Ten Ways To Avoid An Employment Discrimination Lawsuit: Part Two
| Posted in Legal on Dec 19, 2011 by |
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Human Resources professionals know—as well as anybody—that employment discrimination claims are on the rise and that minimizing the risk of these claims must be on the collective conscious of any organization. In my last article, I discussed five ways a business can avoid, or at least minimize the risk, of being sued by an employee or former employee. This article will discuss an additional five "Best Practices" to keep in mind.
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Nonprofits And The Perils Of Political Activity
| Posted in Legal on Nov 21, 2011 by |
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As the country gears up for next year’s political elections, 501(c)(3) organizations must be cautious about lending their support to certain candidates or particular issues. If a 501(c)(3) organization participates in political campaign activity, it could jeopardize its tax-exempt status.
The Internal Revenue Code requires that a 501(c)(3) organization be organized and operated exclusively for an exempt purpose, such as charity, science, ...
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Ten Ways To Avoid An Employment Discrimination Lawsuit: Part One
| Posted in Legal on Aug 29, 2011 by |
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Today, decision-makers at businesses (owners, executive directors and human resources personnel, for example) are more than ever keenly aware of the risks inherent in the decisions they make, especially when it comes to their own employees. Rightly so, businesses (whether for-profit or not-for profit) want and should do everything possible to avoid being sued.
It is for this reason that the following scenario plays out in lawyers’ offices ...
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Harassment Lawsuits: 95 Million Reasons To Prevent Them
| Posted in Legal on Jun 27, 2011 by |
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On June 9, 2011, a federal jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis) returned what some people are calling the largest verdict ever in a sexual harassment case in this country. The verdict totaled $95,000,000 broken down into compensatory damages of $15,000,000 and punitive damages of $80,000,000. Although the facts of the case were egregious, the verdict sends a loud and clear message to all ...
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Beware Of Facebook: Employees Have Rights!
| Posted in Legal on Jun 3, 2011 by |
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I recently read an article which stated that the total number of Facebook users in the United States is approaching 155 million. Given that the population in this country is approximately 310 million, this means that nearly one-half of all Americans have a Facebook account. I guess you can say that the chances are pretty good that many of your employees do too.
Why should you care? Well, Facebook and other social networking websites have ...
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Social Media And The Law
| Posted in Legal on May 23, 2011 by |
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Social networking. The phrase once conjured images of technology geeks creating online profiles and moody teenagers “hanging out” in virtual chat rooms. But these days, with the explosion of sites such as Facebook.com, Twitter.com and YouTube.com, social media has become a cost-effective marketing tool for simple and sophisticated businesses alike. Non-profit organizations all over the world have taken the social media plunge and now use blogs, ...
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Is Missouri An Employee-Friendly State—Absolutely!
| Posted in Legal on May 3, 2011 by |
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Has a current or former employee ever filed a discrimination claim against your organization with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights? How about a retaliation claim? Or a harassment claim? If you answered “no” to these questions then it may come as a surprise to you that Missouri, widely considered a conservative state, is an “employee-friendly” place to be. Despite efforts to change the tide, it appears that this fact of life for employers ...
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The Americans With Disabilities Act: What Every Non-Profit Should Know
| Posted in Legal on Apr 24, 2011 by |
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Dating back to 1997, more charges of discrimination were filed against employers in 2010 than in any other year. Consistent with this trend, more disability claims were filed against employers in 2010 than in any other year noted on the EEOC’s website. Given that Congress recently amended the Americans with Disability Act to make it more “employee friendly,” one can only expect the increase in disability-related claims to continue on its current ...
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The 411 On The Form 990
| Posted in Legal on Apr 11, 2011 by |
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At long last, spring is here, which means sunshine, barbeques and filing your annual tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. Even though an organization may be exempt from federal income tax, it must still file an annual return with the IRS. For organizations with fiscal years ending December 31, 2010, the filing date for this annual return is May 15, 2011, unless the organization has obtained an extension.
The Form 990 is the ...
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Executive Compensation: Paying It Right
| Posted in Legal on Mar 7, 2011 by |
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Often times, nonprofit organizations need guidance when it comes to determining the appropriate level of employee compensation, particularly for its senior management. The IRS rules require nonprofits to pay only “reasonable compensation,” but then offer no specific criteria by which to decide what is reasonable. Rather, nonprofits are simply instructed to consider what practices other organizations have developed in formulating their ...
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Trumpeting The Call For A Whistleblower Policy
| Posted in Legal on Feb 7, 2011 by |
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Our nonprofit clients frequently ask whether they should adopt a “whistleblower policy.”
A “whistleblower” is a company-insider who reports illegal or improper conduct of the company. Although whistle blowing is not a new concept, it has received added attention following the Enron and WorldCom scandals. The federal government responded to these scandals by passing the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), which imposes many corporate governance ...
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2011 Good Governance - A Resolution Worth Keeping
| Posted in Legal on Jan 11, 2011 by |
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Over the years, we tax lawyers, who focus on providing legal assistance to tax-exempt organizations, have witnessed dramatic shifts in the formation and continuing oversight of such organizations by governmental authorities at both the federal and state levels. In the “good old days” (defined by one executive director “as that time period when I didn’t need to call you every day”), the amount and level of government scrutiny was significantly ...
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