Sometimes it’s obvious. Maybe you were involved in a car accident and the insurance company is denying coverage. Maybe your dog bit a neighbor’s child. Perhaps you, heaven forbid, were arrested driving under the influence! There’s an old saying that if you represent yourself, you have a “fool for a client”. But how do you know?
You should first consider “what’s at stake?” Are your finances or liberties in serious jeopardy? Many situations, both good and bad, mandate that you obtain a lawyer’s advice to protect legal rights and financial interests. Good legal advice helps you comply with and steer through the complex mazes of governmental rules and regulations.
Ultimately, you will rest easier after consulting with an experienced lawyer for important undertakings such as tax and estate planning, drafting wills and trusts, negotiating business deals and even pursuing personal family matters such as adopting children.
Source: http://www.articleheaven.com/article_552039_18.html
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The main reason there is such a problem is due to the fact that the general public is not aware of the problem until it is too late. By too late I mean they have already been suckered into the web of an invention company and spent their money.
I’m sorry to say that as much as the invention companies are at fault, so are consumers. Here is what I mean. A new first time inventor generally does not know how or where to begin. They go online to Google, Yahoo or whichever search engine they like to use. They type in keywords like ‘invention idea’ or ‘patent an invention’ (it can be any phrase you think of). Up pops both the Organic web-sites (those are the ones in the center of the page) as well as the paid ads by most of the fraudulent invention companies as the Sponsored Ads on the right side.
The inventor quickly browses the page and eventually clicks on the ad that for whatever reason appeals to them the most. Some people will click two or three ads as well. When clicked, it takes you to fancy looking Landing Page for that particular company. Now, these companies know exactly what to say in print to get the inventor to take action.
One gimmick used by these companies is called a “Free Inventor’s Kit’ or a ‘Free Invention Package’ or whatever they call it. The hook is the word ‘Free.’ The inventor thinks, ‘Oh wow, it’s free, let me check it out.’ Big mistake!
Sure, to fill out the company ‘Confidential Disclosure’ is free, but what comes next is not. If you were inexperienced and you completed that so-called free disclosure form, you could also be foolish enough to get sucked into their invention scam game as well and end up paying hundreds and then thousands of dollars for absolutely nothing of value in return.
At the same time, these invention scam companies know this and are ready to pounce. They know you don’t know anything about the invention industry. They know how much you believe that you have the next Hoola Hoop and they especially know that you think you are going to make millions of dollars. That is their game and that is their hook and you are their fish. In many cases you are their ‘whale’.
What inventor’s don’t realize is that the scam artist on the other end of the phone is a commissioned salesperson. They only make money when spend it with them. The more you spend, the more they make. Some company’s pay these scammers commissions that range between 20% to as high as 40% and in some cases more. They even pay monthly bonuses to high producers.
These salespeople will say whatever it takes to get you hooked. They care little to nothing about your invention and will go as far as to say you have a great idea or this is a sure winner or I’ve never seen anything like this before. The only thing these salespeople care about is your wallet and their wallet. How much can they take from yours to put into theirs’?
By now you may be thinking, how does Victor know all this? Was he one of these salespeople? No I was not. Was he scammed by one of these companies? YES I WAS! That is how I know what goes on. After I got scammed, I became irate. I went on a mission to find out as much as I could about these scam companies and start to warn the public about them.
I went online and played the role of the new inventor with as many companies that I could find. I will admit however that there are a few that are not scammers but honest companies. Unfortunately they are out numbered 10 to 1 by the scammers. I am not going to name names in my articles, just my knowledge and experiences.
You can actually learn quite a bit about the invention industry by speaking with these scammers but not spending any money with them.
So, don’t waste your time or money with these scam companies. Do your homework and research the industry before you get started.
About the Author
Victor Martel is a professional inventor. He is very concerned for new inventors to make sure they do not get scammed. His web-site http://www.inventionscamalerts.com is designed to help inventors. He offers an Invention Evaluation test. It tells inventors if they have an idea to pursue.
Author Profile: Victor123
Article Source: Populate.NET Article Directory
Common discussions during a home business career are whether to become a corporation, an LLC, a sole proprietorship or a partnership. The biggest plus, as understood by many of being a corporation, is the idea that a corporation will protect the owner from personal liability.
The reality is that the creation of a corporation as part of someones home business career can protect the entrepreneur from personal liability.
Referred to as a corporate veil, it protects individuals involved in the business from having creditors, customers and others attack their personal assets should a lawsuit be filed against the corporation. It is not enough, however, for the venture to be named a corporation.
The home business founder has to have a corporate feel in his or her career, with meetings of the board of directors, minutes and note taking and publishing, as well as a corporate checking account and perhaps credit cards in the name of the corporation.
Meaning keeping excellent records and a well organized system so they can be easily analyzed and found quickly with ease. Someone whose career involves a home business and who is thinking about creating a corporation should seek the advice of an attorney who has experience with others in your same field.
The advantages of having a business attorney to help with a home business career are that the attorney will keep abreast of the many changes that occur in the realm of business licenses, corporate and tax issues, the advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorships, partnership and the various types of incorporation, as well as the continuous changes that are in zoning restrictions and requirements for business licensing.
When it comes time for acquiring a business license for that home business career it might be as simple as a stop at the city clerk’s office and a $20 check.
Or an entrepreneur could become embroiled in many time consuming and possibly restrictive compliances such as permits from the local fire department, permits for control of air and water pollution, permits for signs, country permits, licensing from the state, licensing from the federal government, licensing for purposes of state or city or county sales tax, and permits issued by the local or state health department.
These are the things that might have to be dealt with at the start of a home business career.
You would be well advised to have knowledge of a local attorney who can advise you for reasonably cheap fees at the beginning of your business career until you are ready to incorporate your business.
If you start doing financially well, without an attorney to advise you of different legal problems that come up, from customers or the government at any level, you might find your beautiful financial growing future trashed by an incompetent, raised on government employee, or a greedy customer seeking to line their pockets, unfairly, at your expense.
Many times an attorney can stop these profit eaters dead in their tracks or at least extremely limit the damage and expense they can do to you.
Source:
My 40 years of legal business experience
About the Author
James M. Lowe writes original articles about home business opportunities.
Author Profile: jamesmlowe
Article Source: Populate.NET
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Employee blogging can involve the disclosure of confidential business information, disparagement or criticism of other employees or of the company itself, and display interests that are in conflict with the company contracts and policies. The trend these days show the court’s support for employers who decided to terminate a particular employee who was found to be engaging in behavior that is in conflict with the company’s best interest.
It has actually been established that employees who damage their employer via blogging are violating their obligation to be loyal to the company. This duty of loyalty encompasses duties of confidentiality and obedience. On the other hand, this duty of loyalty is violated in cases of disparagement of the managers, criticism of the company, harmful speech and insubordination. One example of an employee blogging that became a problem for the employer involved a flight attendant who posted provocative photos of herself wearing her airline uniform. Another employee, hired by Google, posted his criticism and other impressions of his employer. A Microsoft employee also took photos of several Apple computers as they were delivered and posted them on his personal blog. All these employees, in this case, were terminated on the basis of their personal blog content.
The blog monitoring being conducted by these employers is being considered by many employees as a violation of their “right to free speech.” This right to free speech, however, as indicated in the First Amendment, only covers the government’s restrictions on individuals or groups. But in “employment-at-will” states, existing law allows employers to terminate employees who were found to be disloyal to the company. Even so, employers should be very careful when involved in situations involving employee blogging. If they are not careful, they could damage their reputation in the business community especially if they were seen as being too intrusive to their employee’s personal activities.
In order to avoid these concerns, employers should implement general employee blogging policies, which will cover blogging agreements and procedures to be followed for employee blogging. These policies should also cover the use of electronic resources as well as rules on harassment, discrimination and non-disclosure. The agreement between employers and employees must also include in detail policies and guidelines involving the removal and use of confidential company information and rules for the use of company-sponsored blogs. In case the employer has not yet created guidelines for internet usage, the company should immediately come up with one. The employer should then advise their employees that they will be monitoring personal internet use especially during work hours. Lastly, employers must check the present condition of their internet security in order to know if they are at risk for data mismanagement including internet sites and archived emails. The general policies covering such internet usage and blogging should guarantee that the employees will not be able to disparage or criticize their employers and should promote confidentiality and professionalism.
It is recommended that employers assign an individual to do the blog monitoring. There are actually public corporations that are obligated to monitor employee communications as part of state or federal regulation. On the other hand, private corporations are allowed to monitor communications to make sure that their employees are not involved in improper conduct such as disclosure of confidential company information. More importantly, a company should create an employee blogging policy that adheres to the guidelines set by the National Labor Relations Act, where blogging activities are protected. Employers should make sure that their monitoring does not violate any NLRA policies on blogging. Informing employees of any revisions to the existing policies or changes in implementing guidelines is equally important.
About the Author
Robert Masud, Esq. is the principal of Masud & Company LLC, a law firm for the world of business, finance and the internet. Find out how our lawyers can help you at http://www.masudco.com.Author Profile: robertmasudesq Article Source: Populate.NET Article Directory
]]>The first one, a real concern for any home Internet business is the age restriction. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) follows regulations spelled out in COPPA, the Children Online Privacy Protection Act.
The above act requires that children under the age of 13 cannot disclose their personal information unless a parent consents to it. Children under 18 years of age cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to view pornographic content on the Internet, nor are they allowed to enter into any contract.
Real time occurrences on the Web, including chats and forums, must be carefully controlled by the home based Internet business owner. Bulletin boards will have the same control issues.
The rules of using each should very clearly solicit and retain the consent of each online user to refrain from posting pornography. Also, in this category are, defamatory or hate material or anything that infringes on the rights of others.
It is probably not a law and may never be so but respecting, truthfulness and fairness to other human beings should be a serious concern also.
Your company should also clearly state, on its site, that you are not liable for other users that commit to following your policies and guidelines but subsequently violate them. I always keep a sharp eye out on my web sites for this anyway and hope others will do the same.
We should all keep an eye out to preserve the integrity of the internet for all of us.
To make your ownership of all property real and keep content rights safe, on your home based business Internet site, you will need a copyright notice on the site footer, maybe on every page. The notice should clearly have the date, your name and the statement, All rights reserved.
A real copy of your business online site should be filed with the U.S. copyright office. This will effectively record ownership of the site contents, as well as its look and its feel. Incidentally, this will instill confidence in your site visitors that you are sincere about having a worthy web site.
Carefully choose a domain name that clearly conveys the products or services of your real home based Internet business. It is the beginning of every sale or donation you ever get from your home business.
It is your very valuable headline. Register your domain name as a trademark and you can retain ownership should it be challenged by another business. Sometimes this will happen.
Your site is on the World Wide Web so you must comply with export regulations. If you sell goods over the Internet to these global consumers, which you should want to do, then you are exporting items for sale and entering into international countries and commerce. Your market increases by hundreds of millions of flesh and blood humans.
If your site is encrypted then you are exporting to other countries per U.S. Department of Commerce and Defense technology regulations. There are many U.S. federal agencies that have regulations in force.
Enforcement agencies are expected to enforce them with the intent of the law, for doing business with other countries. This is their job. Times and circumstances require a firm to get an export license to send information, technology or goods abroad.
Regarding other countries, there is now software on the internet that translates into many of the major world languages. If your web site can sell goods world wide you can use this software to major advantage to sell in many more places.
Your Google Ad Sense will be in other languages giving you more action also so many millions more prospects can read and buy from you. Your online pages will increase dramatically giving you far more links and exposure. Your Alexa rating will begin to rise. Understand the immense benefit from this.
There are countries with whom business transactions are limited severely for U.S. firms. These countries are Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria and Yugoslavia.
Romania and Malaysia are rife with dishonesty on the internet. It is best to risk losing business with these two countries for now because your chances of being cheated are very high and not worth the risk with such poor odds that are not in your favor.
The best decision about the real problems you might encounter for your home based online business doing commerce with these countries and or the residents should be made with your attorney. Better yet, forget all of these until international relations with them get a lot better.
About the Author
James M. Lowe writes original articles about home business issues.
Article Source: Populate.NET
Buying or merging with another company?
When do you exactly need a business attorney?
Before hiring a business attorney, you might want to ask your prospect these questions:
• How long he has been practicing law?
• What is his area of specialty?
• Has he represented a similar company before?
• Who are the other lawyers and paralegal who will work with him in the firm?
• How much are the legal fees and the expenses that will be charged?
• Are the sample legal forms, agreements and policies that you can see?
• How many corporations has he incorporated?
• Has he any experience in handling employment matters?
• Has he any experience in dealing with tax issues?
• Has he any business advice to keep you safe from lawsuits?
When serious legal problems arise, you will need the skills and experience of a business lawyer. Here are a few situations when the services of a business lawyer are needed:
• In special allocation meeting – This is the time when you and your business partner decide to set aside profits and losses in your partnership agreement
• When either one of you in the partnership wants to donate or contribute an appreciated property to the partnership
• When an employee or former associate threatens to sue your company
In addition, when business is running, you will need the services of a lawyer to do the following tasks:
• Prepare written agreements for hiring of contractors and consultants
• Create documents for clients and customers
• Document business meetings and actions
• Call and hold corporate meetings, and prepare its minutes
• Draft buy-sell agreements with business partners
• Update and make necessary changes in business agreements
• Handle tax audit
Generally, what a business attorney can do is protect your business from resource-draining lawsuits and litigation. A lawyer can always offer measures to avoid the potential danger of frivolous lawsuits. Here is some of it:
• Protect personal assets by separating personal property from business assets
• Give attention to details such posting of warning signs and labels on products
• Post store policies in public areas such as dressing rooms, in company literature on the website and even in store receipts
• Ensure potential hazards are cleared which include posting of warning signs to avoid accidents
• Make a record of customer phone requests, suggestions and complaints
• Attend to customer needs
• Supervise staff training on policies and guidelines
• Make insurance coverage for the company against accidents, injuries, theft, and liability.
Business attorneys are vital to business and finding the one who will truly represent your company is never easy. After selecting the lawyer that you need, the next thing to do is to find out information about his background and experience.
Former colleagues and clients can provide you with a wealth of information about a lawyer’s background and credentials. You can also check his membership in the state bar association to confirm his legal personality.
For more information about the most relevant business law applicable to your particular case, request the guidance of business law attorneys services.
The federal anti-discrimination law called the Equal Employment Opportunity law covers all private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions, which employ 15 or more individuals.
Law prohibits discrimination in the following practices:
• Hiring and firing of employees
• Compensation, assignment and classification of employees
• Transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall
• Job advertisements
• Recruitment and testing
• Use of company facilities
• Training and apprenticeship programs
• Fringe benefits
• Pay, retirement plans, disability leave
• Other employment terms and conditions
Under the law, other illegal discriminatory practices also include:
• Harassment
• Retaliation
• Employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, disability, or ethnic group
• Denial of employment opportunities to a person because of marriage or association with an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability
• Discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.
How to File a Charge
Here are initial steps in filing a discrimination charge:
• You can file a charge by mail or in person. Contact the nearest EOC office to inquire on detailed procedure of filing a case.
• If you need an interpreter, you need to call the EOC local office to make a special accommodation.
• Consult the fact sheet about complaint processing
When filing a discrimination charge, the following information is required:
1. the complainant’s name, address and contact number
2. the name, address, and contact number of the respondent employer or agency
3. a brief description of the violations
4. the date of the alleged violations
When to File a Case
A complainant may file a lawsuit within 90 days after receiving a notice of the “right to sue” from the EEOC. The notice of the “right to sue” may be requested by the charging party 180 days from the filing of the complaint. A lawsuit must be filed within two years (three years for intentional violations) of the discriminatory act.
What Remedies Are Available When Discrimination Is Found
When discrimination is found, whether caused by intentional acts or certain employment practices, some remedies or relief are available which may include:
• back pay
• hiring
• promotion
• reinstatement
• front pay
• reasonable accommodation
• other condition or action that will restore certain privileges
Other relief may also include payment of:
• attorney’s fees
• expert witness’ fees
• court costs
Compensatory and punitive damages may also be obtainable under the enforced laws of the EOOC. When discrimination is found, compensatory damages may be available for actual monetary losses, for future monetary losses, and for mental anguish and inconvenience. If an employer acted with malice or recklessness, punitive damages may be imposed. However, punitive damages do not apply against federal, state or local governments.
Therefore, if you feel aggrieved and you believe your employment rights have been prejudiced, you can find relief by seeking the protection of the law.
You may always find refuge from our Expert Los Angeles Attorneys. Just search our website and find the top and most favorable solutions for your employment discrimination case.
Before becoming an online writer, Manuel worked as a journalist, a newspaper columnist, a scriptwriter, a fiction writer, a magazine editor, and a tutor. He acquired his legal background as a Senate legislative officer and later on, as a researcher and paralegal staff in various law offices. Someday he hoped to go back and devote more time to writing fiction, which is his first passion.
According to Metzgar, “before the union,” his father “worked, very irregularly without a union for seven terrible years…. Metzgar’s grandfather and his peers were decimated by industrial accidents while others ground down overtime into drunkenness and demoralization” (Metzgar, p. 6)
After the union, Metzgar testified “he saw nothing but improvements – overtime, dramatic improvements – in every aspect of his life. His father retired at the age of fifty-six and lived comfortably on a steelworker’s pension, with steelworkers’ health insurance, even spending the winter months in Florida! No regular guy in the history of the world had seen the material conditions of his life improve more dramatically” (Metzgar, p. 6)
There you have it – in Metzgar’s own words in the preceding two paragraphs – illustrations of the ‘before the union’ era and the ‘after the union’ era. In the following paragraphs we will explore the most important changes workers experienced.
In total agreement with Metzgar, workers experienced dignity and respect which they lacked before the union. For example, Metzgar told the story of the foreman who fired an employee because he refused to allow his daughter to date him. According to Metzgar’s father, the anger wasn’t about the termination (out of work) but about the indignities the employee suffered in his inability to tell the foreman – no – without any varnish. Unionism was able to take away a foreman’s power of ‘life & death’ and transferred it to the impersonal contract (even which the company had to abide….)
Secondly, Metzgar mentioned his grandfather’s industrial accident whereas he lost both arms. He suffered the indignity of having someone scratching his itches. He had to survive on a monthly disability of $30. The Union changed that by providing healthcare (whereas, a disabled employee has access to free prosthetic limbs), and a substantial disability insurance plan.
Fourthly, the FLSA and the NLRA benefitted the working class many times over. It created more work for more people with shorter hours; shorter work week and early retirement incentives. Metzgar argued, also, how the important changes brought out by the unions benefitted the community at large by increasing the spending power of the working class – a spending power that translated into more jobs and igniting (via investments) new industries (like computers).
In conclusion, I could write a book (but I’m limited by time) about the differences workers experienced in the steel industry “before the Union” and “after the Union” which I borrowed from Metzgar, himself, and my own opinion as it pertains to the most important changes workers experienced.
Karl A. Mitchell
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karl_Mitchell