The Latest Nexus Phone May Be Coming In November

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• The Latest Nexus Phone May Be Coming In November
• Best Practices for Managing Employee Departures
• New MacBook Pros Feature Price Cuts But Improved Features
• Employment Litigation: Who is Your Enemy?
• Salesforce’s Task App Do Is Done
• What the Strike Down of the Amazon Tax Law Means for Illinois Affiliates

The Latest Nexus Phone May Be Coming In November Posted: 01 Nov 2013 02:00 AM PDT For Android users, Google’s latest new Nexus smartphone may be introduced by November. That is, if well-known tech tipster @evleaks can be believed. The often-reliable Twitter channel recently posted images of what appear to be a two-tone black and white Nexus 5 (pictured below), the successor to the Nexus 4 Android phone. Previously, @evleaks had also posted a black version (pictured above) of the device. However, details are very sketchy. In white. 11/1. pic.twitter.com/5SSmtTGUg7 — @evleaks (@evleaks) October 27, 2013   New Nexus 5 Could be Priced at $349 For example, the second @evleaks tweet mentions November 1 but not whether this might be a release date or the date the new phone is officially unveiled or both. Earlier this month, in what feels like an orchestrated leak, Google leaked images and a $349 retail price for the new phone in an apparent glitch on its Google Play website. Images of the phone were even leaked in a press shot apparently intended for Canadian carrier Telus, reports 9to5 Google. There’s even a leaked video of the new device below: If the $349 price tag is true, that would make the device more expensive than he current Nexus 4. Back in August, Google knocked $100 off the price of the device. So the 8GB model of the older phone is now priced at $199 and the 16GB model at $249. However, some leaked benchmarks on the new phone also suggest impressive graphics performance. In fact, they may compare with the iPhone 5s, some observers say. Image: evleaks The post The Latest Nexus Phone May Be Coming In November appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Best Practices for Managing Employee Departures Posted: 31 Oct 2013 04:00 PM PDT As the job market improves, job options for workers are increasing and so is employee turnover. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average tenure of the American worker is 4.6 years. For a Millennial worker born between 1977 and 1992, the wanderlust comes even sooner. Millennials move on an average of every 3.2 years. Employee turnover is a trend that shows no sign of stopping, making it increasingly important for employers to offer competitive pay and benefits to their staff. For those that do jump ship, it's critical for employers to ensure they're taking the correct steps manage employee departures. Changing jobs is a lengthy process for both employees and employers, which is why it's crucial for companies to have a formal process in place. Whether employees leave involuntarily or of their own volition, HR managers should carefully follow exit procedures with employee departures. There are five steps you should consider when you and your employees split ways. 5 Steps to Successfully Manage Employee Departures 1. Exit Interviews As an employer, the benefit to exit interviews for you is hearing a realistic take on what workers think about your company, management and the host of other items that come with a job. Since departing employees are more likely to be open and honest about any problems they might have with the organization, you can take their feedback and apply it as necessary moving forward. Use exit interviews to gather important information about whether salaries and benefits are up to par with competitors, as well as to improve culture, processes, management and development programs. 2. Timing of Final Paychecks Most states have a timeline for when employers need to issue final paychecks to departing employees. Violating these regulations could lead to fines, penalties and interest payments. Make sure you're aware of the law in your state. FindLaw is a website for small business owners with a list of final paycheck requirements by state. 3. What's Included in Final Paychecks Each state has its own law regarding what has to be included in final paychecks. While you may be aware of requirements for hours worked and potential severance pay, make sure you know your state's policy about compensating for unused sick or vacation time. 4. Health Insurance Benefits When an employee covered under a company's health plan leaves to take another job, he or she is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. If new group health insurance coverage is available, either at the worker's new job or through his or her spouse's employer-sponsored plan, the departing worker must request enrollment in the new plan within 30 days. To ensure that pre-existing conditions are covered under the new plan, the worker's former employer is required to provide a certificate documenting previous continuous coverage. COBRA Workers who are laid off, quit or retire from companies with 20 or more employees, and who participated in their employers' group health plans, may qualify to continue coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). Employers must provide these departing workers with written notice explaining their rights under COBRA, and the workers have 60 days from the date of notice or the date coverage ended, whichever comes later, to sign up for COBRA coverage. COBRA coverage remains in effect for 18 months, or longer in some cases. Voluntary Benefits Some employers offer workers the opportunity to enroll in voluntary health care benefits in addition to major medical insurance plans. These voluntary benefits vary from company to company and may include disability insurance, long-term care insurance, accident and hospitalization insurance, cancer or specified-disease insurance and more. When meeting with exiting workers, employers should discuss their enrollment in these plans. In some cases, coverage terminates when employment ends. In other cases, coverage may be portable and remain in place as long as the worker continues to pay the policy premiums. 5. Retirement Benefits Although you might offer all of your employees some type of retirement benefits, everyone will need different information upon departure. A Millennial will need different details than say, a Boomer, who is a few years away from retirement. You should provide departing workers with copies of their retirement plan summary descriptions, as well as individual benefit statements. Explain if, when and how benefits can be collected, either at retirement age or in a lump-sum payment, as well as whether benefits can be rolled over to an IRA or to a new employers' plan. According to the 2013 Aflac WorkForces Report, 48 percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. While retention should remain a top priority for all employers, businesses should always have a plan in place for professionally handling employee departures and prepare to discuss these topics with them. It is in the best interests of both your company and your workers to avoid loose ends and ensure that everyone is on the same page. Employee Leaving Photo via Shutterstock The post Best Practices for Managing Employee Departures appeared first on Small Business Trends.

New MacBook Pros Feature Price Cuts But Improved Features Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT The new MacBook Pro with Retina display may not be the computer for every small business. But those needing high end features in the areas Apple excels, like graphics, should be ecstatic. The latest generation of the laptops announced recently offered some pleasant surprises. Most importantly, Apple has dropped the price of the new laptops from $2,199 to $1,999 for the 15-inch laptop and from $1,499 to $1,299 for the 13-inch computer. New MacBook Pro: System Improvements But in introducing the new MacBook Pro with Retina display Apple also announced some other improvements: Better processors (an Intel Core i7 for the 15-inch and a Core i5 for the 13 inch laptop). Improved Intel Iris graphics in both laptops. Increased battery life up to nine hours in the 13-inch and eight hours in the 15-inch. Here’s another look at the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display from The Verge: Retina Display Apple introduced Retina display models of both the MacBook Pro 13-inch and 15-inch laptops last year. For those in need of a refresher, basically, Apple defines Retina display as one in which the number of pixels is so great the human eye can no longer distinguish them individually. So the number of pixels varies with the size of the display. For the new MacBook Pro, Apple says that amounts to more than four million pixels for the 13-inch laptop and more than five million for the 15-inch producing images crisper than the printed page. Image: Apple The post New MacBook Pros Feature Price Cuts But Improved Features appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Employment Litigation: Who is Your Enemy? Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:00 AM PDT When a company is sued by an employee, the company naturally views the employee as the problem.  But in many cases, another equally dangerous enemy exists in employment litigation – disguised as the company defense lawyer.  The legal fees paid to defense firms can easily eclipse the amount paid to resolve the case. The legal profession as a whole has come under attack for being too expensive and inefficient.  Law school applications are declining and compensation paid to lawyers is falling as clients demand better value. Many sectors have adjusted to the new climate, but the major employment defense firms remain largely unchanged. Let’s explore. Your Legal Bill May Exceed the Cost of Settlement Most employment defense firms today are made up of hundreds of lawyers and support staff in offices located throughout the country at prestigious addresses.  The lawyers are well compensated and enjoy large private offices. Who pays for this massive overhead? You do when you hire one of them to defend you. These giant legacy operations thrive on inefficiency.  They have a financial incentive to protract disputes to generate fees. This is why these firms send two lawyers to take the plaintiff’s deposition.  And it is why these depositions last an entire day or more. That deposition, however, could easily be handled by a single lawyer in one or two hours. Multiple Seven Hour Depositions of Employees A recent wage and hour case brought by security guards serves as an example of billing abuse.  In that case, the security gaurds sued to recover overtime pay.  The issues were simple.  The job of a security guard is no secret. Yet the defense firm deposed each guard for an entire day.  Two lawyers for the defense were present at each deposition.  The settlement obtained by the guards mostly likely was less than the fee earned by the defense lawyers. The business owner would have been better off paying the guards early in the case. Slim Odds and Big Bills Summary judgment is another billing bonanza for defense firms.  In almost every case, these firms file motions and generate sizable bills.  The motions, however, are rarely effective and can easily be defeated simply by showing a material factual dispute. Material fact disputes exist in most employment cases. Affordable Alternatives and Better Service The large traditional defense firms are safe choices for large enterprises with deep pockets or insurance.  The problem with these firms is that they are not cost effective. Why pay $80,000 to solve a $40,000 problem? What Should You Do if Sued by an Employee? Here is a simple road map: Assess Legal Costs in Advance Conduct an early realstic assessment and try to resolve the matter before legal costs mount.  The employee and their firm are equally motivated to resolve the matter early and will do so at a discount. Minimalistic Defense If early resolution is not possible, take an aggressive, focused and minimalistic defense of the claim.  Do only what is abosultely necessary to win the case.  Most all cases are winnable. Seek Project Pricing Use a law firm that offers project pricing with upfront, agreed upon prices for each task. For example, the deposition of the plaintiff should take no more than two hours and cost $2000 or less.  Consider hiring a firm the also represents employees as they may have a more balanced approach. Mediate a Resolution Mediate a resolution if possible. Know that 95% of employment cases settle and your case will also. So keep your costs down but be prepared to win at trial if necessary. Court Photo via Shutterstock The post Employment Litigation: Who is Your Enemy? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Salesforce’s Task App Do Is Done Posted: 31 Oct 2013 08:00 AM PDT Salesforce.com will shutter its task app Do on January 31. The app is one of many that enables teams including small businesses to coordinate a wide variety of tasks via mobile device. Do allows teams to share task lists, organize projects, track contacts and attach files to task lists or other project information. In an announcement to its community recently, the Do Team explained: “Here at Do, our customers have been the driving force behind our mission to change the way people work together. While the last two years have been an incredible journey, we’ve made the tough decision to discontinue the Do service on January 31, 2014.” Do was the reincarnation of Manymoon, a project management application.  Salesforce.com has had a strategy of renaming products with common one-word domains.  Other Salesforce products include Desk.com, Work.com, Data.com and even Force.com.  Somehow, though, the name Do.com never caught on. Part of the problem Do faced is the sheer number of these tools already on the market.   There are literally dozens of task apps, collaboration tools and project management apps — with lots of crossover of functionality and purpose.  A few include Microsoft’s Yammer, Salesforce’s other management tool Chatter, and tools like Campfire and Asana.  We noted 20 project management tools back in 2010 and the list was by no means complete even then. In a field test of Do earlier this year, a CITE World author opined the app just wasn’t as intuitive as some other apps on the market. Do Prepares for Shutdown Members of the community have been told an exporting tool will be ready by November 15 for anyone interested in exporting their data out of their Do account. Current members can continue using the app until the end of January if they wish and may even add new members and to existing groups, projects and tasks. However, registration for new users has been closed. All data remaining on the Do servers will be deleted shortly after shutdown January 31, 2014.  In other words, get your project data from Do.com before January 31, 2014 or it may be lost forever. Image: Salesforce The post Salesforce’s Task App Do Is Done appeared first on Small Business Trends.

What the Strike Down of the Amazon Tax Law Means for Illinois Affiliates Posted: 31 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT How states should tax Internet sales is one of the hottest issues in state legislatures today, as cash-strapped states look to close perceived loopholes and put more money in their coffers. Over the past few years, several states such as California, New York, North Carolina, and Illinois, have passed laws requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by customers in the state, regardless of whether the merchant has a physical presence in the state or not. The laws particularly affect large online merchants like Amazon.com and Overstock.com, who previously had not charged sales taxes. On September 18, Illinois' Amazon tax law that required online businesses to collect state sales tax on purchases made by Illinois residents was invalidated in a 6-1 ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court. According to the Performance Marketing Association (PMA), the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit, there were approximately 9,000 Illinois-based affiliates in 2010, generating more than $744 million in advertising revenue. After the law took effect in 2011, out-of-state retailers, such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com, terminated their relationships with Illinois affiliates in order to avoid the new sales tax obligations. According to PMA, one-third of affiliates left Illinois because of the ruling, and the other two-thirds either downsized or went out of business altogether. Now, out-of-state merchants can reinstate their advertising agreements with Illinois-based affiliates. Once large merchants like Amazon and Overstock reinstate their relationships with Illinois companies, it will be time for any displaced affiliates to move back to Illinois. If you're thinking about starting an affiliate business in Illinois, below are the steps needed to make your business legit: 1. Incorporate Your Business Over the past two years, an Illinois-based company would need to incorporate in another state (such as Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming). However, now it's recommended for a small business affiliate ("small" is defined as under five shareholders) physically based in Illinois to incorporate or form an LLC in Illinois. That way, you don't have to deal with the added fees and paperwork associated with operating "out of state" (i.e. when you incorporate in Delaware, but have a physical presence in Illinois). 2. Establish a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) You'll need to obtain a tax ID number from the IRS for your new company. You can apply for your EIN online through the IRS site. 3. Open a Business Bank Account in Illinois Once you have your corporation/LLC established and have an EIN, you can set up a business bank account for your affiliate business, and begin to receive payments under your business name. 4. Get Any Necessary Local Business Licenses Don't forget to apply for any local business licenses from the city or county where you have established your new business.   If you're an existing Illinois-based affiliate who may have moved out of state after the 2011 law went into effect, you may want to think about moving your business back to Illinois. In this case, you will want to dissolve the corporation/LLC in the other state and then establish a new business in Illinois. Please consult with your CPA to figure out the best timing for this action in terms of tax implications. Fortunately, it can be relatively quick and painless to incorporate your new company online once you're ready to do so. If you aren't located in a state currently affected by the Amazon sales tax law, you should still keep a close eye on your state's legislative activity. Court Photo via Shutterstock The post What the Strike Down of the Amazon Tax Law Means for Illinois Affiliates appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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