Tagged: liability

“ECI” and its Trap for Unwary Canadian Investors in Partnerships and LLCs

A Canadian which holds a partnership interest in a U.S. or non-U.S. partnership that has “effectively connected income” (“ECI”) is subject to U.S. tax withholding with respect to the Canadian partner’s allocable share of the partnership’s ECI.  That withholding tax must be remitted by the partnership to the IRS irrespective of whether any distributions are...

Independent Contractors Under U.S. Law: Knowing Your ABCs

A recent trend in U.S. employment law has been the adoption of stricter and stricter tests for when a worker may be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. Independent contractor relationships are often less expensive and easier for employers to administer since employers are not responsible for providing healthcare benefits to independent...

A WARN Act Warning

Under U.S. law, large employers have an obligation to notify their employees at least 60 days before a “plant closing” or “mass layoff.” This requirement can have serious implications for Canadian companies engaged in M&A deals with U.S. companies. The U.S. Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”) requires employers with 100 or...

U.S. Employment in the #MeToo Era

The United States isn’t the only country addressing its history of gender inequality, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. However, the United States is having its own unique experience in doing so. For U.S. employers, the current focus on these issues poses challenges, but also opportunities to address problems of diversity and harassment in the workplace....

Damages: Making Anti-Harassment Policies Work in the United States

Harassment has been in the news a lot lately in the United States, with several high-profile terminations at well-known companies. Companies are losing millions of dollars, not just in settlements and verdicts, but in lost customers and bad publicity. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, is the administrative agency responsible for enforcing laws prohibiting...

Damages: The Dark Side of Having Employees in the United States

Canadian employment law is, in many ways, far more employee favorable than U.S. employment law. With the exception of a few states, employment in the United States is “at-will.” This generally means that either the employer or the employee may terminate the employment relationship without cause and without notice, so long as the reason for...