By Brad Adler

Employers often are warned about the significant dangers associated with misclassifying workers for purposes of avoiding overtime under the “white collar” exemptions, such as the administrative, executive and professional exemptions.  There is, however, another exemption to the requirement to pay overtime that frequently leads to misclassification under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – the outside sales exemption (a/k/a §13(a)(1) exemption). (more…)

By Sun Choy and David Cole

In 2006, substantial amendments were made to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of discovery disputes involving electronically stored information.  Ironically, however, it appears that the amendments have had the opposite effect.  According to a recent study published in the Duke Law Journal, court sanctions arising from e-discovery disputes reached an all time high in 2009, with more sanctions being issued in 2009 than all years prior to 2005 combined.  According to the study, the failure to produce electronic information was the most common basis for sanctions.  (more…)

By Kamy Molavi

What should you do when a company is not performing as required in a construction contract?  The consequences of this decision are significant, and it merits careful consideration.  The wrong decision can lead to the foreclosure of options and remedies otherwise available, and in the worst case, may result in significant liability.  Engineering the best answer requires, at minimum, estimating the actual and potential impacts of non-performance, assessing the feasibility and costs of alternatives, and critically, understanding your contract. (more…)

By Bobby Baker

The Georgia General Assembly has now passed the halfway point of its Legislative Session and the issues of immigration, water and tax reform still dominate the session.  On February 24 the Senate approved (46-4) the amended state budget of $18 billion for the remainder of FY 2011.  The supplemental budget cut most state agencies by 4%, and it will go to a conference committee to work out the differences between the House and Senate.  What is notable and encouraging, is that actual revenue growth is 4.8% over FY 2010 revenue collections and FY 2011 should end in a surplus of several hundred million dollars. (more…)