Benefit of Counsel

1602, 2021

Benefit of Counsel: Knocking Down Barriers

By |February 16th, 2021|

As we navigate the economic and labor-market fallout from Covid-19, staffing companies and their clients are struggling with an ever-widening talent gap. We need to have the right skillsets to rebuild and accelerate businesses, but qualified people who want to work are hard to find. At the same time, far too many people in America […]

1711, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: A Fair Analysis

By |November 17th, 2020|

It ranks among employers’ worst nightmares: You’ve received a harassment complaint from an employee or a temporary worker.

Or perhaps your client company reaches out with a complaint against one of your assigned workers. The cardinal rule is this: you must conduct an investigation.

As an attorney who deals with workplace lawsuits, and who deposes investigators engaged […]

911, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: Footing the Covid Bill

By |November 9th, 2020|

Governments around the world have been throwing money at economies to mitigate the worst social and economic effects of the Covid-19 crisis. When the world regains its footing and is able to get back to business, there will be a bill to pay for this.

Borrowing seems unlikely to be the complete answer, and while many […]

2209, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: Last in Line

By |September 22nd, 2020|

The pandemic-induced economic downturn has caused many staffing firms to wrestle with sharp sales declines, tough personnel decisions and fixed overhead. More financial challenges are looming, because even if the overall economy recovers, we can expect many staffing customers to go bankrupt in the coming months. Their businesses may be sound, but their own customers […]

2107, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: We Are Open

By |July 21st, 2020|

With the exception of a couple hotspots, most of the nation has reopened to some extent. Now come the many logistical and other decisions business leaders must make. Minimizing risk from potential lawsuits needs to be an important part of this process, for small mistakes now can be costly down the road. Here are some […]

1905, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: Debunking the Myth

By |May 19th, 2020|

Over the years, I have fielded a dizzying array of questions regarding term limits and their effectiveness in addressing co-employment issues. Co-employment describes the relationship among two or more organizations that exert some level of control over the same worker or group of workers. Co-employers often share some degree of liability for the shared employees, […]

2303, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: The New Threshold

By |March 23rd, 2020|

A years-long tug-of-war over Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules for paying overtime has landed in the proverbial middle mud hole, with new rules effective Jan. 1 creating legal pitfalls for unwary staffing firms.

The new rule increases the minimum salary required to qualify as exempt from overtime under the FLSA’s white-collar exemptions (executive, administrative, and […]

1902, 2020

Benefit of Counsel: Mixed Blessing

By |February 19th, 2020|

With the passage of AB 5, California codified the 2018 California Supreme Court Dynamex decision, which established dramatically stricter criteria that a business needs to prove to maintain a worker as an independent contractor.

The first major change AB 5 brings is that it assumes workers are employees. A worker can only be classified as an […]

1811, 2019

Benefit of Counsel: Limit Your Costs

By |November 18th, 2019|

Many staffing firms hire outside lawyers for litigation and other matters. What you pay for the lawyers you choose depends on how well you negotiate.

Law firms use engagement letter contracts to document fees and other aspects of the attorney-client relationship, but those mainly protect the law firm’s interests. To limit your costs, you should assertively […]

2409, 2019

Benefit of Counsel: Category Contention

By |September 24th, 2019|

As global competition and technological change progressively require more worker specialization and just-in-time delivery of highly specialized talent, the pressure on businesses to engage consultants on an independent or “gig” basis continues to grow, especially for high-end, knowledge-based consultants. And while some independent contractors would prefer to be employees, surveys suggest independents are the most […]