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We are pleased to announce that

Jason Clark

has been elected as a partner at Lang Thal King & Hanson PC.

A Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” and

Best Lawyers®

“Ones to Watch” honoree who joined our firm in 2015, Jason offers national law firm experience and an extensive track record of successful outcomes for his clients in all aspects of construction disputes and

Registrar of Contractors proceedings

Jason’s recent construction law experience includes matters involving:

He also represents
Continue Reading Jason Clark Elected as a Partner

The expanded “economic realities” test increases the government’s presumption that a worker is an employee entitled to overtime and minimum wage protection.

The new rule expands, from three factors to six, the government’s “economic realities” test, which seeks to determine whether independent contractors are truly in business for themselves or are actually employees who should be afforded full wage-and-hour and other FLSA protections.

The economic realities factors are non-exhaustive – i.e., a Wage and Hour Division auditor is free to consider additional factors – and, in contrast to the old rule, no single factor is more important than any other.
Continue Reading New independent contractor rule aims at paying more workers as employees

A federal law that went into effect January 1 requires most legal entities to report specific information about the business and its owners.

This article provides a general overview and multiple updates from our October 2023 article. This version includes the following changes:

  • The Beneficial Ownership Information

    reporting portal

    is ready to use.

  • FinCEN has published the

    Small Entity Compliance Guide

    as a companion to its updated

    Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Frequently Asked Questions

    .

  • The FinCEN FAQ document includes an updated list of “

    exempt entities

    .”

  • The FAQ document also provides more information on the criteria for “


Continue Reading Update: Corporate Transparency Act places new reporting requirements on most businesses

A federal law that goes into effect in January requires most legal entities to report specific information about the business and its owners.

  • updating stale contact and other important information; and

  • addressing any “phantom” owners or managers, people who wanted to be part of your company, but who do not want to be found by creditors, former spouses, etc. Failure to disclose owners can subject you to civil and criminal penalties, so be careful and thorough.

DOES MY BUSINESS HAVE TO FILE A REPORT?

Sole proprietorships do not have file, nor do

some

general partnerships (check with your attorney).

With
Continue Reading Corporate Transparency Act places new reporting requirements on most businesses

In 2021, the Arizona Legislature revised the statutes that govern appeals from Registrar of Contractors (ROC) hearings, with the result that an appeal of an administrative agency’s decision can lead to a fresh trial in Superior Court, where the agency’s decision is disregarded.

The hearing process is fair, and Arizona ALJs are consistently intelligent, honest, and professional. Nevertheless, at the hearing the contractor faces an uphill battle: The contractor will be accused of violating workmanship standards, the ROC’s investigator will offer evidence substantiating the alleged violation, and the ALJ will likely view the investor’s testimony as credible.

It is not
Continue Reading ROC hearings and Arizona's "new trial" statute: two years later, the impact for contractors

In its September 2023 issue,

Phoenix

magazine listed Lang & Klain attorneys

Kent Lang

,

Bill Klain

,

Mike Thal

Jamie Hanson

and

Rick Friedlander

among its “Top Lawyer” selectees for 2023.

The magazine made its selections from voting conducted among Phoenix-area attorneys.
Continue Reading Phoenix magazine Top Lawyer list includes five Lang & Klain attorneys

In its September 2023 issue,

Phoenix

magazine listed Lang Thal King & Hanson attorneys

Kent Lang

,

Mike Thal

Jamie Hanson

,

Erika Johnsen

(Rising Star) and

Rick Friedlander

among its “Top Lawyer” selectees for 2023.

The magazine made its selections from voting conducted among Phoenix-area attorneys.
Continue Reading Phoenix magazine Top Lawyer list includes five Lang Thal King & Hanson attorneys

In an effort to reduce heat-related illnesses and injuries for workers, the State of Arizona is stepping up the rate of workplace inspections for employers in high-exposure industries.

On July 17, 2023, the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH)

announced

the launch of a “

state emphasis program

” (SEP) focused on “high heat” industries such as construction and agriculture. One provision of the SEP calls for inspections on any day that the National Weather Service has announced a heat warning or advisory for the local area.

Arizona employers in any industry that involves outdoor work (or work
Continue Reading ADOSH inspection program focuses on heat-related illness, injury

A new federal law requires many employers to make reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of pregnant employees.

Reasonable Accommodations.

The PWFA requires covered employers to provide to pregnant employees “reasonable accommodations,” which the

EEOC broadly describes

as “changes to the work environment or the way things are usually done at work.” Example include:

  • allowing more frequent breaks;

  • modifying work schedules;

  • providing seating;

  • allowing temporary transfers to less physically demanding positions;

  • modifying workplace policies regarding food or drink consumption; and

  • providing or modifying necessary equipment.

Your company may be excused from providing an accommodation if doing so would impose an
Continue Reading Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What employers should know

Despite last week’s news that the state is pausing the approval of future Phoenix-area single-family development that over-relies on groundwater, don’t expect residential construction to dry up in your lifetime.

By

Kent Lang

and

Mike Thal

On June 1, Governor Katie Hobbs released the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) updated study of the

Phoenix area’s groundwater conditions

. The study projects that, 100 years from now, the demand for groundwater in the region will have fallen short of supply by about 4% (or 4.86 million acre-feet).

That is a significant projection, because Arizona’s groundwater laws bar the DWR from
Continue Reading Groundwater restrictions: The sky is not falling, and residential contractors can stay the course

Legal doctrines called “piercing the corporate veil” and “alter ego” allow liability to reach individuals and entities outside a corporation or LLC. Attention to a few important details can help keep you protected..

Alter ego and veil piercing problems can arise when the interests of the entity and its owner(s) are so unified that they are essentially indistinguishable from each other.

The applicability of this legal theory will always depend on the facts of a case, but personal liability can be imposed if another party can prove that:

  • there was a “unity of control” between the corporation/LLC and another individual


Continue Reading LLCs and Corporations: How to preserve your liability protection