In tough economic times, businesses, like households, are sometimes faced with deferring payment of creditors.  In making difficult choices, you need to know that owners, officers and employees of the business who make these decisions, or who supervise those who make them, can incur personal financial liability for certain types of unpaid taxes.  These taxes are often referred to as “trust fund” taxes, but as discussed in this bulletin, personal liability is not limited to situations where tax was collected from a third party and not remitted to the taxing authority.

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The new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) provides reductions in premiums and additional opportunities to elect continued group health coverage under COBRA for employees who became eligible for COBRA coverage as a result of an involuntary termination of employment between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009.  The premium reduction and additional election opportunity also apply to members of the employee’s family who were covered under the group health plan at the time of the...

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Contracts everywhere are under assault, The New York Times’s Mary Williams Walsh and Jonathan D. Glater reported.

The depth of the recession and the use of taxpayer dollars to bail out companies have made it politically acceptable for overseers to tinker with employment agreements.

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THE CHEF cried as he told Berks County detectives that his electricity was about to be shut off and his car had been repossessed.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) hailed the passage of an amendment to the FY2009 Budget Resolution that will set aside $160 million over three years to protect America’s vulnerable seniors from predators through the creation of a comprehensive nationwide system of background checks for long-term care workers....

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In an effort to keep employers up-to-date on the COBRA subsidy legislation passed last month as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), I have provided a link to an information sheet released by the Ohio Department of Insurance.  The information sheet is of great importance for employers with less than 20 employees who are covered under Ohio’s “mini-COBRA” law. 

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There can be little doubt that dealing with employees suffering from the disease of addiction – whether to drugs, alcohol, or even gambling – is a challenge for employers. That challenge becomes greater when the employee raises the addiction as an excuse for engaging in misconduct.

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In this time of economic difficulty and layoffs, it may seem unusual to be reading about performing applicant background checks. It makes sense; however, if one considers that the current state of the economy has turned the employment arena into a "buyers' market," with a greater number of employees competing for fewer jobs. This means employers...

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