New “joint employer” rules make it easier for franchise owners to understand their responsibilities under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule from the Department of Labor limits situations in which franchisors and franchisees are considered “joint employers” of workers under the act. It modifies a policy, enacted under the Obama administration, that potentially made a franchisor liable for the failure of a franchisee to pay overtime or minimum wage, even if the franchise

There’s a growing trend toward cashless businesses. From clothing stores to coffee shops to salons, some businesses are implementing cash-free policies. Only credit and debit cards allowed. What’s behind the trend? Cash-free businesses (and credit advocates) say there are a number of benefits: Speed up the checkout process: It’s quicker to swipe or tap a credit card than to count cash and make change. If your business has long lines at peak service times, going cash-free

Retirement plan sponsors have been watching Congress closely, waiting on passage of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act. The legislation, designed to boost Americans’ retirement savings, has implications for small businesses and individual savers alike. The bill is considered to have strong bipartisan support, and advocates are optimistic it will pass by year-end. If it doesn’t pass via a unanimous consent vote this fall, pundits suggest it will be attached to a year-end

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is not an easy process, and rules have traditionally favored large businesses. Now, distressed small businesses will have a better chance at reorganization under a new subchapter of the federal bankruptcy code. The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, which will go into effect on Feb. 19, 2020, makes Chapter 11 reorganization a more affordable and feasible process for small businesses. Under the new law, individuals and companies with roughly $2,725,000 of debt

Under new Department of Labor rules, employees who make less than $35,568 are now eligible for overtime pay. Starting January 1 the rule raises the salary cutoff for so-called “white collar” exemptions to $684 a week, up from $455 a week ($23,660 annual). As a result, businesses are advised to evaluate pay rates, hours and nonexempt classifications in advance of the change. Some actions steps: Review white collar exemptions: Identify exempt employees whose salaries fall below

A new final rule from the Labor Department makes it easier for small businesses to join together to offer their workers 401(k) plans. The rule goes into effect on Sept. 30. As a result of the new rule, smaller companies can now leverage the bigger scale of a combined group of businesses to negotiate lower fees on their 401(k) plans. Under the rule, companies in different industries, for example marketing firms and landscaping companies, can create

It’s a real drain on a business when you can’t get clients to pay. It’s ideal when you can take matters into your own hands and see results, but when you’ve tried everything else, sometimes you need to hire a collection agency. A collection agency is helpful if you haven’t been able to successfully contact the debtor on your own, if several debts have been difficult to collect or if a debt is too big to

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a ruling that is likely to make it harder for the public to access confidential business records. The court ruled on a longtime exemption under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), known as Exemption 4, which allows the government to withhold “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential.” While federal law doesn’t define the term “confidential,” courts have regularly said

Suits claiming that business websites and/or mobile apps aren’t fully accessible to people with disabilities are increasing rapidly. In 2019, a quarter of such suits were brought against companies that had already been sued under the same cause of action. The suits were brought under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The key to protecting your business from such lawsuits is to ensure that your website complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. In a recent