New job assignments given to an employee often do not result in that employee having any rights to sue the employer. This point was illustrated in the New Hampshire Supreme Court decision of Mara Sabinson v. Trustees of Dartmouth College. In February 2008, I wrote about Mara Sabinson’s journey through the federal court system attempting to prove employment discrimination against…
For a worker to have a claim for employment discrimination, he must be able to show that his employer’s discrimination caused him to suffer a materially adverse action which must be more disruptive than mere inconveniences or an alteration in job responsibilities. This point was illustrated in the case of Angel David Morales-Vallellanes v. John E. Potter, United States Post…
Define Your Priorities Before beginning the process of selling a business, the owners (shareholders, members) need to talk about why they are selling and ensure everyone is in agreement with the decision. The reasons people have for selling should drive how the sale will be structured. Some owners may be close to retirement age and would like to take the…
The nature of your business will to a great degree govern the types of contracts and business documents your company should have. License Agreement If your company sells or licenses software or related software services, a license agreement is needed to fully protect your company as the licensor. If your company sells or licenses directly to the end user through…
In the case of Martin and Martin (decided March 13, 2008), the New Hampshire Supreme Court clarified language in the child support statute which allow parties to modify a child support order. This clarification may have far reaching effects as to when a party is entitled to seek modification of support order. Under New Hampshire law a party paying or…
For some jobs to be done correctly, they must be done on a full-time basis. For such jobs, a disabled worker is not entitled to an accommodation of working only part time. That point was illustrated in the case of Judith Tompson v. Department of Mental Health where the Massachusetts Appeals Court agreed with the trial court’s decision not to…
Accidents are not always one-sided affairs where one party is solely responsible for the loss. Accidents may be caused by many factors, such as the conduct of the defendant, the conduct of third parties, or even the conduct of the plaintiff. For example, a plaintiff is injured in an automobile accident. The accident occurred because the defendant allegedly ran a…
Performance and Incentive Plans are compelling tools for business owners and managers seeking to assure long and effective performance from their employees.. In many companies but especially in closely-held companies, the company’s greatest asset is their key employees. Many of these key employees have employment contracts or at least non-compete or non-solicitation contracts. These contracts, to the extent that they…
III. Equity Plans. Equity Plans, by definition, are intended to provide the employees with the opportunity to share in the increased value of the company. These plans provide strong incentives to employees to remain with the company to help achieve that growth. The primary reason for employees to acquire equity in a closely-held company is to allow them to share…
As companies grow they acquire or build intellectual property capital along with products and inventory. This intellectual property may include processes, formulae, data, functional specifications, computer programs, blueprints, know-how, improvements, discoveries, developments, designs, inventions, techniques, marketing plans, strategies, forecasts, new products, unpublished financial statements, budgets, projections, licenses, prices, costs and customer and supplier lists and/or information transferred to the company…