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Recent Blog Posts
Steps to Take Before Establishing a Business Partnership
Starting a business as a partnership can be highly beneficial for all parties involved. Unfortunately, there are also some potential pitfalls. Some of these negative situations are so detrimental, they could place the business at risk of failure, extreme financial loss, or litigation. Then there are situations that can place partners at risk for bankruptcy and/or criminal penalties. Learn how effective planning can reduce your risk of such negative effects in your business venture.
The Why and How of Partnership Conflicts
Partners often start out as family members, friends, or colleagues who share a passion or idea. Fueled by little more than hopes and dreams, they may fail to consider that it takes more than passion to succeed in the business world. They may not examine aspects like differing work ethics, money management, or leadership styles. This lack of consideration and communication can ultimately lead to anger, frustration, and unmet expectations.
Tips to Ensure Your Small Business is Ready for Tax Season
Stress during tax season is a common issue for small businesses. More often than not, it is because of multiple internal failures. Poor or inadequate record keeping, failure to keep up with ever-changing tax laws, and difficulties in maintaining day-to-day operations are some of the most common of these issues. Thankfully, it is possible to manage the stress that often accompanies tax season. The following information explains further.
Contact Our Illinois Record-Keeping Attorney
Retailers Cannot Use Credit Checks to Deny Employment
A low credit score or a poor credit history can be very difficult to overcome. For many people with bad credit, the first step toward recovery is getting a new job that pays decent, reliable wages. Unfortunately, a low credit score can create a vicious cycle as some companies refuse to hire applicants with questionable credit histories. In some situations, such screenings make sense as a person’s ability to manage finances could directly impact his or her ability to do the job for which he or she is applying. In others, however, a person’s credit score has no bearing on his or her qualifications for the available position, and a recent Illinois appellate court has determined this to be the case for most retail sales positions.
Employment Credit Privacy Act
Back in 2010, then-Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a measure that prohibited employers in Illinois from discriminating against job applicants on the basis of their credit history. The Employee Credit Privacy Act was drafted by lawmakers in response to the national recession of the early 2000s that left many individuals with less than ideal credit scores. Under the Act, employers are not even permitted to run a credit check on an applicant unless a “satisfactory credit history is an established bona fide occupational requirement of a particular position.” Such positions generally include those in which an employee would handle large amounts of money without supervision or has access to personal, confidential, or financial information.
Cook County Towns Face Minimum Wage Uncertainty
In late October, Cook County officials elected to join the city of Chicago in adopting a plan to increase the minimum wage to $13 per hour by 2020. While the decision is being heralded by many as an important step toward increasing the quality of life for the county’s lowest-paid employees, it is also raising a number of concerns for several local communities.
Beginning in July 2017, the new minimum wage in Cook County will be $10 per hour, a substantial increase from $8.25—the current statewide minimum wage. In 2018, the minimum wage will go up to $11 per hour, with $1 per hour increases each year until 2020. The problem, however, is that a number of villages and towns straddle the line between Cook County and other surrounding counties. The line between Cook County and Lake County, for example, runs directly through the village of Barrington. The city of Elgin sits on the border between Cook County and Kane County.
Federal Judge Blocks New Overtime Rule From Taking Effect
In last month’s post on this blog, we talked in detail about new guidelines from the Department of Labor that addressed overtime pay for millions of American workers. The new rules were slated to go into effect on December 1 of this year and were being touted by many as one of President Obama’s biggest accomplishments in his second term. While the intent of the updated guideline was to make more employees eligible to receive overtime pay, a Texas judge has issued an injunction to prevent the rules from going into effect without further scrutiny.
Exempt and Non-Exempt Workers
Under current labor guidelines, there are three factors that determine whether a worker may be listed as exempt from overtime laws, meaning that an employer does not have to pay that person time and a half for every hour over 40 per week. The worker must:
New FLSA Overtime Regulations May Require Revising Your Pay Structure
If you have owned your business for any reasonable length of time, you have probably had to deal with some of the complexities of hiring a staff and compensating your workers in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations. Many of your employees—including many frontline customer-facing workers—are probably paid by the hour and are eligible to be paid overtime for every hour over 40 per week. Others, however—including management and other designated positions—may be exempt from federal overtime requirements, meaning they earn a specific salary per year.
Employers whose staff includes exempt employees must be prepared for upcoming changes set forth by the Obama administration and the Department of Labor. The regulations were announced this past spring and are set to take effect on December 1, 2016.
Criteria for Exempt Status
In order for you to consider an employer to be exempt from the overtime requirements contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act, there are certain criteria that must be met. An exempt employee must:
Former Employees File Class Action Against Wells Fargo
Over the last few weeks, financial giant Wells Fargo has come under fire in the national media for creating millions of unauthorized accounts on behalf of unsuspecting customers. The company recently settled with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the matter, agreeing to pay $185 million in penalties and fines in addition to more than $2.5 million in restitution to its clients. Now, however, the company is facing a lawsuit from another direction, as two employees have filed a class-action suit on behalf of all former workers penalized by Wells Fargo for failing to make unrealistic sales goals.
Quiet Victims
The lawsuit was filed in a California court last week alleging that the sales quotas set by Wells Fargo were “unrealistic,” “unreachable,” and “impossible” without engaging in illegal and unscrupulous practices. While the company has now been called out on such illicit practices, the current action looks to address the needs of workers who refused to break the law and subsequently failed to make their quotas.
Sudden Closing of Chicago Restaurant Attributed to Minimum Wage Increases
After less than a year in business, a Mexican restaurant in the Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville suddenly announced that it was closing. The owners of Cantina 1910 reportedly sent an email to employees late Sunday night indicating that the restaurant would be closing effective immediately. A statement posted to Facebook the next morning cited rising payroll expenses, including Chicago’s increasing minimum wage, as the owners’ primary reason for their decision.
Abrupt Ending
According to reports, employees of Cantina 1919 received an email notification at the end of service on Sunday night stating that the modern establishment would not be reopening for business. The news reportedly came as a shock to workers, many of whom were just getting home after their closing shifts. The next morning, the owners posted a statement to social media in an attempt to provide some insight into their decision.
Illinois Appeals Court Rules Movers Are Not Independent Contractors
When your business requires extra hands, you have two choices. You can hire employees or you can enter into contractual agreements with independent contractors. As you probably are aware, there are advantages and disadvantages to each, and it is important to choose the one—or the appropriate combination of the two—that best meets your company’s needs. The challenge, however, is that it is up to you as a tax-paying business owner to classify your workers properly in accordance with state and federal law, as failure to do so can result in serious financial penalties.
Moving Company Claims Movers Are Contractors
Last month, an Illinois appellate court issued a decision in a case that has been ongoing since 2009, when a former worker for the moving company filed for unemployment benefits. The Illinois Department of Employment Security realized, at that point, that the moving company had not reported any of the worker’s wages. Looking further, the Department discovered that approximately 90 other drivers and physical laborers should have been listed as employees but were not.
Car Wash Employees Win $1.65 Million Wage Theft Settlement
As a conscientious employer, you realize that your staff deserves to be compensated fairly for their contributions to your business. In some industries and companies, fair compensation may be at or near the minimum wage set by the federal, state, or local government, while in others, fair compensation is much greater than that. Some employers, it seems, are willing to ignore labor laws in the interest of increasing their bottom line, but as a recent settlement in New York shows, getting caught can be a costly proposition.
Long-Awaited Justice
It took more than five years of legal wrangling, but 18 car wash employees from the New York and New Jersey region are set to split a settlement of $1.65 million for wage theft. The settlement was finalized in federal court, and will provide each worker an average of more than $91,000, including emotional distress. All of the workers were Latin American immigrants working at four different car wash locations in New York and New Jersey, all owned by the same company.
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