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How to Keep Peace In The Family Shore House

Posted by calgdasilvaon March 8, 2015April 11, 2015in Blog PostsLeave a comment

Summers at the shore are the stuff of fairytales here in South Jersey. Everyone has memories created at Grandma’s place in [insert your favorite shore town here]. Debates rage about which town has the best beach, pizza, and boardwalk.

But alongside nostalgic considerations, the value of beach properties have skyrocketed and Hurricane Sandy further hastened the turnover from blue collar owners with simple bungalows to multimillion dollar homes and multi-unit rental properties.

So deciding to buy a place of your own with your extended family rather than rent the same old place for a couple of weeks it seems to be a sound decision, right?

Maybe, but consider a few things first. Real estate is a significant investment. You need to consider more than proximity to your favorite beach. As an owner it is also your responsibility to consider any number of things, but the big two are costs and property use.

Costs

What are the insurance needs of the property? How will they be divided? How will household expenses, things like cleaning, landscaping and upkeep, be paid for? Who pays the bills every month? How will they collect the money from the rest of the property owners?

Property use

Is it exclusively a family home or is a part-time rental? Who will use the property? When will they use it? What happens when ownership changes occur? What if someone dies, gets divorces, cannot afford their share of the expenses, or moves away and no longer wants their share? What is I become estranged from the family and want out 5 years from now?

Things may be rosy now, but there will be disputes whether it be over how often the grass should be cut or that someone is not paying their share of the mortgage. So what to do?

Sometimes the vacation home fairytales quickly and easily become expensive, emotional nightmares. There is nothing that will rip a family apart like a real estate dispute.

So should you head for the hills when your family has a chance to buy your favorite rental property? Of course not! But be realistic, and do it right from the beginning.

Most every scenario for a dispute can be anticipated. The best way to deal with any dispute is to approach it head-on and be up-front. Sit down with the family, yes all of them, and talk it through. Sometimes it’s best to have a dictator pay the bills and make the day-to-day decisions, but elect that person as a group. Play out the scenario of your Mom and Dad divorcing – who gets to use the house? Or your brother’s wife wants to have her family use the property as well every weekend. Talk everything out and nobody will be surprised if a situation arises naturally. A Joint Ownership Agreement should be discussed, agreed upon, and signed when the property is first purchased. With a Joint Ownership Agreement all terms of use, financial obligations and transfer scenarios can be discussed and agreed upon in advance. Agreeing on the big issues ahead of time leaves you and future generations to simply enjoy the sun and sand.

The Intersection of Social Media and the Office: Texting, Tweeting and Your Business

Posted by calgdasilvaon March 8, 2015April 11, 2015in Blog PostsLeave a comment

That smart phone on your assistant’s desk is both a blessing and a curse. Either childcare arrangements can be adjusted with a quick message, or hours of productivity can be lost. Facebook, Twitter or texting communication is now widely accepted in the workplace, but keeping it in check with uniform policy and enforcement is essential. Strike a balance between modern communication and your business needs.

Take Action Early

Make company policy on smart phone and social media use clear and uniform. If an employee understands the company expectations during office hours, there is less room for misuse and abuse. Having a clear cut and universal policy also helps to create a homogenous office environment. In other words, an employee is less likely to spend all day texting if expectations are clear.

Be Reasonable

Although making company social media policy clear, it is just as important to be flexible. If an employee occasionally sends a quick text message, it’s not beneficial for you to reprimand them. Creating a harsh work environment creates unhappy employees – which has a much higher productivity cost than an occasional text.

Policy Considerations

Set Clear Expectations : A clear explanation of the purpose and guidelines for your companies social media policy will counter your employee’s resistance.

Coverage of all devices : “Cell phone” is not defined broadly enough. Your policy should address texting of all types (SMS, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) through the use of phones, and other wireless devices.

Description of who’s covered: As with most other employment policies, your texting rules should apply to all employees, consultants, temporary staff, and other third parties who work either on-site or in the field. Be sure to include both company owned and personal devices in your policy as well.

List of specific activities: Be specific to your organization’s needs. Operating a vehicle, including heavy machinery and personal cars and trucks for business-related purposes, should be at the top of your list of strictly forbidden activities.

Practice What You Preach

Although being an employer rather than an employee means you get a bit more leeway with office policy, be the leader your employees can emulate.

A Group of Strippers Walk into a Club…

Posted by calgdasilvaon March 8, 2015April 11, 2015in Blog PostsLeave a comment

…and win the first round in a Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) suit! A class of exotic dancers won the right to file a FLSA collective action against the Philadelphia strip club for which they worked. The US District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in Verma v. 3001 Castor that the strippers were mislabeled by The Penthouse Club as independent contractors instead of employees, and thereby have standing in their claims to minimum wage, overtime compensation, and all gratuities earned.

Though strippers aren’t common subjects within fair labor discussions, this isn’t exactly an ‘exotic’ case. After ‘stripping’ away the specifics, it turns out this FLSA dispute is quite common. Employers often try to take on workers as independent contractors instead of employees, believing this distinction will absolve them from associated liabilities and responsibilities.

US District Judge Anita Brody’s ruling of the strippers as employees instead of independent contractors was based on an analysis of the degree of oversight the club maintained over the dancers’ work.

The strippers at The Penthouse received no wages and relied only on compensation from customers. Despite this, the club took a whopping 30-40% of the dancers’ profits and set the price and duration of all private dances. Additionally, the dancers were charged a stage rental fee in order to work a shift, were forced to give a cut of their tips to different members of the club staff, and were charged fines for things like chewing gum, using their cellphones, and not wearing their hair down. Talk about some serious micromanaging!

The club argued that dancers have the flexibility to set their own schedules and if they ‘hustle’, can make nearly $1,600 a shift. Brody dismissed this, pointing out that the club’s control over admission fees, hours of operation, and the dancers’ behavior negatively impacted the strippers’ ability to work.

Brody found that the dancers were an ‘integral’ part of The Penthouse’s business, labeled them as employees rather than independent contractors, and certified the FLSA collective action for the recovery of unpaid wages and liquidated damages.