How to Create a Drug and Alcohol Policy
Your guide to crafting a drug and alcohol policy that can protect you and your employees from the destructive behavior caused by substance abuse Read more
Legal Issues
Recent Legal Issues Articles
Obama Cracks Down on Use of Contractors
The IRS plans to audit 6,000 companies over the next three years in a bid to crack down on companies that erroneously classify employees as independent contr... Read more
Should Your Lawyer Specialize in Entrepreneurship?
Law schools will begin offering a specialized degree in entrepreneurship next year. But will the owners of start-ups consider this specialty essential when h... Read more
How to Manage an Independent Contractor
Due to the independent nature of contract work, it can be a tricky thing to manage, even for experienced CEOs. Here's a look at the best practices for when t... Read more
Medical Marijuana Laws Leave Employers Dazed and Confused
It's now legal to smoke pot for medical reasons in 14 states. What does that mean for employee policy? Read more
Do You Have to Pay Employees for Snow Days?
You still need to hand over a paycheck for a snow day in most cases, according to the Labor Department. Read more
How to Keep Office Romance From Poisoning the Workplace
With office romance on the rise -- and employees are worrying less about hiding it -- here's how to keep from flirting with disaster. Read more
Will Your Texting Policy Stand Up in Court?
A new Supreme Court case casts a shadow on employee text messaging rules. The case involves an employer sued for reading an employee's (highly sexual) text m... Read more
Single Mother Wins $200,000 in Job Bias Case
Dena Lockwood says her employer fired her after she stayed home from work to care for a sick child. Read more
PetSmart Fires Employee Who Brought Dog to Work
PetSmart fired employee Eric Favetta for "theft of services" after he parked Gizmo, his 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, in the store's doggie daycare facility. Read more
Where Every Day is Take Your Baby to Work Day
Why some companies are allowing employees to bring their babies to the office. Read more
How to Protect Your Trade Secrets
Advice for the small-business owner on protecting trademarks, writing nondisclosure agreements, and other tools for protecting intellectual property. Read more
Law Bars Employers From Genetic Discrimination
A recently finalized law will make it illegal for employers to take their employees' genetic information into account in hiring and firing decisions. Read more
Update: AstroTurf's PR Nightmare
How the company that bought the AstroTurf name dealt with allegations that older fields contained worrisome levels of lead. Read more
A Besieged Brewery Fights Back
Rock Art Brewery is embroiled in a trademark war with the beverage giant Hansen over the name of the brewery's Vermonster beer. Read more
Farmers' Goods Called Risky Foods
Research claims that produce are more likely to transmit food-born illnesses, bad news for food entrepreneurs. Read more
How Business Travelers Can Avoid Swine Flu
Experts say businesses and their employees must take precautions against the seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus on the road. Read more
Preventing Workplace Violence
In the wake of the Yale lab murder, experts in workplace violence identify steps that managers can take to prevent other tragedies from occurring. Read more
The Best Ergonomic Keyboards
Three ergonomic keyboards to soothe aching wrists Read more
Do You Take This Co-worker to be Your Lawfully Consensual Partner?
The rise of attempted wrongful termination suits leads employers to issue love contracts. Read more
Taxi Cab Confessions? Extortion Scheme Alleged
Las Vegas strip clubs were allegedly forced to pay kickbacks to cabbies for customers. Read more
Supreme Court Reexamines Patent Laws
A reversal of the earlier decision that business methods are not patentable could likely change the face of business. Read more
Justice Department Gets Tough on Monopolies
New administration overturns relaxed Bush-era policy. Read more
Renegotiate That Contract
Business owners toss previously-negotiated agreements out the window to bargain for reduced prices. Read more
Paying Too Much in Credit Card Processing Fees?
New website aims to help business owners compare merchant processing services. Read more
Time to Renegotiate Vendor Contracts?
With the economy in major slowdown mode, now may be a good time to try renegotiating some of those one-sided vendor contracts you entered into in better time... Read more
Skyrocketing Job Bias Claims
Discrimination filings have hit at an all-time high. Read more
Ledbetter Law Will Increase Suits
Bill extends the period for workers to sue former employers for pay discrimination. Read more
How to Incorporate
If you are starting a business, or you already run one but haven't thought strategically about its legal structure--S Corp, C Corp, or LLC--you need to take ... Read more
Drives: It's Diesel. It's an SUV. And It's Clean
Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTec Read more
The Rebranding Game
If at first you pick the wrong name, you can always try, try again. Read more
What Kind of Business Are You Running?
As a budding entrepreneur, one of the first decisions you'll make is choosing your company's legal structure. And three letters like 'Inc.' can mean much mor... Read more
Mark Cuban Charged With Insider Trading
The SEC says the Dallas Mavericks owner dodged $750,000 in losses by selling off shares in Mamma.com ahead of a discount stock offering. Read more
A Cold Call, a Blog, and a $20 Million Lawsuit
A North Carolina entrepreneur blogs a warning to her industry -- and gets sued for her troubles. Read more
A Start-up Plans to Make Mines Safer
Can this workplace-safety company raise $1 million in seed capital? Read more
