Tag Archive: small business
Can My PPP Loan Be Forgiven? Four Steps to Success
September 18, 2020 11:13 am
If you received a Small Business Administration loan under the Payroll Protection Program to keep your staff employed during the Coronavirus pandemic, now is the time to be certain that you’ve fulfilled all requirements to have your loan forgiven.
The PPP stopped accepting new loan applications on August 8. If your loan—either for 8 weeks or 24 weeks—was issued prior to June 5, it will mature in two years. Loans issued after that date will mature in five years. If any part of the loan is not forgiven, then your loan payments will be deferred for six months. The interest rate on the loans is 1 percent.
Here are some tips to help you wade through all ...
Stay Calm And Mindful: Avoid These Top Seven SCAMs
August 13, 2020 3:57 pm
In these pandemic times, scammers are stepping up their game, taking advantage of COVID-19 anxiety and confinement. Older adults were their first targets. Now scammers are bolder, infiltrating the phone calls, emails, and snail mail of almost everyone. Ask around. Chances are someone you know has either been the victim of a scam or an attempt. What are these imposters trying to snag? Your personal identifying information. It might be a credit card or bank account number they’re after, or perhaps the biggest key to your ID—your Social Security number.
To help you avoid identity theft, learn to recognize these top seven scams of the past six months:
1. COVID-19 and the Imposter Unemployment ClaimWith unemployment ...
When Can My Business Reopen? Massachusetts Guidelines for the COVID-19 Pandemic
June 12, 2020 12:00 pm
One of the states most hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts has chosen to use public health data to formulate all phases of its reopening plan for businesses and other organizations. As fewer people test positive for the virus, as fewer die of COVID-19, more businesses will be allowed to reopen. If those numbers begin to rise again, however, restrictions will be reimposed.
Here are the key things you need to know about the Commonwealth’s plans for phased reopening:
Testing and Contact Tracing Are Key to Timing of Each PhaseMassachusetts has adopted one of the most aggressive testing protocols in the country and has established a national model for contact tracing, in collaboration with Partners in ...
7 Resolutions to Get Your Legal House in Order for a Great 2020
January 17, 2020 12:10 pm
Welcome to a brand-new decade! It’s halfway through January, and we hope you’ve already made progress on your life-changing resolutions for the coming year. Here are a few recommendations from our colleagues at Mountain, Dearborn & Whiting for law-related resolutions that you can add to your list—now, or anytime this year:
1. Katherine Bagdis, Partner, Litigation and Family Law: If you “popped the question” over the holidays, now is a good time to consider whether you and your soon-to-be spouse should execute a prenuptial agreement prior to the wedding.
2. Robin DeAugustinis, Partner, Commercial Lending and Real Estate Law: If you haven’t already done so, please execute and record a Declaration of Homestead ...
Listing Your Property on AirBnB? Meet the New Massachusetts Short-Term Rental Law
July 1, 2019 8:00 am
As short-term rental platforms like AirBnb, HomeAway, and VRBO have grown in popularity, neighborhoods and cities have borne the impacts of increased tourism. Problems include more traffic, noise, and disruptive behavior; loss of affordable housing units, as landlords develop properties for lucrative short-term rentals; and loss of business for the hotel industry. In response, some state and municipal governments have passed legislation to tax and regulate the phenomenon.
In December 2018, Massachusetts passed its own version of such legislation: An Act Regulating and Insuring Short-Term Rentals, which not only regulates, but also taxes short-term rentals, The new law takes effect on Monday, July 1, 2019.
If you currently are renting your property on a short-term ...
Tiptoe Through the Orchard: What You Should Know About the Massachusetts Pick-Your-Own Law
June 13, 2019 8:48 am
Trees are in full leaf, flowers are blooming, and the Commonwealth’s orchards will soon bear fruit. It’s almost time to visit a pick-your-own produce farm for berries and peaches this summer. The pick-your-own season stretches well into the fall, with harvests of apples and pumpkins, and, for some, holiday trees as winter nears. After such a rainy spring, it’s a welcomed pleasure, at last, not only to enjoy the seasonal weather, but also to select your own produce in a natural setting.
As much fun as an outing to the orchard can be, however, it’s important to be considerate guests—treating the grounds, plants, and people with respect for their wellbeing—and to be alert to risks of accidents. The ground ...
Own a Business? Five Things You Should Know About Employees and Election Day
November 2, 2018 3:14 pm
It’s almost Election Day, and you own a business in Massachusetts. You know you’ll have time to cast your vote before the polls close at 8:00 p.m. But what about your employees? If an employee wants or needs to vote during the work day, what are his or her rights?
Here are five things that you, as the employer, should know:
- There is no federal law that requires you to give your employees time off to vote. Massachusetts law, on the other hand, does give employees certain rights regarding voting during the work day, but only if you are in the manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile industry.
- Massachusetts law requires an employer to allow an ...
Close Corporations: A Cautionary Tale of Misplaced Trust and Fiduciary Failings
September 23, 2016 8:52 amWorcester made its mark in the 19th and 20th centuries as a manufacturing center, giving rise to industrial giants such as Norton Company and Wyman Gordon, many of which were owned for generations by small family groups. Home to inventors and entrepreneurs, our city has also fostered many smaller businesses, founded and operated by families or friends.
Oftentimes the stockholders, directors and officers in these “close” corporations are the same two or three people, each one performing multiple roles simultaneously in the corporate structure. Such companies play a significant role in the Commonwealth’s economy, but their very smallness creates a unique set of risks for the owners.
Close Corporation DefinedIn Donahue v. Rodd Electrotype of New England, ...
Protect Your Business from a Data Breach
October 8, 2015 11:45 amBusinesses of all sizes wrestle with the complex interplay of privacy rights and data security in the workplace. If you aren’t wrestling with it, then you may have already been pinned. Let’s get you up off the mat.
To illustrate the issue, let’s take an everyday situation. Suppose that a local landscaping company (“the Company”) has recently experienced a welcomed growth spurt. In response, the Company has increased its field staff and its office staff. The office staff, a total of four employees, are assigned workplaces with computers connected to a local server, with a central database of customers, scheduling, payment information, and other sensitive data.
As in many workplaces, the office is adjacent to the crew areas, and ...
