask about it during the interview, and Elauf, a practicing Muslim, didn’t mention it or indicate that she…

January 21, 2016

Business and Financial Services

Trade Secrets and Confidentiality

In light of the clear trend in Virginia law against the enforcement of non-competition agreements, savvy practitioners and their clients increasingly rely on trade secret and confidentiality agreements as effective surrogates. While it is undeniably true that courts in Virginia are more inclined to enforce such agreements, the case of SanAir Technologies Laboratory, Inc. v. Burrington demonstrates that although subject to less stringent analysis, trade secret and similar arrangements must also…

January 21, 2016

Employment Law

OFCCP Final Rule Prohibits Pay Secrecy Policies by Federal Contractors

Federal contractors, take notice: did you know that it is now illegal as a federal contractor to prevent your employees from discussing their compensation? The Department of Labor’s recent ruling may significantly impact your business and necessitate changes to your policies and practices. Continue reading to determine whether your business will be affected and how.…

January 13, 2016

Employment Law

A Tale of Two Cases: The Perils of Using Temporary Workers

Is your business among the many that utilize contract or temporary employees, workers hired through a third-party staffing agency? Did you know that using temporary workers may subject you to liability under federal employment laws as a joint employer of that worker? Two recent federal appeals court decisions highlight the pitfalls of using temporary workers. Continue reading to see if your business is at risk. The Use of Temporary Workers Has Expanded Since the end of the Great Recession in…

January 13, 2016

Construction

Unanimous Approval for Self-Storage Facility in Prince William County

On December 8, 2015, the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors unanimously approved Mini Price Storage’s proffer amendment and special use permit applications to bring the company’s first self-storage facility to the County. Represented by Mark Viani and Matt Roberts, the applications removed a prohibition on self-storage uses at the property, allowing Mini Price…

December 9, 2015

Business and Financial Services

Obligations of the Corporate Status

One of the principal reasons business owners form a corporation (or an LLC) is to shield the owners’ personal assets from attack by creditors of the business. However, the corporate shield is not absolute; while judges are loath to pierce it, they will – and may have an obligation to – if the owners of the entity fail to comply with corporate formalities and/or treat its assets as their own. Atron and Karen Rowe learned this difficult lesson when Judge James C. Cacheris entered judgment…

November 24, 2015

Employment Law

The Financial Risks to Employers of Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors

Employers, from well-established corporations to start-ups, continue to struggle to understand the legal distinctions between an employee of the business and an independent contractor. The differences can be fundamentally important to the financial well-being of businesses of all sizes, and the difficulties in comprehending the legal nuances go back many decades. More than half a century ago, the U.S. Supreme Court observed in a dispute over whether newspaper boys should be classified as…

November 8, 2015

Estate Planning

Estate Tax Closing Letters

Traditionally, an important event in the life of estates with potential estate tax exposure has been receipt of a closing letter from the IRS. The estate tax return is filed and upon acceptance, the IRS sends a closing letter saying that the estate tax return has been accepted by the IRS and that, absent material or intentional misstatement, no additional estate or gift taxes are due. While the closing letter does not extend to income taxes that may be assessed or due, the closing letter…

November 7, 2015

Estate Planning

Problems with DIY Estate Planning

One of the most common questions asked by someone discussing the need for estate planning is, “why can’t I just do it myself?” There are many risks to preparing your own estate plan over the Internet without consulting an expert. The Potential Costs are High The online will may be “free,” but if there are any problems with it, they likely will not be discovered until it is too late for the problems to be corrected. Oftentimes, online wills default to a specific state for the applicable law.…

November 7, 2015

Estate Planning

Valuation Discounts

Based largely on comments made by an IRS representative at a tax conference earlier this year, the IRS has signaled the likelihood of new rules designed to curtail the use of valuation discounts to leverage a taxpayer’s gift tax exemption in situations where assets are transferred to or for the benefit of family members. The comments indicated these rules would likely be issued this fall. The impact of leveraging through discounts can be dramatic. Gifts are valued based on the “fair market…

November 7, 2015