Many businesses have predicted that new federal rules that took effect last year could result in “quickie” union elections in which the employer wouldn’t have time to campaign effectively and get its message across. It now looks like those fears might be justified – the average time before a private-sector union election is now only three weeks, compared to five weeks previously, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has put its records online, including trademark owners’ full addresses. As a result, many shady but official-sounding businesses are now contacting trademark owners and offering scam services. For instance, such businesses may offer to arrange third-party publication (which is unnecessary), or they may offer legitimate services such as filing a record with the Customs Office at exorbitant prices. The most dangerous scams offer to renew a trademark registration without properly
Can a company that conducts an internal investigation tell the employees it’s interviewing not to talk about the matter while the inquiry is pending? Not necessarily, according to a new decision by the National Labor Relations Board. The ruling applies to all businesses, regardless of whether they have a union. Companies can insist on confidentiality only if certain conditions are met, the Board said.
Many business owners think it’s easy to set up an LLC. That’s partly the result of companies and websites that claim to offer simple, “standardized” LLC operating agreements. Just fill in the blanks and you’re off! In reality, there’s no such thing as a “standard” LLC operating agreement. You have a lot of choices to make, and even if you’re starting a very simple business, your choices will have a profound effect on you down the
An important step in estate planning is creating an inventory of your assets. Your executor – the person you designate in your will to carry out your last wishes – uses the inventory to make sure all of your property passes to your heirs. That includes your digital assets. Documenting these along with more traditional effects can help ensure your final wishes are honored and your estate is administered correctly. Here’s what to keep in mind
Did you file all required information returns for 2015 and earlier years? Information returns include Forms 1099, the forms you complete when you pay for certain business expenses such as rent or services performed by an independent contractor. August is a good time to review your filing compliance because this is the time of year the IRS typically begins sending notices for prior year information returns with missing and incorrect taxpayer identification numbers, and the penalties
The art of placing information in a logical order, more prosaically called organization, is key to the efficiency of your business, which can in turn increase productivity. Fortunately, you can master the art of organization by making habits out of simple techniques. Here are suggestions.
If you’re starting your first job this fall, you probably want to avoid overpaying your federal income tax. Consider asking your employer to use a special formula known as the part-year withholding method to calculate the amount of federal income tax withheld from your wages. To be eligible, you have to use the calendar year as your tax year, and you must not expect to be employed for more than 245 days during the year.
When you hire workers from specified groups that typically experience high unemployment, you may qualify for a tax break known as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. You typically have 28 days after the worker’s first day to complete paperwork for this federal income tax credit. However, for certain workers hired between January 1, 2015, and August 31, 2016, the 28-day rule has been extended until September 28, 2016. The extended date gives you an opportunity to
The average rent in the U.S. was $1,180 a month at the beginning of 2016, up 4.6% from a year earlier, according to a company called Reis, Inc. that tracks such trends. Rents dipped in 2009, following the recession, but they have been growing steadily ever since. Demand for apartments is high, since the rate of homeownership in the U.S. is about as low as it’s been at any time in the last 30 years.
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