On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Employment Litigation on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Denver area employers might be interested in the EEOC's latest guidance, which clarifies the EEOC's recommendations on when an employer should not request information about an applicant's criminal convictions on job applications and in hiring procedures. What all hiring managers need to know is that the EEOC requires an employer to have a legitimate business reason for asking a potential employee about their criminal conviction history.
The guidance, which is the first time the EEOC has issued formal guidance on this topic, also states that it is never appropriate to ask applicants if they have ever been arrested. The reason - the EEOC claims that having information about arrest records is not a business necessity. This latest guidance document is the result of PepsiCo's decision to settle an EEOC discrimination claim for $3.1 million. The EEOC complained that PepsiCo discriminated against minorities by refusing to hire applicants who had arrest records.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Business Formation & Planning on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Social media is here to stay, but how does a business use it to attract and engage customers to boost its bottom line? Many try campaigns on various social media websites such as Facebook, however one such campaign by the Aurora, Colorado, Chik-Fil-A franchise restaurant caught the ire of a startup entrepreneur and self-proclaimed social media expert who slammed the campaign online.
In a post titled "a terrible Facebook Like-Us promotion," the entrepreneur complained about deficiencies in the franchise's campaign. His criticisms caught the attention of the franchise owner and the two are now working together on a new campaign. Just using a social media website to articulate your knowledge of a certain subject or skill can indeed boost your bottom line, as this story demonstrates.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Employment Litigation on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Once an employee files an internal or EEOC claim of discrimination he or she may worry about retaliation from his or her employer. And, once a claim of employment discrimination is filed, every action taken by a supervisor or human resources personnel will be closely reviewed so it is important for employers to be aware of this while still being able to enforce the rules of conduct they expect each of their employees to follow.
Denver employers may be interested in a recent case involving a University of California database manager with a physical disability. The employee had a sight impairment that prevented his having peripheral vision. One and a half years into the job the employee had been demoted because a supervisor said he was unable to perform his job. This demotion required him to work under a new supervisor.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Business Litigation on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
In what might be a "David vs. Goliath" case, Alabama Aircraft, which performed maintenance on the Boeing KC-135 planes for decades, is suing the world's largest manufacturer of commercial planes claiming Boeing stole its proprietary data. The complaint states that it was their proprietary data that helped the Boeing Company secure $1.3 billion in Air Force maintenance contracts for the KC-135 planes. Boeing Company has facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The small Alabama Company, which first filed its rather broad lawsuit last September, makes a connection in the suit between maintenance contracts for the KC-135 aircraft and the major procurement scandal around 2005 that sent an official from the Air Force acquisition department and the former CFO of Boeing to federal prison.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Business Litigation on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
In 2007, Denver-based Icon Burger began using the trade name "Smashburger" knowing the name belonged to a Kentucky company called Dairy Cheer. Since Dairy Cheer was only using the trademark name locally, there had been no issues with both companies using it. Until that is, Icon Burger wanted to expand operations into the Lexington, Kentucky market.
Icon Burger has Smashburger-named franchise restaurants in urban locations in 16 states. Dairy Cheer operates 6 restaurants in rural locations that use the "Smashburger" name for one of their sandwiches. Icon's restaurants use bold red and white signage in a modern-looking structure, while Dairy Cheer uses green and white, both offering a clear difference between the brands.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Venture Capital on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Last week the House and senate passed bipartisan legislation called the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act that will help jumpstart the United States economy. The U.S. venture capital industry has been in decline for the past ten years and this legislation will be important in reinvigorating American innovation and increasing business startups.
The current lackluster state of American venture capitalism is shown in the real dollar amounts limited partners in the industry have raised. In 2010 the industry raised only 44 percent of what the industry raised in 2001. These declining numbers are hampering economic growth and employment in the U.S. According to some estimates, venture capital-backed companies produce 11 percent of private sector employment and 21 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic production, even though they account for less the 0.2 percent of all businesses.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Business Litigation on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Although Tim Tebow is no longer a Denver Broncos quarterback his name is still a hot commodity among apparel buyers, according to a new lawsuit filed by Nike Inc. Shortly after the quarterback was traded to the New York Jets, Nike replaced Reebok as the supplier of the National Football League team uniforms. The lawsuit claims that Reebok International Inc. used Tebow's name on New York Jets team apparel without licensing permission.
The business dispute, which seeks unspecified damages, revolves around the timing of the trade and the marketing and sales of NFL team apparel. Nike plans on unveiling its new uniforms for all 32 NFL teams this week which will start their five year contract as the exclusive providers of all NFL on-field game uniforms and sideline apparel. Reebok had been the exclusive provider for the last ten-years.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Employment Litigation on Tuesday, March 27, 2012
A class action lawsuit has been filed that accuses a national pizza chain of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by running background checks on employees without obtaining the necessary authorization to do so, and not sharing those reports with employees or applicants. The suit also alleges that the company took adverse action against employees and applicants, including denial of employment and wrongful terminations.
The company has denied the allegations in the class-action lawsuit and said it does conduct criminal background checks on employees and applicants.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Employment Litigation on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Americans with Disabilities Act was first passed in 1990 and the Department of Justice recently revised some of its standards, which went into effect last week. The Department of Justice's new revisions require businesses of both existing and newly constructed facilities to comply with these new standards.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal employment law that protects employees or applicants from being discriminated against in interviewing and hiring procedures, advancement and training and other work-related conditions. It does so by requiring employers to provide "reasonable accommodations" for employees and applicants with disabilities.
On behalf of Bryan E. Kuhn Counselor at Law, P.C. posted in Intellectual Property on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Urban Outfitters, an international clothing and accessories retailer is accused of trademark infringement in a recent lawsuit filed by the Navajo Nation. The suit claims that the retailer is using the Navajo name in their products without permission. The tribe alleges the retailer's use of their name confuses and deceives consumers into thinking there is an association between the Navajo Nation and the retailer's products and brand. And that use of the name and trademark unfairly trades off the fame, reputation and goodwill of the Navajo Nation.
The Indian Arts and Crafts Act is a federal law cited in the lawsuit as cause for seeking damages. This law makes it illegal for a non-Indian business to represent a product as being made by a Native American Tribe or member of that tribe. Before congress amended this law in 1990 they performed studies which showed that fake Indian products were taking away millions of dollars from the legitimate market for products created by federally recognized tribes, according to a professor of law at the University of Colorado who specializes in Native American property rights.
