At-Will Employees are At-Will Employees: Tautological Analysis Leads the Court of Appeals to Hold that Words Mean What They Say and Say What They Mean

Wittgenstein wrote that “all true statements are ultimately tautological.” In other words, a thing or concept is what it is. A recent Oregon Court of Appeals decision illustrates the point twice in the context of at-will employees. In Cocchiara v. Lithia Motors, Inc., 247 Or App 545 (2011) the court held:

Newsworthy

Our attorneys are in the news again!

Lawrence B. Hunt and Kevin J. Tillson are mentioned in an article entitled “Four Women Say Bosses Got Out of Line“.

And Kevin J. Tillson is mentioned in an article entitled “A Real Failure to Communicate“.

Check them out!

 

Does the Internet Highway Lead to Court in a Distant State?

As businesses increasingly market and sell goods and services through the internet, they should consider the risk that their website activities may subject them to litigation in other states.  Individuals who buy and sell through such internet sites as eBay may also face a possible risk of litigation in a foreign court.  Litigation of any kind is expensive enough without the additional burdens and costs which defending in a distant court can impose irrespective of the merits of any claim.  Moreover, since any presence on the internet is, in a sense, a presence everywhere, how can a business or individual predict the scope of their exposure to litigation outside of the state in which they reside or actively do business more traditionally?

Seattle Gets a Spanking When it Plays with Guns

Like most children, cities and other local government bodies often forget that they lack innate authority to enact laws; that the only authority they have to enact laws and levy taxes is the authority which their superiors, the state constitution or legislature, grant to them. Also like children, cities and local government bodies often try to evade the limits set by their superiors and, when caught in the act, expend enormous amounts of effort and money attempting to justify their errant presumption.

No Shark Fin Soup for You: Recent Changes to Oregon Laws

Possessors of shark fins, you now have one day (if you read this on December 30, 2011, to sell, trade or distribute any shark fins that you have in your possession.  After December 31, 2011 you will no longer be able to sell, trade or distribute shark fins in Oregon without a license.  California has enacted a similar law.  After December 31, 2011, you also cannot possess shark fins in Oregon – unless you acquired the fin before January 1, 2012.

Personal Representative, Executor, Administrator

The words “personal representative”, “executor” and “administrator” all refer to the same individual: the person or company responsible for administering your estate when you pass away.  In Oregon, we refer to this individual as the “personal representative”.  Naming a personal representative in a will can oftentimes be a difficult decision because the client does not know what the personal representative is responsible for doing.  We are frequently asked by clients that we’re drafting wills for “what does the personal representative, executor or administrator do?”  The same question is asked by the individual appointed as personal representative, executor or administrator.

Defining the Tort of Wrongful Discharge in Washington: The Interplay of Statutory and Common Law

A recent Washington Supreme Court decision demonstrates how the interaction between administrative and common law is often critically important to the adjudication of employee claims.  Specifically, the court held that an employee has no common law right to a claim of wrongful discharge solely because they are fired for reporting illegal or unsafe conditions of employment where other administrative or legal structures are deemed adequate for protection of the particular public policy which the employee claims the employer is violating.

Acquisition International Article

Acquisition International has published an article entitled “McCoy Sales Corporation and Fluid Connector Products Merge to Form Motion & Flow Control Products” in which we are featured.  Read the full article here.

New Notice Requirements for Oregon Wage Claims

When an employer fails to properly pay an employee wages after termination of the employee’s employment, the employee can assert a claim for unpaid wages against the employer.  In a wage claim against the employer, the employee can recover the employee’s unpaid wages and a statutory penalty.  The statutory penalty is either 30 days of unpaid wages or 100 percent of the employee’s unpaid wages, whichever is greater.  In most circumstances the 30 days of unpaid wages is a larger penalty.

Planning the Exit from Your Business

Sooner or later, willingly or unwillingly, deliberately or unconsciously, a small business owner decides how they’ll leave their business.  Whether they’re carried feet first out the door at death; they sell; they transfer the business to the next generation; or they take some other path out the door: the day will come when each owner makes their final exit from their business.