The straight line

In his 2015 State of the Union Address last January, President Obama said employees should get the overtime they’ve earned. He then directed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to review and amend the overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to make more workers eligible. On June 30, the DOL took steps in...

President Obama signed two trade bills into law on June 29 that include various tax provisions. The focus of the trade bills is mostly foreign competition and domestic jobs, but they contain new rules for claiming higher education tax credits, new fees for failing to file information returns, new retirement withdrawal rules for public safety workers,...

Teamwork. It’s a common enough term these days, and well-known companies such as General Electric, 3M, Texas Instruments and Federal Express have been using it to their advantage for decades. Now an increasing number of businesses have taken up team building for growth, efficiency and competition. However, building effective teams isn’t a snap, particularly here in...

Not all crooks roam the streets at night. Some might be roaming your company hallways, stealing cash, forging or altering checks, and pilfering your inventory and property. Even worse, they may be stealing intellectual property such as confidential documents or trade secrets. What can you do to pull the plug on employee theft? Here Are 18...

If you want your business to grow and remain competitive, a solid financial plan and a well-conceived strategy can mean the difference between boom and bust. The obvious place to start is with a cash-flow analysis. Review your company’s cash flow statements to understand the cycle of inflows and outflows that stem from accounts receivables, inventory,...

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with the security of job protection for up to 12 weeks for a qualified leave. But when does the clock on the 12-week period begin to run? And what requirements must the employee fulfill to officially notify the employer? These are the issues presented in two cases that illustrate...