Employers who use location-tracking devices such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) or smartphone may want to revisit their current policies after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945 (January 23, 2012), in which a majority of the justices held that the installation of a GPS in a criminal suspect’s vehicle to track his movements was a search under the Fourth Amendment. Although the Court’s ruling was in the context of a criminal case, employers who use these devices to track the locations of their employees should be careful to respect their employees’ privacy rights. [Contact Authors]
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For three days at the end of March 2012, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “ObamaCare.” While the opponents of the law argued that it suffers from several constitutional infirmities, their main argument turned on the interpretation of the “Commerce Clause” of the United States Constitution. What is the Commerce Clause? How has it been interpreted in the past? And how could an 1895 New York state law regulating bakeries have anything to do with ObamaCare? Read on… [Contact Author]
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Families control a large portion of privately owned companies throughout the United States. Family owned companies require governance systems which support management of the family business in its short and long term business goals; assist the family business in addressing the diverse interests of its shareholders and stakeholders, present and future; and establish a structure for family business succession planning that addresses the needs of the family business, its management and its various stakeholders. [Contact Author]
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Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the lunch room and post that much discussed NLRB notice of employee rights under federal labor law the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order enjoining the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from implementing this posting requirement. This poster has been in the news for over 6 months. The posting requirement had already been delayed twice before (November 2011 and January 2012). The new compliance date was supposed to be April 30th but now that requirement has been postponed indefinitely. [Contact Author]
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Marketing for a good cause? This can have a positive impact on your business, but it is important to navigate the complicated landscape of commercial co-venturer laws that may apply.  Failure to do so can lead to fines, penalties and bad publicity both for your business and the charitable organization being supported. [Contact Author]
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During the last great recession, which lasted from the late 1980's to the mid-1990's, massive amounts of real estate loans were sold at significant discounts, and buyers of these loans often made staggering returns. So, naturally, when the current recession hit the real estate and banking industries, investors holding debt started gearing up for another bloodbath. However, the deluge of debt sales never came, at least it has not happened in the Northeast. Although many lenders elected to sell loans, they have not been selling the volume of loans that were expected. What's different? [Contact Author]
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Open source software is becoming increasingly prevalent in today's computer-driven world. Indeed if you've used Firefox as a web browser or WordPress for your blog, you've used open source software yourself. However, if your business is contemplating using or adopting open source software, there are a number of questions and issues to consider to ensure not only that you are properly protecting your proprietary content, but also to make sure that you are not inadvertently violating the terms of an applicable software license and accordingly committing copyright infringement. [Contact Authors]
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One of the hallmarks of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green throughout its history has been the community involvement of the firm and its attorneys.  From the beginning, the example of founding partners John J. Sheehan, William L. Phinney, Perkins Bass and William S. Green has been emulated by later generations of attorneys who experienced the example personally, and by those who have had the example handed down to them by others. [Contact Authors]
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