Business Organization › Labor & Employment Law › Administrative Law

Recent PAC Rulings Find University And Park District In Violation Of Open Meetings Act

In a recent decision, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) ruled that Western Illinois University Board of Trustees violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when it voted to terminate a faculty member in closed session. According to...more

Canning v. National Labor Relations Board

Obama NLRB Recess Appointments Unconstitutional (Text Copy)

Full text copy of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruling in Canning v. National Labor Relations Board, which found President Obama’s recess appointments of three members to the NLRB in January 2012 to be...more

How to Reach Your Audience in Compliance Training – The Use of Charisma

One often hears or reads about complaints that compliance training is dull, nay even boring. I mean, how many times can you expect someone to be lectured to on the riveting subject of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)...more

Some Federal, State, & Employment, Tax Considerations When Deciding on A Business Entity (LLC, Corporation or Sole Proprietorship)

The amount of taxes that you have to pay is one of the key reasons that individuals select one business entity type over another. The term “tax” though is a bit too general for a business as “tax” could refer to federal tax,...more

HR Professionals: The Key To Smooth Corporate Acquisitions

Although human resources professionals are not always recognized for their efforts during a corporate acquisition, the work which they do behind the scenes can often make the difference between an acquisition succeeding or...more

CII Submits Rule 10b5-1 Rulemaking Petition to the SEC

On November 28 the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), an association of public, corporate and union pension funds and other employee benefit plans, submitted a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman...more

The Person Of The Year: The Whistleblower

In keeping with “tradition” (even if it is a one-year tradition), I like to start out the year looking back on the person of the year in 2012. As we look through the developments of 2012, there is no question of the...more

Union Friendly - Using Collectively Bargained Pension Plans to Maximize Pension Contributions for Closely Held Business Owners

Overview - In the “old days” business owners and employees were able to have good pension plans that did not depend upon the fate of the stock market, i.e. defined benefit plans. We have all heard the stories of New...more

Doing Business In Arizona - A Legal Guide

Contents: Part I: A Brief Factual Look at Arizona: - Population and Job Growth - Personal Income - Exports - Leading Industries - Location - Business Costs - Labor Force - Education -...more

Education Update, No. 1, January 2013: Heads Up For Schools With TIAA CREF 403(b) Plan Documents

We try to alert our clients when we begin to see a trend developing. One trend our benefits attorneys have been addressing for private school clients is the fact that their third-party plan auditors have found that schools...more

Executive Compensation and Corporate and Securities Alert: UPDATED-NYSE and Nasdaq Propose Rules Relating to Compensation...

This summary has been updated to reflect the amendment to the Nasdaq Proposed Rules now referenced in the third paragraph of the Overview below. Overview - On June 20, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission...more

Internal Investigations And Interviews (Part III of IV)

Interviews are the critical part of every internal investigation. Before conducting any interviews, it is important for the investigator to know as much as possible about the events under investigation. Such knowledge can...more

The SEC’s Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program: Statistics Suggest Best Practices for an Effective Compliance and...

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program, released November 2012, provides the first complete year of data on the activities of the Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”)...more

The SEC Wants To Know About Your Whistleblower Policy

SEC Regional Office Director David Bergers recently emphasized the importance of a company’s whistleblower policy when deciding whether to file an enforcement action against a company. Bergers made his comments at an internal...more

Government Finance Officers Association Issues Guidelines For Pension Funding

As market regulators press for stricter reporting guidelines for state and local governments concerning pension disclosure in public offerings, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is advocating that funding...more

Illinois Supreme Court to Resolve Municipal Pension Dispute

Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term continue with Prazen v. Shoop, a dispute about the politically charged issue of public employee pensions....more

"Executive Compensation and Benefits Alert: ISS Releases FAQs Regarding Peer Group Selection — Deadline Fast Approaching for...

New ISS Peer Group Methodology - One of the most controversial issues during the 2012 proxy season was the degree to which the peer groups chosen by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) varied from the peer groups...more

NLRB Cases Impact At-Will Employment Agreements

Most employment agreements in California are for at-will employment. This means that the employer can terminate the employee at any time, with or without cause, so long as termination is not for a reason otherwise unlawful...more

Employer Liability for Unreported Time

A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a nurse’s claim for unpaid wages attributed to working during unpaid meal breaks, did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). White v. Baptist...more

ISS Finalizes 2013 Corporate Governance Policy

On November 16, 2012, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) finalized its 2013 U. S. Corporate Governance Policy. The changes in the policy are effective for shareholder meetings held on and after February 1, 2013. The...more

Sixth Circuit Allows Key Defenses To SOX Whistleblower Claims That ARB Rejected

In a SOX whistleblower decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit embraced a number of employer-favorable legal standards that the Administrative Review Board (ARB) recently rejected....more

"Executive Compensation and Benefits Alert: Decision Clarifies That PE Funds Are Not Subject to 'Controlled Group' Liability"

Private equity funds (PE funds) and their advisors long have been concerned that a fund (or its other portfolio companies) may be liable for unfunded pension plan liabilities of one of its portfolio companies. However, in a...more

Corporate Social Media Policies Should Comply With Recent NLRB Decision

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a decision with significant impact upon employer policies that apply to employee use of social media. [Costco Wholesale Corporation, 358 NLRB No. 106 (Sept. 7,...more

Governor Signs New Law On Disability Access Complaints

California has been a haven for plaintiffs’ attorneys suing for ADA (American With Disabilities Act) violations because of existing law that provided up to $4000 in statutory damages, along with attorneys fees for every...more

PBGC Changes Enforcement Policy Under ERISA Section 4062(e)

No action will be taken against creditworthy companies or small pension plans; no financial guarantees will be required for approximately 92% of applicable employer-plan sponsors. On November 2, the Pension Benefit...more