Tips From the Trenches
Legal Tips For Your Business from Your Local Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland Attorney
Dear Valued Client,
I hope these brief Tips From the Trenches prove valuable.
If there is a topic you would like to read about here, please let me know. Thank you for the opportunity to assist with your legal needs.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Bowers Weaver, JD, MBA
Bowers Foreman, PLLC
NLRB: The gift that keeps on giving
Do you tell employees not to discuss you, their employer, in social media? If so, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) may come knockin’. NLRB’s recent report tells employers what the NLRB considers illegal. NLRB will pursue cases against companies that prohibit employees from making disparaging comments about the employer through traditional media, social media, online blogs or similar
The NLRB opines that employer confidentiality policies are illegal if they prevent an employee from discuss their wages and working conditions with others, in or outside the company. Per NLRB, if a policy prevents an employee from telling a family member how much they make then the policy is overbroad.
Also, NLRB opines that an employer cannot tell its employees not to discuss the company with the media, finding such prohibitions illegal. However, the NLRB did bless a media policy that stated repeatedly that its purpose was to insure that only one person spoke for the company to the media.
The take away from this new report from the NLRB is that every company, even small employers, must think very carefully before instituting a social media policy.
Meal and rest breaks in Washington. A brief reminder….
Washington employers must provide their non-exempt workers with a rest period of at least 10 minutes for each four hours worked, and the rest period must be allowed not later than the end of the third hour of the shift. Non-exempt employees may take several mini breaks instead of the 10 minute rest period if the mini breaks total 10 minutes. Examples of mini rest periods include allowing employees to make personal phone calls, to eat, take a smoke break, or whenever there is not work to be performed for a few minutes during a work shift.
There is no requirement under state law that an employer provide a room where the employee can take his or her rest break or meals. Regarding meals, employers are required to provide a meal period of no less than 30 minutes if the employee works a five or more hour shift.
The employee must be at least two hours into their shift before the meal time can start. The meal time cannot start more than five hours after the beginning of the shift. An employer is required to pay for the meal period unless the employee is free from all duties during their entire meal period. Non-exempt employees may voluntarily give up their meal period if they would prefer to work through their meal period and if the employer agrees. The best practice would be to obtain a written statement from the employee giving up their meal periods in this way.
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 3 UPDATE
Article: Smart Money Access
Greetings!
UPDATE!!
The NLRB has postponed the new poster requirements until 1/31/2012. The NLRB states in a 10/5/2011 press release that more time is needed for enhanced education and outreach to employers, particularly small and medium sized business.
Interestingly, 2 lawsuits filed to challenge the poster requirement were not mentioned in the press release. The original article appears below in case you missed it.
NLRB After You!
“Huh? But I only have small work force.” Yes, I know. Reading the National Labor Relations Board’s most recent new power grab at small business caused me pause, as a small business owner. New poster rules reach right down to the heart of small business. Non-retail businesses generating $50K gross revenue, retail shops generating $500K gross revenue, construction companies generating $500K gross revenue, and virtually all other businesses except agricultural employers, airlines and railroads must post new NLRB posters as of November 14, 2011.
This is not just any mumbo-jumbo poster–it’s a poster that informs employees at the smallest businesses that they have a right to unionize. Download your free poster so that you can comply.
Many of the steps that employers may want to take to remain union free or to prevent its work force union from expanding must be taken before any union organizing occurs.
Read the FAQ at the NRLB’s website to learn more information about this important issue.
If you don’t comply with the posting requirements, you will be opening yourself up to the possibility of an unfair labor practice charge by employees, unions, or other persons. If an employer knowingly and willfully fails to post the Notice, that failure may be considered evidence of unlawful motive in an unfair labor practice case involving other alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 3 Article: Smart Money Access
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 3
Article: Smart Money Access
Greetings!
What crazy times we live in. Many business owners are dog paddling to stay afloat. Some tell me stories of current gross revenues that are 20% of 2006 levels. We’re all working longer hours, many for less pay. This issue explores how to get ahead in obtaining financing for your business, and how to avoid a nasty-gram from the NRLB. I hope you find these Tips From the Trenches helpful.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Bowers Weaver
Bowers Foreman, PLLC
Smart Money Access
Anyone in small business knows these are tough times. Efforts to get funding to small business by political forces have been anemic. Many of my clients are grasping for opportunities to do workouts, work-arounds, and prayer vigils. The latter is my weak attempt at humor, but you know what I’m talking about.
This summer I had the good fortune to hear a presentation by Michelle Goerdel of Biz Loan Link. I was thoroughly impressed and immediately got her info on my Client Business Resources page.
When the financial crisis hit this country, many banks shook off their experienced bankers, hired kids right out of college, and went back to business as usual. Unfortunately, the kids just out college have not been mentored how to make a loan application sing to underwriting. Thus, business loan applicants are hearing a lot of “no.”
Michelle is a veteran banker who left the lender side of the loan paradigm amid the financial crisis of the past few years. She put her deep business banking experience to work for business owners. Her services help loan applicants do the work of preparing their application in a manner that is most likely to resonate with loan underwriting.
She can be less or more hands on, depending on your budget. She is actively involved in helping businesses find “the money” – and she is successful at this. As a result, she knows who the banks are that are most likely to lend. If you’re in need of business financing and frustrated with your attempts to secure such funding, I recommend you give Michelle a call 425-681-1918.
NLRB After You!
“Huh? But I only have small work force.” Yes, I know. Reading the National Labor Relations Board’s most recent new power grab at small business caused me pause, as a small business owner. New poster rules reach right down to the heart of small business. Non-retail businesses generating $50K gross revenue, retail shops generating $500K gross revenue, construction companies generating $500K gross revenue, and virtually all other businesses except agricultural employers, airlines and railroads must post new NLRB posters as of November 14, 2011.
This is not just any mumbo-jumbo poster–it’s a poster that informs employees at the smallest businesses that they have a right to unionize. Download your free poster so that you can comply.
Many of the steps that employers may want to take to remain union free or to prevent its work force union from expanding must be taken before any union organizing occurs.
Read the FAQ at the NRLB’s website to learn more information about this important issue.
If you don’t comply with the posting requirements, you will be opening yourself up to the possibility of an unfair labor practice charge by employees, unions, or other persons. If an employer knowingly and willfully fails to post the Notice, that failure may be considered evidence of unlawful motive in an unfair labor practice case involving other alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 2 Article: STOP! Change in Reality for the Big B, Bankruptcy
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 2
Article: STOP! Change in Reality for the Big B, Bankruptcy
Dear Valued Client,
I hope these brief Tips From the Trenches prove valuable. If there is a topic that interests you, please let me know. Thank you for the opportunity to assist you.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Bowers Weaver, JD, MBA
Bowers Foreman, PLLC
STOP! Change in Reality for the Big B, Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy. Business owners dread the thought of the Big B. But, many have always considered bankruptcy the necessary evil if their business goes to hell. Now, my bankruptcy colleagues tell me they are more frequently advising against bankruptcy than ever before.
Why? Bankruptcy trustees (those who swear an oath to maximizing the funds from sale of all a bankrupt’s assets) are now far more aggressive than in the past. The trustees now go so far as attempting to market property of the debtor where there is no equity for the estate, by trying to negotiate “short sales” with lenders.
Also, the internet now makes a bankrupt person’s private information very public –including the last 4 digits of one’s social security numbers. This can make a person in bankruptcy a target for identity theft. Thieves can often predict your social security number fairly accurately if they have the last 4 digits of your SSN because the first 5 digits are standardized based on the year and place where you lived at the time of issuance. For more check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWJMMIwjWYE
If business owners are nervous about their financial situation, it is very important to seek the advice of a business attorney as early as possible.
Creative business attorneys can:
- Brainstorm unusual strategies to divest of a business in such a way as to minimize losses and avoid bankruptcy; and
- Connect struggling business owners with banking consultants, work-out artists, and marketing specialists, i.e. thereby forming a team that may be help owners out of a rough patch.
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 1 Article: Really. Get It In Writing.
Tips From the Trenches: Vol. 1
Article: Really. Get It In Writing.
Dear Valued Client,
I hope these brief Tips From the Trenches prove valuable. Check out my summer thank you certificate, at the bottom. jbw cropped headshot If there is a topic you would like to read about here, please let me know. Thank you for the opportunity to assist with your legal needs.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Bowers Weaver, JD, MBA
Bowers Foreman, PLLC
Really. Get It In Writing.
The most important and basic legal advice is “get it in writing.” Unfortunately, it is commonly ignored legal advice. Just because there is a written contract does not mean you have what you need in writing.
80% of the calls I field each week involve situations where the parties (with or without legal assistance) discussed key terms, maybe signed a contract, and handed over money. Only later, the client made the painful discovery the contract did not identify an important term or terms.
In an economy where every dollar counts, even small mistakes of this kind can be painful. A good technique for avoiding this unpleasant discovery is:
- Write down a bullet-list of what you consider the key terms of the deal.
- Try to find a complete discussion of each term on your bullet list in the actual proposed contract document.
- Any missing, incomplete, or incorrect term should be revised before you sign the agreement. All exhibits or addenda to the agreement (including inventory lists, etc.) should be reviewed for accuracy and completeness before you sign the agreement.
- Never rely on a sales representative’s statement that you should sign now because the contract contains an “out” clause letting you cancel within a certain number of days or at any time.
- At a minimum, the final proposed agreement should be reviewed by a contracts attorney before you sign it.
After you have signed an agreement, there is no basis to force the other party to change the contract terms.