CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

CHOOSING A NAME FOR YOUR BUSINESS

 - Check availability of your name

 - Researching and reserving a URL

 - Applying for a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)

 - Applying for a Sales and Use Tax Permit

CHAPTER TWO

CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE BUSINESS FORM

Sole Proprietorships

 - How are sole proprietorships formed?

 - Legal liability issues

 - Management of sole proprietorships

 - Record-Keeping obligations

 - Tax liability issues

Partnerships 

General Partnerships

 Liability issues for General Partnerships

Limited Partnerships

Limited Liability Partnerships

 Record keeping for Limited Liability Partnerships

Automatic Dissolution of Partnerships

The Partnership Agreement

Tax Liability Issues

Corporations in General

 - How is a corporation formed?

 - Management of corporations

 - Limited liability of corporations

 - Record keeping requirements

 - Incorporation documents

 - Annual reports

 - Minutes

 - Separate financial records

 - Piercing the corporate veil

 - Tax liability

C Corporations

 - Tax liabilities for C corporations

Subchapter S Corporations

 - How to elect subchapter S status 

Professional Corporations

 - How to form a professional corporation

 - Liability issues

 - Tax treatment of professional corporations

 - State related considerations

Not-for-Profit Organizations

Limited Liability Companies 

 - How to form an LLC

 - Management of an LLC

 - Liability of members of an LLC   

 - Tax liability issues

 - Single member LLC

 - Multiple member LLC

 - Self-employment tax

 - Record-keeping requirements

 - Other advantages of an LLC

 - Other disadvantages of an LLC

CHAPTER THREE

UNDERSTANDING PROPERTY RIGHTS 

Tangible Property

 - Real property

Personal property

 - Intellectual Property

CHAPTER FOUR

PROTECTING BUSINESS PROPERTY RIGHTS

Protecting Tangible Property

Protecting Intellectual Property

Trademark/Service Mark Protection

 - How to get trademark protection

Common mistakes in trademark applications

 - Filing under the wrong "use" category

 - Filing under the wrong descriptive category

 - Failure to disclaim common words M Failure to respond to an "office action"

 - Failure to pay required fees

Copyright Protection

 - What can be copyrighted?

 - How to get copyright protection

 - How to save money on copyrighting

 - The "poor man's" copyright

Patent Protection

 - What can be patented?

 - How to get patent protection   

CHAPTER FIVE

CATEGORIES OF ENGAGEMENT FOR HIRE

The need to properly categorize workers

Employees vs. independent contractors 

"At will" employment

Contract employment

Employment "for hire"

CHAPTER SIX

THE HIRING PROCESS

 - Employment advertisements and applications 

 - Hire the right people

Ask only proper questions

 - Disability/health issues

 - Race/sex/sexual orientation/religion/parental or marital status/national origin/age

 - Salary History

Criminal Background Checks

 - Difference between an arrest and a conviction 

 - Timing of criminal background checks

 - Getting consent

 - Notice and opportunity to dispute

 - Beware of discriminatory impact

 - Failure to get a background check

Other Methods of Research about Job Applicants

 - Lie detector tests

 - Drug testing

 - Social media snooping

 - Job references

 - Credit checks

Equal Treatment Requirement

Equal Pay

CHAPTER SEVEN

OBLIGATIONS ARISING FROM THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

State and Local Differences

Record keeping

 - Employee personnel files

 - Confidentiality of employment records

Reporting

 - New hires

 - Child support/taxes

 - Quarterly reports/transferring taxes

 - ACA reporting

Family Medical Leave Act

 - Covered employers

 - Eligible employees

 - Unpaid leave

 - Military caregivers

 - Special rules

 - Who is a "spouse"?

 - Continuation of benefits

 - Retaliation prohibited

 - State sick leave and family medical leave

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

 - What employers are covered

 - What is a "full time equivalent" employee?

 - How can an employer avoid a penalty?

 - What is the penalty?

 - ACA reporting requirements

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

Employee Handbook

Workplace Safety

 - Worker's compensation insurance

 - Material data safety sheets

 - Comply with OSHA Regulations

 - First aid kit

 - Written evacuation plan

 - Employee education and training

 - Mandatory reporting of accidents

Posting Legal Notices

Union Organizing

Employing Children

 - Children 14 and under

 - Children 16-17

 - What is a "hazardous occupation?"

 - Certificate of age

 - Exceptions

Wage and Hour Issues

 - Minimum wage

 - Breaks

 - Overtime

 - Prohibition of deduction of penalties from wages

 - Pay periods

 - Documentation of itemized deductions 

 - Payment of wages upon termination

 - Keeping track of employee hours

 - Agreements to avoid wage and hour laws

CHAPTER EIGHT

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

 - What is a "protected class'?

 - "Terms and conditions of employment"   

 - Discrimination laws strictly enforced

Liability far Discrimination by Others

 - Discrimination between employees

 - Liability for discrimination by managers

 - Discrimination by third parties

Types of Discrimination

 - Intentional discrimination

 - Discriminatory Impact

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

Americans With Disabilities in Employment

 - Who is protected under ADEA?

 - What employers are covered

 - Discrimination in terms and conditions

 - Inquiry about disability prohibited

 - Reasonable accommodation required

Sexual harassment

Retaliation prohibited

Equal pay

Final thoughts about discrimination

CHAPTER NINE

CONTRACTS

 - What is a contract?

 - Does a contract have to be in writing?

 - Detrimental reliance

 - Quantum meruit

 - Read the contract

 - Integration and non-waiver clauses

 - Indemnification

 - Comply with the terms of your contract

 - Signing the contract

 - Keep a copy of the contract

 - Authority to sign

 - Personal guarantees

 - Installment contracts

 - Good faith and fair dealing

CHAPTER TEN

COMMERCIAL LEASES

 - Triple net leases

 - Non-compete/exclusivity clauses

 - Clauses giving the landlord a share of profits

 - Clauses that dictate hours of operation

 - Default provisions

 - Notice of default and opportunity to cure

 - Sale of the building

 - Recording

 - Business equipment and fixtures

 - Improvements/changes

 - Holdover rent

 - Destruction of property

 - Liability insurance

 - Eminent domain

 - Options to renew

CHAPTER ELEVEN

NEGOTIATION IN BUSINESS

CHAPTER TWELVE

BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS AND JOINT VENTURES

 - Choose the right people

 - Joint liability

 - Plan ahead

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Arbitration

 - What to expect in advance of arbitration

 - Who is present

 - What happens during an arbitration 

 - Pros and cons of arbitration

Mediation

 - Selecting a mediator

 - Assess the likelihood of settlement

 - What to expect during mediation

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES

 - Consumer protections

 - Common unfair and deceptive practices

 - Business to business claims

 - Notice required

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

COMMON SENSE ISSUES

 - Know what regulations apply

 - Train your managers

 - Business liability insurance

 - Communicate expectations clearly

 - Establish and maintain accountability

 - Always act with integrity

 - Misuse of company email and computers

 - Protect electronically stored and confidential information

 - Internet reviews and complaints

 - What you can do about false online reviews

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR LAWYER

Choosing a Lawyer

 - Insist that your lawyer communicate clearly

 - Understand the value of your business

 - Communicate efficiently with your lawyer

 - Things to know about your lawyer’s billing practices

 - The attorney/client privilege

 - The lawyer’s ethical responsibilities