Employee Handbooks, FMLA
Continue Reading Copy Another Company’s Employee Handbook at Your Peril
Employment Law
Sullivan & Ward Iowa Law Blog Coming Soon
I am excited to announce that the Sullivan & Ward law firm will publish its Iowa Law Blog beginning in mid to late August. The firm’s law blog will cover general legal issues inlcuding the following areas of law:
- Utility and electric cooperative law;
- Business law;
- Trusts and estates;
- Family law;
- Real Estate law;
- Trial &
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Document Retention Playing to the Jury
Michael Moore has an informative post on Developing a Record Retention Policy on his Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog. Michael raises a particularly insightful issue:
Anticipate the arguments that may be made and inferences that could be drawn from the destruction of certain documents and weigh it against the expense of retaining and producing the
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The Cure for the Useless Corporate Lawyer
Yesterday I had an interesting discussion with one of my buddies. He is an executive with a Fortune 500 company out-of-state and he was expressing his frustration with lawyers – actually his own lawyers. He just got off the phone with one of his outside counsel when I called. After talking with him for less than 30 seconds I…
Employee Evaluations Are Critical to Firing Decisions
Charlie Longbrief had just turned off his computer to end his day when the phone rang. It was John Grains. John owns the local grain elevator in Hometown, Iowa and Charlie has been his business lawyer for several years.
"Charlie, I’ve got a problem," he said.
"Tell me about it," Charlie said.
"Well, I need to fire Nancy…
Document Retention and Electronic Discovery
In today’s business environment, organizations need to respond to an increasing number of document requests, from regulatory compliance issues to internal investigations to full-scale litigation. Much of this information is available electronically. Despite the prevalence of such document requests most organizations remain reactive rather than proactive when it comes to dealing with the issue of…
Ten Tips for New Small Businesses
I ran across this list of tips for new small businesses. Some terrific advice. Here are the ten tips as listed:
- Save up as much money as possible before starting.
- Start on a shoestring.
- Protect your personal assets.
- Understand how–and if–you will make a profit.
- Make a business plan, so matter how short.
- Get and
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Drug Testing Basics for Iowa Employers
An employer recently called me to inquire about a drug testing policy. The employer received reports that a delivery driver had driven while under the influence of alcohol. These types of occurrences often serve as wake up calls. Drug testing can deter such behavior. So it makes sense to implement drug tests in the workplace…
What are the Top Legal Issues Facing Today’s Small Businesses?
I am hoping you will provide me with some input. What do you think are the top legal issues facing small businesses today?
My general sense is that employee/human resource issues rank high. If you are a small business owner, what keeps you up at night from a legal perspective? If you are a lawyer…
What if More Employers Were Like Tony Dungy?
Michael Libbie had a great post on the recent 2007 Iowa Employment Values Study showing that more than anything workers want R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Being respected in the workplace is the value Iowa workers feel is most important.
But what if more employers were like Tony Dungy? A post from TechRepublic says it very well,
"Dungy
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