Search Results

May 2012

Registering and Licensing 101 for Your Washington Business

by gavin.n.johnson on May 31, 2012

There are a number of government entities that Washington businesses may need to make filings with prior to commencing business:

Registering a business with the state. The application itself is not difficult to fill out and can be found here. However, it is ideal for many strategic decisions to be made at the formation of your business, and unless you have experience making these decisions, we suggest that you seek legal advice prior to filing paperwork with the state.
Applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the Internal

… Read the rest

Moore v CAI: Non-Disclosure Agreement May Have Similar Effect to Non-Compete

by Kyle Hulten on May 29, 2012

In Moore v. CAI, a recent Washington Court of Appeals case, the Court discussed a number of important issues related to employment law.

Case Background
Robert Moore worked at Commercial Aircraft Interiors LLC (CAI) as VP of sales and marketing. Moore was laid off by CAI in a general work force reduction. During his tenure with CAI Moore signed a document acknowledging that he understood and agreed to abide by CAI’s “policy of non-disclosure of any and all company policies, trade secrets, intellectual properties, and customer contacts to outside entities or persons.”

Moore sought employment from Volant, a CAI… Read the rest

News Roundup 2012 Week 21: Microsoft battles Google, Facebook IPO Flops, Amazon Shareholder Meeting, SpaceX

by gavin.n.johnson on May 25, 2012

International News

Microsoft wins Patent Battle with Google
In a battle between two of the largest US companies, round one goes to Microsoft. A German court ruled that Motorola, which was recently taken over by Google, infringed one of Microsoft’s patents which allows long text messages to be divided into smaller parts and reassembled by the receiving mobile phone.

Microsoft can now demand that a German sales ban on Motorola products if it chooses, or it may demand a… Read the rest

HIPAA Documentation Requirements and 8 Considerations for Business Owners

by gavin.n.johnson on May 24, 2012

In this last installment of our series on HIPAA compliance and best practices for your business, we’ve detailed the documentation requirements and 8 important considerations every business owner should think about.

Does HIPAA require any specific documents?
As discussed in previous posts, HIPAA provides for a number of “best practices” which include various documents that you should use to help avoid HIPAA violations. Any documents containing protected health information or policies that govern your use and disclosure of protected health information should be stored, either… Read the rest

iVLG News Roundup 2012 Weeks 19 & 20: Corporate Governance; IPO’s; Arbitration Clauses; Venture Capital

by Kyle Hulten on May 19, 2012

Corporate Governance

CEO Resigns After Erroneous Academic Credentials Discovered
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson stepped down after admitting that he misstated his academic credentials. His resume reported that he had degrees in both accounting and computer science, however he has no degree in computer sciences. The misstated credentials were discovered by Dan Loeb, a manager of Third Point, a New York hedge fund that owns 6% of Yahoo’s outstanding stock. Third Point, had been contending that Yahoo was being mismanaged, and was attempting to get three of its nominees elected to the Yahoo board of directors. Apparently Yahoo did not… Read the rest

HIPAA Administrative Requirements and Best Practices

by gavin.n.johnson on May 16, 2012

To follow up last week’s blog post about HIPAA’s Privacy Rule, we’ve boiled down some of the most important administrative requirements for maintaining compliance with HIPAA. Below is a non-exhaustive list of best practices for your business.

Carefully develop and implement policies and procedures regarding any protected health information (PHI) that are designed to comply with the Privacy Rule. If you’re not sure about your current policies or are in the process of developing new policies for your business, you should contact

… Read the rest

Learning the Basics of HIPAA- Are You a Covered Entity?

by gavin.n.johnson on May 10, 2012

If you’re running a business and you deal with any health information, you are likely aware of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Today’s post provides a summary of HIPAA, who it affects, what it protects, and what is permitted under the Privacy Rule.

Goals of HIPAA
The major goal of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care while protecting the public’s health and well being.

Basic Principle
A… Read the rest

Deferred Compensation

by Kyle Hulten on May 9, 2012

Deferred compensation is compensation to employees or independent contractors that is paid after the income is earned. Examples of deferred compensation include stock options, retirement plans, agreements to defer salary or bonuses, severance agreements, and deferred payments in connection with covenants not to compete.

Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans
Under qualified deferred compensation plans, contributions by employers are not taxed to the employees at the time of the contribution. The full amount of the untaxed contribution can be invested. Employers get an immediate deduction for contributions to qualified plans, even though the employee is not taxed at that time. Eventually… Read the rest

Mixed Decision in Oracle v. Google Copyright Infringement Case

by gavin.n.johnson on May 7, 2012

On Monday, the jury reach a mixed decision in the case involving Oracle Corp.’s claims that Google Inc. infringed copyrights protecting Oracle’s Java technology. The jury decided that Google made use of Oracle’s Java interfaces when Google was developing its Android mobile phone software. However, the jury was unable to reach a decision on whether or not the use was protected under the fair use doctrine—an exception to copyright law that allows… Read the rest

News Roundup 2012 Week 18: CEO salaries, Slow U.S. job growth, Facebook IPO valuation, United-Boeing deal

by gavin.n.johnson on May 4, 2012

Executive Pay Packages Soar

GMI Ratings’ recent report details second consecutive year of double digit pay increases
GMI Ratings released their 2012 Preliminary CEO Pay Survey that examines pay changes in the Russell Index and the S&P Index. The survey provides a look into the ten highest paid CEOs of 2012 and examines the executive pay packages. Some important highlights from the survey include a second consecutive year of double digit compensation increases at both the median and average level for the Russell 3000, with a median increase of about… Read the rest