If you use your employer’s computer system for e-mail or other Internet access, do so with the knowledge that your employer may monitor what e-mails were sent and what Internet sites you visited. Workers should not legally expect privacy in such activities. Yet to remove any expectation of privacy by workers, employers should provide workers with a written policy on…
When dealing with closely held entities, either corporations or limited liabilities companies, there are a variety of issues that owners and management should consider to help ensure the company’s success. 1. Formalities Limited personal liability and the tax benefits of doing business in the company form are available only when the shareholders/members comply with the numerous requirements of corporate law.…
American soldiers who temporarily leave their current employment to serve our country in Iraq, Afghanistan, or otherwise are afforded protections under the employment laws upon their return. A recent Massachusetts jury verdict and thereafter decision by the trial judge upholding the verdict provides a clear message that both judges and juries will enforce these laws. On January 25, 2010, a…
When an individual or group of individuals decides to form a business there are many options from which to choose. The types of entities include proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies. Within each of these there are choices to be made as well. The first and most important step in the process is to think about the business goals…
Hamblett & Kerrigan takes pleasure in announcing Andrew J. Piela has been named a Director of the firm.
One of the most important decisions a company makes is who its employees will be. Given that fact, simply relying upon a resume without follow-up reference checks of the candidates is a mistake. An employment application gives the employer the opportunity to make appropriate inquiries regarding the information on the application in order to evaluate the candidate rather than simply…
Employers should not disclose information contained in a personnel file without being presented with either a release signed by the worker granting permission for the employer to disclose that information or a legally valid subpoena. Where there is a release or a legally valid subpoena, the employer should disclose only information specifically authorized through the release or subpoena. If the…
A disabled employee who is doing a poor job should anticipate getting fired if he has not told his employer he needs an accommodation for his disability. Such a firing led to the Massachusetts Federal Court lawsuit of Peter Kinch v. Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Kinch had worked for Quest for approximately 25 years before he was fired on November 2005.…
According to the Congressional Quarterly Today, House Democratic leaders intend to bring a permanent estate tax bill to the House floor next week. The estate tax, which is set to disappear for a year on December 31, is the subject of numerous bills pending in the House. The legislation (HR 4154), which is slated for House action as early as…
College faculty have fiduciary responsibilities to their employers just like any other employees. A decision entered by the New Hampshire Federal Court on October 23, 2009 sets forth a set of circumstances upon which a college sued its former faculty member and that faculty member’s new college for attempting to take an academic program, along with faculty and students, to…