Newsflash: Pay Equity Law Goes Into Effect
By: Colin A. Walker
December 1, 2020
On January 1, 2021, Colorado’s new pay equity law will become effective. Here's what you need to know to prepare.
Intellectual Property
By: Colin A. Walker
November 17, 2020
C-Level executives are commonly involved in creating intellectual property for the businesses, such as marketing materials, trademarks, and R&D. If they do so while employed by the company, using the business’ resources, and the works related to the business of the company, the works are owned by the company.
I’ve been offered stock options. What should I do before I accept them?
By: Colin A. Walker and Ryan M. Tharp
November 10, 2020
Many companies use stock options or other types of equity incentives to incentivize key employees. Usually stock options are issued under a written plan and an option agreement that you will be asked to sign. Those documents contain important provisions that you need to understand before accepting the stock options.
Paid Family Leave Ballot Initiative Passes in Colorado
By: Colin A. Walker
November 4, 2020
“May you live in interesting times” goes the ancient Chinese curse (actually, it’s British) and we are certainly living in interesting times. While most of our attention is focused on the still undecided Presidential election, there were other important election developments that are confirmed.
Issuing Stock Options
By: Ryan M. Tharp and Colin A. Walker
October 27, 2020
Attracting and retaining key employees is one key to a company’s success. Equity incentives offer a way to incentivize high performance and reward loyalty.
Garden Leave
By: Colin A. Walker
October 20, 2020
Garden Leave, doesn’t that sound nice? A little historical color: in England, some employees would agree to a period of time just before the end of their employment during which they would be paid, but would not work.
Non-Compete/Non-Solicitation Agreements
By: Colin A. Walker
October 13, 2020
A common and important provision in many executive employment agreements is a non-compete agreement and/or a non-solicitation agreement (also known as restrictive covenants). In most states, there are limits on the enforceability of non-compete agreements.
Employment Agreements
By: Colin A. Walker
October 6, 2020
Most employees in the Unites States do not have written employment agreements and, in most cases, written employment agreements are unnecessary.
Newsflash: State Paid Leave Legislation
By: Colin A. Walker
September 29, 2020
From time-to-time, I am going to deviate from issues which relate specifically to C-Level Executives and discuss employment law issues which apply to all employees (C-Level Executives, after all, are employees and are subject to the laws which govern the rank and file). This is particularly important with new and emerging employment laws.
Independent Contractors
By: Colin A. Walker
September 22, 2020
A common strategy to try to manage costs of a new business is to retain workers as independent contractors (sometimes misleadingly called “1099 employees”), rather than as employees. However, not all workers can be retained as independent contractors.
Duty of Loyalty
By: Colin A. Walker
September 15, 2020
In most states, some employees—regardless of any contractual obligations—owe a duty of loyalty to the employer, which is similar to a fiduciary duty, but not identical.
Commissions and Non-Discretionary Bonuses
By: Colin A. Walker
September 15, 2020
Poorly written (and unwritten) commission agreements have spawned a plethora of litigation. Commissions should be carefully thought-out and set forth in a clearly written commission agreement signed by the company and the C-Level executive.