Here are some legal and policy issues small business owners should be aware of this week. Be sure to check through this legal and policy news roundup for the issues directly affecting your small business or entrepreneurial venture.
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No-match letters a new headache for entrepreneurs. No-match letters from the Social Security Administration are back. The letters are issued when an employee’s name doesn’t match an existing social security number. The implications are obvious. But what should you do if you get one of these in the mail?
Wage and hour lawsuits the lates threat. There were 40,000 of these in 2010, up 15 percent over the previous year. And one expert says they’ve replaced discrimination lawsuits as every small business owner’s worst nightmare. So what about you? Are you on
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Small businesses have ratcheted down their plans for hiring, according to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business.
Each month the federation releases results from a survey of questions about small business optimism. One question asks whether businesses plan to increase or decrease the number of employees working for them in the coming three months. Economy-watchers can then calculate a net hiring figure by subtracting the percentage of companies that say they plan to decrease their work forces from the percentage of companies that say they plan to increase their work forces.
In May, there were more companies that planned to decrease their payrolls than those planning to increase them. This was the first time since September that net hiring plans were negative:
Note: Figures are seasonally adjusted. Read more…
SOMERSET – The townwide drinking water ban in effect in Somerset has affected local business, including some restaurants that decided to close for the day on Wednesday, The Herald News reported.
The drinking water ban was put in place after a company that did not have permission to do so, hooked into a fire hydrant for hydroseeding, which caused the material, which contains some fertilizer, to back into the public water supply.
Town officials are waiting for the results of a water supply test before lifting the ban which was in effect as of Thursday morning.
The company, Hydrograss Technologies, could be charged with larceny of town water and wanton injury to property, and be held responsible for the estimated $20,000 bill for ban-related costs.
Local restaurants took different approaches to the ban, The Herald News reported.
The Rise Café on County Street and Ma Raffa’s closed for the day while the close-by Domino’s Pizza remained open. Cupper
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Nobody wants to get into an accident, but over the course of a lifetime, many of us will have at least one fender bender. While an accident can be a hassle, most of us will simply call the police and a tow truck and begin the auto insurance claims process.
Unfortunately, there are places where having a collision is much more complicated. Here are the six worst roads to get into an accident.
1. The Loneliest Road, Nevada
This stretch of U.S. Highway 50 runs from Ely to Fernly in Nevada. It covers 287 miles and passes through nine small towns with just a few gas pumps. The Loneliest Road was given its nickname by Life magazine in 1986 and AAA warns motorists “not to drive there unless they’re confident in their survival skills.”
You can literally drive for hours without passing another vehicle, so if you are in a collision it will be awhile before the police arrive to take your accident report. If yo
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