by Andrew Wilson, Esq.

On May 9, 2013, the Senate Judiciary Committee began marking up S. 744, the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013," which is comprehensive immigration reform legislation developed by the "Gang of Eight" bipartisan group of senators and introduced on April 17, 2013.

by Shenanne Tucker, Esq.

They say you can’t bring things from this world with you when you die. But, without proper and diligent planning, your business may be the one thing you do drag into the grave with you when you go. While estate planning and disability planning is recommended for everyone, business owners have special concerns that require additional attention and proactive planning.

by David L. Schneider, Esq.

When I was in law school, there was a professor who, when discussing a particularly thorny or difficult problem, would refer to it as being a "Serbonian Bog." In that pre-Google age, none of us knew what that was, but we were pretty sure that we didn't want to be in one (kind of like that class). But, whether you know what a Serbonian Bog is or not, anyone trying to figure out how long an injured worker has to file a workers' compensation claim in Arkansas will soon know what it is like to be in over their head.

by Patrick S. Moody, Esq.

The State Senate Budget subcommittee recently voted to approve changes in the State Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) budget that will increase employer assessments. Several employer advocacy groups and associations have expressed their concerns that the proposal lacks transparency and does not include any mandated review to determine whether the ongoing assessments are appropriate.

by Jack Gillespie, Esq.

Where a lessee abandons a commercial leasehold, should the landlord have a duty to mitigate its damages caused by the lessee’s breach of the lease? The Ohio Supreme Court in Frenchtown Square Partnership v. Lemstone, Inc. d/b/a Lemstone Books determined that it does.

by Kate Noebels, Esq. and Michael H. Davis, Esq.

In an interesting twist on the concept of the "undocumented" immigrant, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an interim final rule on March 27, 2013 automating Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.

by Scott Nelson, Esq.

Is a will or revocable living trust the better primary estate planning document?

Here are several things to consider:

by Kenneth J. Rose, Esq.

For employers, classifying workers as independent contractors is a high stakes game. Employers need to recognize that it is not a smart business practice to improperly classify their employees as independent contractors to avoid paying payroll taxes, complying with employee protection legislation, and paying for employee benefits available to rest of workforce.

by Tristan Pettit, Esq.

I have been promising that I would blog about this topic for months (could it possibly be over a year even) and the time has finally come. So let's talk about companion/comfort animals in rental properties.

Background:

I will use the terms comfort animals and companion animals interchangeably throughout this post.

So we are all on the "same page" a companion animal is an animal that is NOT specifically trained or certified but rather provides a tenant with a disability with emotional support. Specifically trained and certified animals that assist people with disabilities is beyond the scope of this post.

by Jeff Polsky

We've been following the fate of "suitable seating" class actions for three years now. There was a brief glimmer of hope in 2011 when a federal judge in LA dismissed a class action by bank tellers because they didn't claim that they'd ever asked for seats. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, finding no such requirement in the Wage Order, reversed in an unpublished opinion.