Crowdfunding has become a popular way for many entrepreneurs to raise necessary capital from online donations. Projects for which crowdfunding has been used varies greatly in size, industry, and what a contributor may expect in return. While some crowdfunding has been on a very small scale, some projects have eclipsed more than $100 million dollars. Generally, contributions to the capital of a business are tax free when made by the owner of that business, or if the contributor receives an ownership interest in exchange for the contribution. But what happens when total strangers make contributions to the business and receive …
Navigating the Affordable Care Act Minefield
Are you an employer trying to sort through all the changes to the Affordable Care Act? If so, join Coolidge Wall Labor & Employment attorney R. Brent Gambill on July 27th in Columbus, OH, at the Sterling Education Services Affordable Care Act Seminar. This in-depth seminar has been approved for CLE credits for both the legal industry and HR industry and will address the following topics: Separating fact from myth in dealing with ACA The goal of health care reform Records and reporting requirements The impact of recent cases and court rulings The cost of noncompliance
The importance of privacy/data protection for small businesses
While technology can generate many new benefits and opportunities for small businesses, it can also raise challenges. Among these are data and privacy protection challenges. Modern technology has made it easy than ever for small businesses to compile, store, transfer and access data. Given this, many small businesses have a great deal of digital data, with the data sometimes containing a considerable amount of private information. With so much data, concerns can arise regarding ensuring that this data and private information about customers and companies a business is working with aren’t compromised or improperly accessed. Data/privacy problems can put a …
3 Ways Your Business Plan Will Help You Raise Capital
Starting a business is not just about having a good idea or product to sell. It also takes a considerable amount of money to get a business off the ground and running. You need money to hire people, create or make available your goods and services, rent office space, launch a marketing plan and complete a whole host of other objectives critical to operating a business. In order to secure this money, you will likely need to reach out to multiple sources, as noted in a Forbes article. However, before you secure the capital you need to start a business, you …
Impact Of Ohio’s New Medical Marijuana Bill
On June 9, 2016, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Sub. H. B. No. 523 into law and Ohio officially became the 25th state to legalize the use of medical marijuana. Responding to the growing acceptance of medical marijuana, the new law does allow individuals to use medical marijuana under certain conditions (see qualifying conditions below) outside of the workplace if they have a prescription from a medical professional. But the key point is that Ohio employers can still enforce a zero tolerance anti drug use policy. Even if an individual employee has a prescription for use of medical marijuana, an …
Merle Wilberding – – Haki Finds Common Ground
Merle Wilberding, a senior member of Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A., co-authored with Susan Elliott, the Director of the Law Library at the University of Dayton School of Law, a book entitled Haki Finds Common Ground. The Ohio State Bar Foundation awarded a $40,000 grant to Children’s Historical Publishing Company to pay for the printing and distribution of Haki Finds Common Ground. This book is part of the Haki series, with the first book being entitled, Haki and the Rule of Law. This series is aimed at supplementing the core courses at the inner city public schools throughout the major cities …
Acquisition could pump more resources into sluggish businesses
People outside the business world often think about a particular business in very black-and-white ways. It’s either a success or a failure, failing or thriving. But a business doesn’t just run at two speeds. There are peaks, valleys and plateaus, and business owners must adjust to each of these situations. For instance, recently, tech giant Microsoft acquired professional networking site LinkedIn in a $26.2 billion deal. There are a few takeaways from this deal that could help readers of this blog assess their own options in terms of business acquisitions. To begin with, LinkedIn wasn’t exactly a failing business in …
The Bankruptcy Court as a “court of the United States” – A Warning to Attorneys
In the unreported decision of Grossman v. Wehrle (In re Royal Management, Inc.), the Sixth Circuit joined ranks with the Second, Third and Seventh Circuits in holding that “a bankruptcy court is a ‘court of the United States’ within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1927,” opposing the position taken by the Ninth and Tenth Circuits. The real story is not the existence of the split in authority, but rather the verification that bankruptcy courts in the Sixth Circuit (which is comprised of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee) have augmented authority to issue sanctions against attorneys who increase expenses and …
Don’t jeopardize your business in an effort to defend it
Most people get into the healthcare industry because they want to help others, whether they become a doctor or work as an administrator in a nursing home. However, there are many realities of this industry for which you might be unprepared. For instance, regardless of if you work in a huge hospital or own a small clinic, you are still part of a business, and a business can succeed or fail based on its professional relationships. Managing these relationships can be one of the most important priorities for healthcare providers, and there are things you should do and things you …
Knowing About, and Preparing to Defend, a VSSR
In the midst of the “alphabet soup” of regulations and regulators that could affect your business, Ohio has an ingredient all its own…the VSSR. The acronym stands for “violation of specific safety requirement.” The safety requirements involved are located in the Ohio Administrative Code, and are separated under classifications for “workshops and factories” and “construction.” The regulations are akin to OSHA regulations, but not always parallel or consistent with OSHA regulations. The regulations are enforced through processes supervised by the Industrial Commission of Ohio (the adjudicating body handling administrative hearings in workers’ compensation claims). If an employee believes that his …