The drama that is playing out in Wisconsin, the first state to grant public employees the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, certainly is breathtaking and, like a train wreck, it’s hard not to pay attention to it.

Almost five years after the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, the Supreme Court recently ruled in Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A., et al v. United States that attorneys are "debt relief agencies" who are limited in their ability to provide pre-bankruptcy planning advice to consumers and obligating them to provide additional disclosures in their advertisements.

Anyone who deals with credit card data is probably familiar with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. PCI DSS requires anyone who stores, processes, or handles payment cards to meet certain technical and process requirements.

The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act, enacted this summer, contains some easily-overlooked provisions that may have significant impact on your company’s employee benefit programs. In general, these provisions are voluntary and only apply if you have employees who have been called

For the majority of franchisors, the first quarter of the calendar year is also the first quarter of their fiscal year, and thus the time they focus on updating their franchise disclosure documents.

The recent decision in "Burda v. Wendy’s International, Inc. et al.", is prompting us to recommend that all franchisors review certain language regarding suppliers in their franchise disclosure documents and franchise agreements.

In Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research v. United States, No. 09-837(Jan. 11, 2011), the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that medical residents were properly classified by the Internal Revenue Service as employees and not "students" for FICA tax purposes.

As predicted, environmental regulatory reform has been a top issue in the first month of the 2011 session.

The first DFL governor elected in 28 years, Mark Dayton brings over three decades of political experience to the office.

Applying common sense will go a long way in launching a new business.

In the blink of an eye, the chances of passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) seemed to evaporate in the wake of the Republicans come back in the fall 2010 mid-term elections.

Contractors in Minnesota and throughout the United States that perform repairs or renovations that disturb lead-based paint (such as sanding, cutting and demolishing) in homes, schools and child-care facilities constructed before 1978 are now subject to new EPA regulations mandating certain "lead-safe practices."

For any tax year beginning in 2010 or 2011, a taxpayer may elect to treat up to $250,000 of qualified real property expenses as Section 179 property (subject to a phase-out).

In the first opinion authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the Supreme Court ruled that a Chapter 13 debtor may not deduct the "ownership costs" of a vehicle under the means test when he owes no further payments on the vehicle, affirming a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA") created a new tax credit that is available in 2010 for small employers (generally fewer than 25 employees) who provide health insurance to their employees

It’s hard to believe, but for those franchisors with a calendar year fiscal year end, the time has come once again to begin the process of updating the franchise disclosure document and preparing for state registrations.

Several attorneys specializing in franchise litigation collaborated at the ABA Forum to present a workshop entitled "Litigating Disclosure Claims," which highlighted the most frequently litigated disclosure-related issues brought by franchisees.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently ruled that a nonresident parent company may be subject to suit in Minnesota for damages claims against its insolvent Minnesota subsidiary company.

As a Minnesota property owner, you have certain constitutional and statutory rights when a local, county, or state government proposes to take your private property for a public purpose.

In a closely-watched case in Massachusetts, the District Court in that state recently issued a preliminary ruling that franchisees were considered employees of the franchisor, as opposed to independent contractors.