Attig Law Firm P.L.L.C

According to the New York Daily News, A-Rod spent the 2006 season writing a children’s book.  The article states that the book is a motivational story for kids - meant to teach the moral that if an under-dog like A-Rod can make it, anyone can.

Psychologically speaking, it’s interesting that while most of the baseball world has viewed A-Rod as one of the premier “five-tool” players in the game, he views himself as an under-dog.  Perhaps it is that lack of objectivity about his own skill and talent that causes him to bat .154 in the playoffs.

Putting that aside, however, this quote from the article jumped out at me:

“During the [2006] season, [A-Rod] would arrive at his Manhattan apartment after games to find the latest sketches, staying up for hours as he went over every detail.”

Okay, A-Rod, I really do respect you for writing a children’s book, and I truly respect your desire to inspire children to do things they think they can’t.

But please, during the season, focus on your game and your team.  Save the book-writing for the off-season.

The EEOC recently released its survey of discrimination claims filed in 2006. The report detailed some interesting trends in 2006:

• A record number of Pregnancy Discrimination claims were filed (4,901).
• A record 22% of employees victimized by discrimination prevailed.
• Sexual harassment charges filed by men continues to rise - in 2006, a record 15% of sex harassment charges were filed by men.
• The EEOC recovered nearly $274 million in monetary relief for victims of discrimination.

The MSPB’s January 2007 Newsletter reports that favoritism in the Federal workplace may be a big problem.

Favoritism is when a supervisor gives an edge, a financial or personnel benefit, or special treatment to some employees but not others. The MSPB Newsletter suggests that over one-third of federal employees have witnessed favoritism in career advancement opportunities, awards, training, disciplinary actions, pay, job assignments, and performance appraisals.

I see touches of favoritism in nearly every MSPB or EEOC case I’ve handled over the past few years. Sometimes, a manager likes a particular employee better because they go to the same church, or grew up together. Other times the manager favors a particular race, gender, age or other protected group - in those cases, the favoritism may rise to the level of discrimination.

Interestingly, I am seeing and hearing about more situations where managers dating or having sexual affairs with subordinates. I have heard of two situations in the past month where the Federal Work Place seemed more like Peyton Place.

If you feel that your manager’s favoritism is discriminatory or has resulted in an adverse action, please speak with your Union or a Federal Employee attorney.

Over the past two months, I bet that 80% of the calls I get from small and micro business owners involve not getting paid.   All too often, small businesses are getting “stiffed” on the payment by a customer, another business or vendor, or a party with whom they contracted.

Here are some ideas that might help your small business avoid the problem of getting “stiffed”:

1. Have all contracts for services and all contracts for goods over $500 in writing.
2. Get your payment up-front.  If you collect all money owed before delivering a good/service, you will never have to worry about collecting past due amounts.
3. Sometimes the “up-front” option isn’t feasible - when it isn’t, try using credit-card authorizations and automatic bank account deductions (but be sure to have the proper legal documentation before you do this).
4. If you can’t do the first two options, have a clear policy with your customers regarding non-payment. Tell them when payment is due and what will happen if they don’t pay.
5. If a customer stops paying, stop providing the good/service immediately.  Those who want your good/service will pay right away; those who don’t will go away, and you won’t take any more loss.
6. Start calling for payment the first day payment is late.  Statistics have shown that you are likely to collect 75-100% of a debt that is less than 3 months old, 50-60% of a debt that is 3-6 months old, and less than 30% of debts that are over 6 months old.
7. Don’t have the person who does the sales also do the collections.  Often, the person who sold the product/service has an emotional interest in collecting the money, and is more likely to agree to extensions on payment, reductions in the amount owed, etc.
8. Offer incentives for early payment and incentives for late payment.  A common approach is to offer a 5% discount if a bill is paid within 10 days of invoice and a 10% penalty if it’s paid after that time.
9. If you are dealing with another business, always check out their credit history - do not do business with companies that have bad credit ratings.   Check out your clients and customers when you can, and if it makes sense for your business to do so.
10. Talk to an attorney before you decide to go to send out a demand letter, go to small claims court, file suit in civil court, or pass the account to a collection agency.  These options may not always be right for every business, and there may be important considerations for your particular business.

There are many other things you can do to reduce your overdue accounts and keep from getting  “stiffed” in the future.  Contact a small business attorney if you are having consistent problems with non-paying customers or vendors.

Shaun Powell, I couldn’t disagree with your article more:

‘Once you remove the product on the field and Monument Park in the outfield, the “Yankee experience” is like the death of Barbaro: overrated and overplayed.’

Personally, I don’t go to Yankee Stadium to eat peanuts or use the restroom. I certainly don’t go to Yankee Stadium to hang out in the concourse, or find some great parking spot in the Bronx.  I go to see the divets on the right-field porch from a Mantle home-run.  I go to hear the “Voice of God”.  I go for the game.

Moreover, your comparison of Yankee Stadium to Dodger Stadium is just silly - especially the part about Dodger Stadium being a “Grand Old Stadium” of baseball. There’s three “Grand Ole Stadium’s” left - Yankee Stadium, Wrigley, and that one up in New England.

I’ll agree with you on this point, though - Yankee Stadium is not on the cutting edge of ballpark technology. There’s no “Speed Pitch” or “Kiddie Park”. There’s no fancy waterfall or hot-tub-box-seats. But there’s no place I’d rather watch a baseball game.

Tell me the truth, Shaun…did you cast your Hall of Fame ballot for Jose Canseco?