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What Is the MD Consumer Protection Act – And How Does It Affect You?

If you live in Maryland and have been the victim of an unscrupulous landlord, service provider, or seller of consumer goods, you have a powerful tool to help you fight back and win restitution: The MD Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Created in 1973 to protect citizens against unfair and deceptive business practices and “restore an undermined public confidence in merchants,” the legislation is designed to “set minimum statewide standards for the protection of consumers,” with the recognition that existing laws were “inadequate, poorly coordinated and not widely known or adequately enforced.” It’s also designed to bring awareness to consumer rights and responsibilities within the state. More specifically, the CPA strives to offer “strong protective and preventive steps to investigate unlawful consumer practices, to assist the public in obtaining relief from these practices, and to prevent these practices from occurring in Maryland.” Realizing you’ve been duped or scammed is frustrating, embarrassing,…

How to Review a Commercial Lease Agreement

Commercial LeaseIt is good to know how to review a commercial lease agreement because it serves as a foundation of your relationship with your tenant. Given the economy, a prospective tenant may want to move into a smaller space. Landlords may be eager to keep or attract tenants, given how many they might have lost. The attorneys at Lusk Law, LLC offer you many landlord-tenant law services, including help with how to review a commercial lease agreement and commercial lease review. We help clients with property-related issues and know very well what to look for in a commercial lease agreement. A commercial lease attorney can ensure that a client’s actions are on a sound legal footing and their interests are protected, no matter how the economy impacts their business. Commercial Lease Review Checklist What should be included in a commercial lease agreement? Knowing the answer to this essential question will help…

How Do You Resolve a Partnership Dispute?

How Do You Resolve a Partnership Dispute?How do you resolve a partnership dispute? This question is one many partners face at one point or another during the life of their partnership. Disputes are inevitable, but they do not have to mean the dissolution of the partnership. There are things you can do to resolve a partnership dispute. Of course, much of this depends on the partners and the context and extent of the dispute. To resolve a partnership dispute in Maryland or any other state in which your partnership is registered, there are two basic approaches: the proactive and the reactive. By being proactive, you can avoid many common disputes. When disputes are unavoidable, you can address them in a few different ways, each of which may render different results––the latter is critical to keep in mind, because it is also key to choosing the right way to resolve the partnership dispute. How Do You Prevent…

Can an LLC Hire an Independent Contractor?

Can an LLC Hire an Independent Contractor?Startup businesses and small firms frequently find themselves needing more people in the early stages of operations. For limited liability companies (LLCs) with low cash flows and few benefits to offer yet, hiring independent contractors can seem like a good compromise. Before you do so, you should consider the benefits and detriments of hiring a contractor. LLC Employee vs. Contractor There are no rules that dictate whether an LLC can or cannot hire an independent contractor. What is important for the LLC owner to remember is the differences between an LLC employee versus a contractor. A small business has more at stake if they misclassify an employee as a contractor and are caught by the state or IRS. A contractor is not covered by employment law Under Maryland wage and employment law, an independent contractor is not granted the same protections and rights as an LLC employee. However, merely hiring…

Should Your Business Have an Attorney on Retainer?

hould Your Business Have an Attorney on Retainer?Owning a business comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have to ensure that the day-to-day operations run smoothly, but you also have to deal with employees, clients, customers, and more. Because of all the issues that may arise, it’s smart to hire an attorney and keep them on retainer. Some business owners choose to hire a lawyer on an ad-hoc basis and use their services only when needed. While this may be more affordable in the early days of your business, having one on retainer offers multiple benefits. For example, what would happen if an emergency or urgent issue occurred? If you have an attorney on retainer, you have someone to deal with the problem right away. You don't have to search for the right legal professional or spend time getting them "up to speed" with your business. The attorney you have on retainer will know…

How to Establish a Corporate Veil

Corporate VeilHow to establish a corporate veil is an essential issue if you own a business, by yourself or with others. If you own your business as a sole proprietor or partnership, you could be held personally liable for your company’s actions. If it is done correctly and the entity owning your business is a corporation or limited liability company (LLC), you may avoid this issue by protecting yourself with a corporate veil. Lusk Law, LLC, can help your business choose the right way to structure its ownership. There are costs and benefits to every legal entity, so we’ll advise you which one we think would best meet your needs. We also can defend your business in litigation or protect its interests by pursuing legal action on your behalf. Learn more about how a business attorney can help you by calling us at (443) 535-9715. What is a Corporate Veil? While you…

What to Know Before Hiring a Contractor

ContractorWhat to know before hiring a contractor can be the difference between conducting business as usual or finding yourself in legal trouble. Contractors have rarely been more numerous or available than they are right now. In addition to traditional contractors, you can hire someone to create a website for your business, assemble your office furniture, or deliver your lunch. If you need help getting something done, hiring an employee or finding an independent contractor may be the right choice. It depends on your wants, needs, and applicable laws. However, you need to know the rules governing your business relationship with contractors. A person you think is your contractor may actually be an employee, with all the taxes, laws, and regulations that accompany them. Maryland business lawyer Rebekah Lusk appreciates the practical and legal challenges involved in hiring a contractor. We will work with you to review the facts of your…

A Comprehensive FAQ on How to Hire a 1099 Contractor

ContractorIf you have a short-term need for extra staffing, you may need to engage a contractor, but before you do, it’s important to understand how to hire a 1099 contractor. Be sure you know all of the legal elements of the hire before you proceed. For many decades, employers chose to classify their workforce as employees to manage customer expectations, workflow, productivity, and staffing levels. The rise of the gig economy has highlighted the differences between contractors and employees and increased the number of people who are working as independent contractors. The IRS and the State of Maryland both lay out the rules for hiring a 1099 contractor, along with how they are to be paid. Definition of an Independent Contractor An independent contractor is a free agent that cannot be controlled by an employer as if they were an employee. In contrast, an employer can control an employee in…

What Should Be Included in a Severance Package?

Two people working on a contractWhat should be included in a severance package depends on the person leaving the company and what the employer wants to accomplish. Severance packages and agreements are good ideas for employers ending a relationship with an employee. They provide some certainty for an employer because the employee will be obligated to do and not do certain things. But how much control an employer can expect in exchange for extra benefits or cash is limited. No matter why someone is leaving your company, a severance package and agreement can give you some extra assurance (though no guarantee) that the person won’t give you a nasty legal surprise in the months ahead. Lusk Law, LLC, can help you handle severance issues and protect your business. What Does a Severance Package Usually Include? Ideally, the severance package and agreement will be customized to the individual and the situation. It may be a lay-off…

Understanding the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act

Understanding the Maryland Healthy Working Families ActThe Maryland Healthy Working Families Act Provides Benefits When You or Family Members Get Sick On Jan. 12, 2018, Maryland became the ninth state to adopt a mandatory sick leave statute, when the Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of legislation requiring Maryland employers to provide sick and safe leave to their employees. Known as the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, this law provides employees with up to 40 hours of sick and safe leave each year and went into effect on Feb. 11, 2018. Who is Affected? The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act applies to all employers, including state and local governments, in the state of Maryland. However, the law distinguishes between large and small employers. For employers with 14 or fewer employees, leave may be provided on an unpaid basis. For employers with 15 or more employees, sick and safe leave is paid at the employee’s…