Tennessee Business Litigation Law Blog

On Thursday of this week I am speaking for the Nashville Bar Association on the topic of "What You Should Ask Yourself When Working With an Expert Witness." The CLE is focused a number of concerns that civil litigators should consider in choosing what experts to work with and how to do so.

Next month, on December 20 and 21, Branham & Day is presenting our fifth annual Fundamentals of Civil Litigation seminar at the Nashville School of Law. The seminar is geared to providing practical tips to new lawyers throughout the civil lawsuit process - from opening the case, through discovery, and into trial. For more information or to sign up, see our website at www.branhamday.com.

For a massive amount of tax charts for businesses, take a look at this post over at the Inhouse Blog.

Background checks are common in pre-employment screening. Here's an article on the types of background checks that are available, and the relative importance of each. From the article:

The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 30 percent of all business failures are the result of bad hiring decisions. While a typical background check costs far less than an average day's pay, one serious hiring mistake can sink a small business.

Found via the InhouseBlog.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development website has answers to frequently asked questions, including this page about the rights and duties of small business owners in dealing with employees.

Starting a new business? Check out this new small business technical assistance guide from the State of Tennessee website. It outlines many great financial and other resources for new small businesses.

WIth so much customer data being stored on computers these days, potential (and actual instances of) theft is getting dangerous. If your customers' data is compromised, you have to tell your customers without endangering the relationship. Obviously, that's easier said than done. Here's a link to how to break the news to your customers that their private information may have been breached.

Check out this website for a wealth of information on local, national, and international economies.

A new state sponsored program which went into effect July 1, 2005 is intended to resolve conflicting opinions between the employer/insurance carrier and the employee regarding workers’ compensation permanent impairment ratings. According to the Department of Labor press release,

the Medical Impairment Rating (MIR) Registry was created by the Tennessee legislature in the Workers’ Compensation Reform Act of 2004 to enhance and to improve the current independent medical examination process.

MIR physicians will be recognized as experts in the field of impairment evaluation. Opinions issued by physicians on the Registry for cases involving the MIR program will be presumed statutorily accurate and can be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.

Link to the U.S. Department of Labor website to search and locate OSHA inspections conducted within a particular establishment or industry group. You can access information about an specific inspection if you have the activity number for the inspection. OSHA standards and workplace injury, illness and fatality statistics are also readily available. Link here to view site.