Memphis Business & Commercial Law Blog

Tennessee residents may have heard that a business owner has been ordered by a U.S. District Court judge to pay $1.37 million in back wages to her former employees, who worked at a turkey processing plant she owned. The business owner, a woman from Burnet, Texas may also be liable for compensatory and punitive damages if the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prevails against her in a suit filed on behalf of the former employees of the Iowa turkey processing plant. The EEOC has not specified the amount of damages they seek.

The EEOC suit against the business owner alleges that she violated employment law. The mentally disabled men who processed slaughtered turkeys were underpaid for their work and were forced to endure substandard living conditions at the facility. The suit further alleges that the managers of the facility intimidated and abused the workers. The men worked at the facility for 30 years and received $65 per month. They each had $1,000 per month deducted from their pay to cover living expenses. The EEOC alleges that they lived in an insect-infested bunkhouse with a leaky roof. 

Guidelines issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have approved the use of social media, including Twitter and Facebook, for disclosure of material non-public information by public companies. The SEC's guidance, issued in response to an action brought against the CEO of Netflix, requires that corporations disclose to investors the specific social media sites that will be used to disseminate material information. The SEC also specified that use of corporate websites and social media sites are more appropriate for disclosure than the personal websites and social media sites of management.

The SEC issued this guidance after reviewing the case of the Netflix CEO, who disclosed corporate information on his personal Facebook page. This information was never conveyed to investors via press release, securities filing or on the company's official website. The SEC did not levy any penalties or sanctions against Netflix or its CEO. Instead, the SEC issued a report of investigation that makes it clear that social media is an appropriate method for corporate disclosure, provided that investors have previously been made aware of the specific social media channels that will be used.

A three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently upheld a permanent injunction that was imposed against a file-sharing website in 2010. In the decision, the panel explained that a person who provides someone with the tools necessary for copyright infringement is as culpable as the primary offender.

The Motion Pictures Association of American hailed the decision as a victory in their on-going struggle against Internet pirates. However, the attorney for the file-sharing service expressed an intent to seek review by the full court and stated that the court's decision would endanger a large portion of the Internet.

Regardless of how large or small a business is, chances are that certain professionals play key roles in its successful operation. First, businesses benefit from financial planners, analysts and other experts well versed in the unique needs of business owners. Second, the creative and managerial head(s) of the business ensure that its day to day operations are successful. Third, an experienced consulting attorney helps to ensure that the intellectual privacy, employment challenges and general transactions remain both protected and in compliance with related regulation.

However, businesses can stumble when the needs and visions of one of these parties clashes with those of another. One way in which interested parties are currently clashing at businesses all across the nation is in approaches to accessing the cloud. Most businesses today need to work within the new market of Internet shoppers, advertisers and connected consumers. Moving certain business processes to the cloud helps businesses accomplish their goals within a changing marketplace.