The rules for deciding who is really an independent contractor and who must be classified as an employee are changing again. If your business issues 1099s, prepare to take another look at your independent contractors (ICs) in the context of the new rules.
On January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) began requiring corporations, limited liability companies and otherentities to file reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) division of the U.S Treasury Department.
If you’re a business owner in the United States, you’re likely familiar with Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification form. It’s essential to the hiring process, ensuring all your employees, both citizens and non-citizens, are authorized to work in the U.S.
Did you begin the new year with the goal of starting a new business in Virginia? If so, you’ll want to take all the necessary steps to get your business set up correctly. From deciding on the business structure to obtaining licenses and permits, there is some legwork involved. We’ll cover what you need to do to get your business up and running in Virginia.
Over the last 20 years, limited liability companies have become the preferred way of doing business for many small and medium-size enterprises. That is primarily due to the fact that LLCs are easier to form than corporations. Unfortunately, that simplicity lulls many people into trying to do it themselves or working with forms provided online. Sure, if your LLC is only going to operate a kid’s lemonade stand for a couple of months over the summer, that might be good enough. But for most people engaged in real businesses with significant risks, it’s not.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a proposed rule which, if adopted, will broadly ban the use of non-compete agreements with workers throughout the U.S.
Employers face the constant challenge of regulatory requirements, which keep changing. To further complicate matters, compliance with employment obligations to employees varies from the employer’s home state to other states where remote employees work. An employer’s compliance failure, regardless of whether it was inadvertent or minor, could provide an employee with an opportunity for an employee to hold their employer liable for statutory violations. Employers and their employees should understand the rules for overtime pay, who can be a salaried employee and rules for employee classification, and what happens if wages are not properly paid.
Massachusetts, like Maryland and the District of Columbia (which has a liquidated damages provision requiring 4 times the wages due), has treble damages when wages are late. According to the Massachusetts statute, the terminated employee must be paid all wages due on the date of discharge, while an employee who resigns must be paid by the next regularly scheduled payroll after the last day of employment.