Client Advisories
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA EMPLOYERS MUST DISCLOSE WAGES AND BENEFITS TO APPLICANTS FOR POSITIONS WITH A COMPANY LOCATED IN THE DISTRICT
Recently enacted amendments to the DC Wage Transparency Act* require all employers located in the District, regardless of size, to provide “minimum and maximum projected salary or hourly pay in all job listings and position descriptions.” The District of Columbia Agency, responsible for enforcing this Act, takes the position that this information be made available to the public in marketing materials and disclosed to all applicants who apply for positions with the company, including any cur...
Closing Your Location? WARN Before You Get Slammed with Federal and State Fines!
Is your business planning to conduct a layoff or plant closing? If so, you probably know that federal and local laws may require you to give prior notice to your employees. But did you also know that state law may impose stricter notice requirements and require severance payments. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law that requires employers to provide 60 days’ prior written notice before conducting a mass layoff or plant closing. Several states have en...
Contract Disputes and Liquidated Damages Provisions – Be Careful – The Safeguard You Expect to Protect You Can Backfire!
Are you party to a commercial construction contract or … for that matter, any contract with a liquidated damages provision? If so, a recent court decision gathers attention in other courts and can lead you to unknown surprises – making you regret how you viewed the standard “liquidated damages provision.” Well, what are “liquidated damages anyway”? The purpose of a liquidated damages provision in a contract is to establish – ahead of time – the compensation that would be owed...
Risks to Avoid When Raising Investment Dollars
Raising dollars for your business venture? Be wary – the government has rules on almost every kind of business/enterprise fundraising. If you aren’t careful, your investors can sue to get their money back based upon your not following proper procedures. The easiest way to avoid burdensome securities regulation is to forego securities altogether and instead treat investments as loans; however, this is often unrealistic. Because the definition of “security” is so broad, your inve...
TELECOMMUTING EMPLOYEES AND THE TICKING TAX-BOMB DEVELOP A POLICY THAT MANDATES WHERE WORK IS TO BE CONDUCTED AND MANDATE THAT GOOD RECORDS BE KEPT (PART 1 OF 2 PARTS)
Note: This article focuses only on the employee – a subsequent article will focus on tax and liability issues imposed on the employer Background. Because the pandemic has forced many more workers to telecommute compared to what we have seen in the past, there could likely be significant tax implications that you may not be considering. Generally, a state and even a locality (city/county) expects employment taxes if work is done within the state where the employment generally occurs (...
IS REAL ESTATE STILL IN YOUR NAME? YOU ARE EXPOSED!
Owning property is a cornerstone of the American dream, but if it is deeded in your name, you might be opening yourself up to more risk than reward! Cost-cutting and risk avoidance are crucial to a company's success – especially small businesses. Here at Weiss LLP, we have found that transferring one's title to a property, owned in his or her sole name, into a limited liability company (LLC) offers such protection. Benefits to doing so range from avoiding payment of certain taxes otherwise ap...
A Changing Landscape: How Tax Reform Has Modified the 1031 Exchange Process
Are you selling a piece of real property and looking for a way to defer the capital gains taxes owed on your investment? Due to the recent 2018 tax reform and the resulting changes made to Section 1031 of the tax code, new issues have arisen that smart sellers and buyers must take into account before deciding that a “1031 Exchange” is wise decision. To put it simply, a 1031 Exchange allows an investor to “defer” paying capital gains taxes on a property when it is sold, as long another ...
Virginia Legislature Enacts Law to Protect Consumer Privacy: Big Consequences for Business Owners
Does your business deal with a consumer’s personal data? Does your business interact with Virginia residents? If so, your business operations could be greatly affected by a new law aimed at protecting consumer privacy. Set to take effect January 1, 2023, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”) will grant Virginia residents the rights to access, correct, delete, know, and opt-out of the sale and processing for targeted advertising purposes of their personal information. It will...
The New Maryland Trust Act Allows Spouses To Protect Marital Assets From Creditors After Death While Still Avoiding The Estate Tax.
Only married couples may own property jointly as tenants by the entireties. Whenever possible, it is advisable for them to do so. This is because this form of ownership gives each spouse full rights to the property, including the right of survivorship, but does not allow creditors to seize the property if the property is used as collateral for a loan and the spouse who put up the property as collateral dies without paying off the loan. Traditionally, one drawback to this estate-planning appr...
Website Compliance Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Recently, there have been a plethora of “professional plaintiffs” filing lawsuits against clients under the ADA based upon “website compliance;” this is a follow-up by the same professional plaintiffs who filed dozens of ADA lawsuits last winter against some of our clients. The purpose of this article is to advise you to ensure that you ask your web designer if your website is compliant with the ADA. Note: This article does not reflect compliance standards under local laws. For example,...