Small Businesses in Illinois are Offered Tax Credits for Providing Health Insurance to Employees Under the Affordable Care Act The federal statute commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) takes effect in 2014. One of the many goals of the ACA is to increase the number of Americans…
Illinois Bans the Use of Cell Phones in Cars – Effective January 1, 2014, Illinois drivers will not be able to use their cell phones for calling or texting unless they use hands free devices such as Bluetooth. Distracting driving has gotten a lot of attention recently, particularly with the…
DOMA Implications for Illinois Small Businesses On June 26, 2013 the SCOTUS in United States v. Windsor found Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. Section 3 had prohibited marriages between same-sex couples from being acknowledged by the federal government. This meant that under DOMA same-sex…
A–Rod and his legal hassles: Essentially, A–Rod was suspended for 211 games (the remainder of the 2013 season and all of the 2014 season). The other 12 players were suspended for 50 games which were imposed under an agreement with MLB. As part of the other 12 suspensions, they all…
Credit Card Processors come under government scrutiny. Those credit card processors who promise substantial savings for processing Visa or MasterCard or bank credit cards have come under the scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Washington State AG’s Office. The complaints allege that these companies represent that they…
One of the latest scams hitting the mailbox of corporations is an offer to prepare the corporate filing documents that need to be filed with the Secretary of State annually. The letter looks official and looks like it comes from a state office in Springfield. A return envelope is included…
Guidelines for terminating an at will employee in Illinois At will employment is one of the most common forms of employer-employee relationship in Illinois. If an employee is at will, he or she can be fired on any reasonable grounds, and the employer is not required to give the…
A Limited Liability Company, LLC, is an entity created by state statute. What makes LLCs so attractive is that LLC members have limited personal liability for all of the LLC’s debts. A LLC can be taxed as a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor, depending on elections made by the LLC…
The U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings in two recent cases clarify what is necessary in order for an employee or former employee to bring and be successful in a discrimination or retaliation case against a former employer, including small business owners. In University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, the…
About Me: I’m George “Geo” Bellas, a passionate business litigation attorney sharing my experience in trial law. I am the Principal and Senior Partner of Bellas & Wachowski – Attorneys at Law, based in Park Ridge, Illinois. I fight for the rights of business owners. All of my clients are…