Ask Cari: What Should I Know about “Ban-the-Box” Laws?

Rincker LawBusiness/Commercial Law, Employment and Labor Law Leave a Comment

Thirty-three states and 150 municipalities and counties have enacted “ban-the-box” laws precluding employers from including questions about criminal history on employment applications. In many of these states, ban-the-box statutes apply only to public employers, but 13 states (including some of the most highly populated, such as California and Illinois) and 18 municipalities and counties have applied them to most or …

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Business Trademarks: What’s Really in a Name?

Rincker LawBusiness/Commercial Law, Intellectual Property, Trademarks Leave a Comment

 If you’re thinking of starting a business (or already have a business in the works), make sure that the name you use is not already taken.  Original names are essential for three reasons:  marketing power, clarity, and trademark infringement avoidance.  For example, if you’ve decided to open a coffee shop, it’s fairly easy to determine that the name “Starbucks” is …

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Business Law: Letters of Intents v. Term Sheets

Rincker LawBusiness/Commercial Law Leave a Comment

A letter of intent is used in many types of businesses to list the terms of a proposed deal between prospective parties. While the letter of intent is usually signed by both parties, it contains language stating that this letter does not create a binding obligation on either party. Despite this fact, there has been a great deal of litigation …

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Amazon Suspension Prevention

Rincker LawBusiness/Commercial Law, Food & Ag Law Leave a Comment

There is an Amazon coach in my BNI Chapter and through my conversations with him, it’s come to my attention that entrepreneurs selling on Amazon.com run a risk of robots flagging something in their account and suspending it.  In a sense, Amazon will suspend accounts and “ask questions later.”  I regularly order goods from Amazon (pretty sure my postman thinks …

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