Business Law Journal

Employers who are faced with sexual harassment or sexual abuse claims by a current or former employee now have another problem to consider – is the settlement payment and related attorney’s fees incurred in settling the claim deductible?  Unfortunately, the answer to that question may now be no.

Recently, both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) have issued news releases encouraging taxpayers to plan ahead and to withhold the correct amount of taxes from their paychecks in 2018 to account for recent changes in federal tax law. 

Over the last twenty years the internet has changed the world.  Through the assistance of screen-reading software or other similar devices, visually-impaired individuals can access the internet to, among other things, conduct business, make hotel reservations, or purchase products.  However, lawsuits against businesses with websites that do not fully accommodate visually-impaired individuals have exploded in the last few years.  Businesses in all industries have faced litigation of this kind, from financial institutions to hotels and restaurants.  Even world-renown universities have not been immune to such lawsuits.

On February 23, 2018, California’s Fourth Appellate District held an employment agreement between a staffing firm and a truck driver was governed by California law and not by the Federal Arbitration Act.