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”:

Have all contracts for services and all contracts for goods over $500 in writing.
Get [...]

In May 2006, the Supreme Court’s Garcetti v. Ceballos decision effectively denied constitutional free speech protection to government employees who disclosed waste, fraud or abuse while carrying out their job duties.

Unfortunately for government employees and those interested in an efficient and lawful federal government, Garcetti was only another decision in a long of cases that chipped away at legal protection for whistleblowers. In a recently published article, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (which [...]

Here is a good site for researching data about your industry’s performance in Texas.

The site offers a breakdown by industry and NAICS code, and compares 1st quarter 2005 performance to the quarter/year prior.

Key statistics include weekly wage comparisons and employment percentages, giving you a benchmark to help you plan some key financials for your startup or existing business.

Imagine this scenario – you have a disability, and your management chain has just agreed to provide you a modified work schedule or modified work duties in order to accommodate that disability.

Your co-workers start to become curious why you’re not at work when they are, or you’re not doing the same tasks that they are. They approach your manager to ask why you are getting preferential treatment. Can your manager tell them you have a disability?

According to the [...]

I just read a story in the Dallas Morning News, detailing credit card abuse by DISD employees. The story claims that between January 2004 and March 2006, a reporter was able to identify $6.3 million in charges that violated state purchasing laws or school district policy. One DISD employee admitted recently to charging over $100,000 in personal charges on her DISD charge card!!

If your small business gives employees access to company credit, this [...]

Increasingly, Federal agencies are charging employees with misconduct based on “lack of candor”. This charge is what Agencies use when they can’t prove “falsification”.

Falsification is an intentional misrepresentation of some fact. It often arises in filling out some government form, or in the course of an official (or unofficial) investigation – the employee is accused of knowingly providing an incorrect answer to a question, or knowingly trying to deceive or mislead the [...]

A recent Federal Circuit decision held that the Agency breached a settlement agreement it made with its former employee.

The former employee, a USPS worker, was terminated for “Failure to Maintain a Regular Work Schedule/Tardy“. In fact, the Plaintiff suffered from Sleep Apnea, a disability that affected his breathing and sleeping and caused him to frequently arrive late for work.

In settlement of his removal appeal to the MSPB, the Postal Service [...]

In his State of the Union last night, Mr. Bush once again mentioned Small Business Association Health Plans (AHP) as the panacea for small business health care woes.

An AHP is insurance coverage offered to members of an association. The association must exist for some other purpose than to sell insurance, for example, a trade assocation or a chamber of commerce.

It seems to me that AHP legislation only allows trade associations and [...]

During tax season, there’s nothing wrong with calling the IRS directly to ask a question. In fact, I just called yesterday on behalf of a client.

However, when you call the toll-free number, have a pen and paper handy: the very first thing that any IRS representative will tell you is their name and their Badge or Identification number. If you don’t get their name and number the first time, ask them [...]

Ulysses Hudson won a jury award of $2.5 million dollars in a suit against the Department of Homeland Security. In that suit, he claimed reprisal for filing complaints of harassment and discrimination.

Hudson, a black Intelligence Research Specialist, first sued the agency in 2001, claiming racial harassment by managers and co-workers. The harassment consisted of racial comments, putting nails in his tires, and treating him as less than an equal. That conduct caused [...]