Reports yesterday suggest that the government officials are starting to aggressively pursue companies that misclassify regular employees as independent contractors, at least in part to garner additional tax revenues. For example, the federal government’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years, while more than two dozen states [...]
Friday humor for lawyers
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.” The [...]
Are you cognitively fluent?
Here is a very interesting article by Drake Bennett at the Boston Globe, that has lots of ramifications for lawyers, marketers and others, on “cognitive fluency”: a measure of how easy it is to think about something. New research confirms that people prefer things that are easy to think about to those that are hard. For example: When [...]
Health care costs slow business expansion
According to a new survey by health insurance company HealthPartners, health care costs are the biggest obstacle to business expansion for Minnesota businesses. Almost two-thirds of companies said health costs jumped 10 percent or more in the past two years, with a quarter reporting costs increasing by more than 20 percent Many employers blame [...]
Latest litigation tool: Facebook
Here is an interesting article from Law360 about how lawyers are using Facebook in a variety of different cases. Nothing earth-shatteringly new, but a good reminder for all involved about the implications of social media. In business litigation like non-compete cases, Linkedin may be an even better source of evidence.
COBRA subsidy may be extended
The Obama administration is seeking to extend the subsidy of COBRA premiums. Currently, many employees who were laid off between September 2008 and February 2010 receive a 65 percent subsidy of their health care coverage for up to 15 months. The President’s budget proposal would extend that subsidy to employees who lose their jobs in [...]