A recent court decision involving particularly bizarre circumstances may signal a warning of importance to employers about not so bizarre business practices.  Prudent employers will take heed.

         At first blush, the case of Buchanan v. Vowell appears to have no bearing on any significant employment law issue.  Jerry Buchanan, the plaintiff, brought suit as a pedestrian who was hit by a car operated by the defendant, Candice Vowell.  However, Buchanan also sued Candice Vowell's mother, Shannon Vowell.  The issue in question revolves around whether Shannon Vowell possessed liability for the injuries suffered by virtue of Candice Vowell allegedly striking Buchanan with her car.  How could liability exist?

         Read the entire article about liability and mobile communication while driving.

         Read the noteworthy provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act for private equity.

         With tax revenues plummeting, state governments are addressing the shortfall by taking a closer look at the way employers get work done.  The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) started the ball rolling when it issued a report in 2009 concluding that the federal government was missing out on billions of dollars of tax revenue as a result of rampant worker misclassification.  The GAO also concluded that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) were not doing enough to rectify the problem.

         Both the IRS and DOL took heed.  Earlier this year, the IRS commenced a three-year tax audit program designed, in part, to determine whether employers have misclassified their workers as independent contractors.  The IRS has pledged to share the information it obtains with state governments, who, of course, are facing significant budgetary woes themselves.  More recently, the DOL instituted a misclassification initiative of its own.

         Read more about employee misclassification.