Investigating Employee Harassment Claims in the Workplace
In the wake of the #MeToo Movement and as again recently seen in media headlines, sexual harassment continues to be a prevalent problem in today’s culture, and no employer is immune from the duty to prevent and resolve harassment claims in the workplace. These claims include not only sexual…
Tax Reporting for Grantor Trusts
November 6, 2017
by Jennifer R. Pierce
Typically, a trust must file a separate income tax return for each calendar year. However, for most grantor trusts, filing a separate tax return is optional. The general rule and the alternative methods of reporting are described below. When a trust is a “grantor trust” for income tax purposes…
Certain Trust Expenses Still Deductible Until 2026
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while lowering taxes for most, raised them for a few. One group of those few taxpayers for whom taxes went up under TCJA were certain trusts and estates (generally those with large investment advisory fees or certain other expenses). The issue for these trusts is…
I Missed a Tax Election…Now What? Requesting 9100 Relief
What do we, as tax professionals, do when we discover (or our clients discover) that a tax election has been inadvertently missed? There may be a solution for some missed elections. Regulations §§ 301.9100-1 through 301.9100-3 contain rules permitting extensions of time for certain late tax…
Washington County Landfill/Expansion: Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment - Division of Environmental Quality Motion to Dismiss Request for Adjudicatory Hearing/Commission Review
As previously noted in April 18th and April 19th blog posts, the Mayor of Tontitown and certain individuals filed separate (two) Requests for Adjudicatory Hearing and Commission Review (collectively, “Petitions”) before the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission (“Commission”) challenging…
PFAS/CERCLA (Superfund) Liability: U.S. Senator John Boozman (Arkansas) Legislation Exempting Noncontributing Industries/Municipalities
United States Senators John Boozman (Arkansas) and Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming) introduced five bills to ensure industries and municipalities are not subject to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”) liability if the United States Environmental…
Preparing for Compliance With the PUMP Act and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Pregnant workers are currently protected under various acts including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP). With all of these acts, gaps still exist in the…
ChatGPT in the Workplace—A Legal Minefield! What You Need to Know to Protect Your Business
May 8, 2023
by Devin R. Bates
As artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology continues to advance, more and more people are logging on and experimenting with the technology. ChatGPT, one free and popular AI, is reportedly the fastest-growing consumer application in history.[1] But it is also ripe for abuse in the workplace. For…
Non-Compete Agreements: What is a Reasonable Geographic Area of Coverage for a Restriction?
What is a reasonable geographic area of coverage for a non-compete agreement restriction? It depends. The first question to ask is when was this non-compete agreement signed? In Arkansas, the watershed date is July 22, 2015, which is when a landmark non-compete statute came into play. For…
Citizen Suit Enforcement/Clean Water Act: Friends of Little Sugar Creek Notice of Intent to Sue Bentonville, Arkansas
The Friends of Little Sugar Creek (“FOLSC”) recently sent a Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) to the City of Bentonville, Arkansas, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act. The Notice states that FOLSC intends to file a Clean Water Act citizen suit action against Bentonville unless it remedies…