Get the Most Out of Retirement: Checklist for Happiness, Health, Purpose and Financial Security

Get the Most Out of RetirementThe American Bar Association and AARP have partnered to bring you the book Get the Most Out of Retirement: Checklist for Happiness, Health, Purpose and Financial Security. As our population continues to age, more Americans are retiring.  These Americans will need help with all the aspects of retirement.  This book provides an easy step-by-step approach to making decisions that are tailored for this growing segment of the populace.

Click here to order.

Whether you’re planning for or already living in retirement, there’s a lot that goes into making the most of every day. From crafting a budget and managing your money to last a lifetime to simplifying your life so you can really focus on what you want to do next, Get the Most Out of Retirement walks you through the process.

You’ll get step-by-step, practical tips to

  • Nurture new and old relationships
  • Find meaning through volunteer and work opportunities
  • Take classes and pursue hobbies
  • Decide where to live
  • Retire abroad
  • Get organized and clean out the clutter
  • Stay within your budget
  • Simplify the legal paperwork
  • Live healthfully
  • And more!

Our generation has decades of [bonus] years ahead that our parents didn’t have. This is the one book you’ll need not just to manage the business of life wisely but to make your retirement rich with health, happiness, and meaning.

 

Muslim employee who was allegedly told to remove that “rag” from her head gets new day in court

A federal appellate court ruled yesterday that a Muslim employee of Astoria Bank who was allegedly subjected to a “steady barrage” of shameful racist and anti-Muslim statements should be allowed to present her hostile work environment claim to a jury.  Ahmed v Astoria Bank, No. 16-1389 (2d. Cir. May 9, 2017).

Among other things, a senior supervisor reportedly told the employee (Ahmed) to remove her hijab (a headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women), which the supervisor referred to as a “rag.”

What is a “hostile work environment”?

To prove a hostile work environment claim, an employee must show that the underlying acts were severe or pervasive.  A single act of severe harassment, such as a sexual assault, is actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  The acts, however, must be based the employee’s protected characteristic (for example, gender, race, national origin, religion, disability).

Petty slights and generally rude behavior will not rise to the level of an unlawful hostile work environment.

To determine whether harassment violates Title VII, courts consider the following factors:

  • the frequency of the discriminatory conduct;
  • its severity;
  • whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and
  • whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance.

The employer may automatically be liable if a supervisor harasses an employee that causes an adverse action like termination, lost wages, or a suspension.

If a supervisor creates a hostile work environment for an employee, then the employer will escape liability only if it can prove:

  • it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior; and
  • the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities offered by the employer

If a non-supervisory employee harasses another employee, then the employer will be liable for the harassment if the employer knew, or should have known, about the hostile work environment and failed to promptly correct it.

Evidence supporting Ahmed’s hostile work environment claim

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Ahmed v. Astoria Bank overruled the District Court’s ruling that Ahmed had not produced sufficient evidence to establish a hostile work environment.  The evidence in this case was “right on the knife’s edge of either granting [summary judgment] or allowing [the case] to go to the jury[,]” according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  It nonetheless found that the following alleged conduct by Ahmed’s supervisor was “severe or pervasive” enough for a jury to conclude that an “abusive working environment” existed:

  • “constantly” telling Ahmed to remove her hijab, which he referred to as a “rag,”
  • demeaning Ahmed’s race, ethnicity, and religion “[o]n several occasions,” and
  • making a comment during Ahmed’s interview on September 11, 2013 that Ahmed and two other Muslim employees were “suspicious” and that he was thankful he was “in the other side of the building in case you guys do anything.”

The case will now return to the federal district court for a jury trial on the hostile work environment claim.

Remedies available in hostile work environment claims

A variety of potential remedies will be available under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act if you win your hostile work environment case.

Assuming that your case is an individual, Title VII case against a private company, then a court may award you any combination of the following remedies:Religious Dress UK WorkplaceCompensatory damages, including emotional distress damages, as well as out of pocket expenses for job searches, medical expenses, etc.;

  • Back pay;
  • Punitive damages; and/or
  • Attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and litigation costs

Other remedies may be available in hostile work environment cases against the federal, state, or local government, as well as  cases under different anti-discrimination laws.

Company Awarded Damages After Former Employee Hacks Its Systems and Hijacks Its Website

A company can recover damages from its former employee in connection with his hacking into its payroll system to inflate his pay, accessing its proprietary files without authorization and hijacking its website, a federal court ruled. Tyan, Inc. v. Yovan Garcia, Case No. CV 15-05443- MWF (JPRx) (C.D. Cali. May 2, 2017).

data security privacy FCC cybersecurityThe Defendant worked as a patrol officer for a security company. The company noticed that its payroll system indicated that the Defendant was working substantial overtime hours that were inconsistent with his scheduled hours. Upon further investigation, the company learned that that the Defendant accessed the payroll system without authorization from the laptop in his patrol car. When the company confronted him, the Defendant claimed a competitor hacked the payroll system as a means to pay him to keep quiet about his discovery that the competitor had taken confidential information from the company. A few months later, shortly after the Defendant left the company, the company’s computer system was hacked and its website was hijacked. The company later filed suit against the Defendant alleging he was responsible for the hack and the hijacking.

Following a bench trial, the court concluded the Defendant had used an administrative password the company had not given him to inflate his hours in its payroll system. The court also found the Defendant hijacked the company’s website and posted an unflattering image of the company’s owner on the website. In addition, the court found the Defendant engaged in a conspiracy to steal confidential files from the company’s computer system by accessing it remotely without authorization and destroyed some of the company’s computer files and servers.

The court concluded that the aim of the conspiracy in which the Defendant was engaged was twofold: first, to damage his former employer in an effort to reduce its competitive advantage; and second, to obtain access to those files that gave his former employer its business advantage, and use them to solicit its clients on behalf of a company he started. The court also found that by accessing the company’s protected network to artificially inflate his hours and by participating in the conspiracy to hack the company’s systems, the Defendant was liable for violations of the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, and the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

As a result of Defendant’s misconduct, the court awarded the company $318,661.70 in actual damages, including damages for the inflated wages the company paid the Defendant, the cost of consultant services to repair the damage from the hack, increased payroll costs for time spent by employees rebuilding records and databases destroyed in the hack, the resale value of the company’s proprietary files, and lost profits caused by the hack. The court declined to award punitive damages under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, but left open the possibility that the Plaintiff may recover its attorneys’ fees at a later date.

Take Away

Companies are reminded that malicious insiders, in particular disgruntled former employees, with access to areas of the system external hackers generally can’t easily access, often result in the most costly data breaches.

Steps should be taken to mitigate insider threats including:

  • Limiting remote access to company systems
  • Increased monitoring of company systems following a negative workplace event such as the departure of a disgruntled employee
  • Changing passwords and deactivating accounts during the termination process

What Was Your Prior Salary? No Longer Question You Can Ask When Hiring in New York City

Last month, the New York City Council approved legislation that bars employers from asking prospective hires to disclose their past salary. In passing the measure, New York City joins Massachusetts (see our post here), Puerto Rico and the city of Philadelphia in banning the question from job interviews and on applications. (Also see our post here regarding a recent Ninth Circuit decision addressing pay history.) The law, known as Introduction 1253-A, makes it illegal for any employer or employment agency in New York City to ask about an applicant’s salary history, including benefits, or search any publicly available records to obtain any such information. The measure, aimed at tackling pay inequity, is intended to stop perpetuating any discrimination that women or people of color may have faced in the past and to end wage disparities between men and women. A study released earlier this month by the National Partnership for Women & Families, a Washington, DC-based advocacy group, shows that women in New York State earn 89 cents for every dollar that men are paid. The pay gap is wider among minority women, the study found. African American women in New York earn 66 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men. Latina women earn 56 cents for every dollar.

Labor Law HiringThe measure only applies to new hires, not to internal job candidates applying for a transfer or promotion given that their salary information may already be on file. It also excludes public employees whose salaries are determined by collective bargaining agreements. There are certain exceptions built into the bill whereby employers can consider salary history, including the hiring of internal candidates for different positions, workers who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement or employees who voluntarily give their salary history during an interview.

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, who co-sponsored the bill last year, said the primary focus of the bill is to promote greater transparency in the hiring process. Although it doesn’t require employers to do so, James said the bill suggests to businesses that they post salaries for jobs instead of relying on workers’ past salary.

The City’s Commission on Human Rights will investigate and enforce the measure, imposing a civil penalty of no more than $125 for an unintentional violation or up to $250,000 for an intentional malicious violation. Those figures are in line with other forms of discrimination — including race, disability and sexual orientation bias — for which the commission issues fines.

Fatima Goss Graves, president-elect of the National Women’s Law Center, said in an email that the measure “stands to transform the way that companies operate around the country,” she said. “So many companies operate in multiple jurisdictions. If a company changes its practices in New York, it is likely to also make changes around the country.” I think what we’ll see is companies that do business in New York City just eliminate that from their applications entirely,” she said. “This will have wide-ranging influence.” Meanwhile, nearly 20 states, the District of Columbia and two cities (San Francisco and Pittsburgh) have introduced legislation that includes a provision against salary history information, according to data from the NWLC.

The new legislation is expected to go into effect later this year, or 180 days after Mayor de Blasio signs the bill.  Employers in New York City need to review their applications and standard job questions to ensure they remove any questions about past salaries.

Proceed with Caution: Pay Differential Based on Prior Salary Can Be Lawful

pay differentialEqual Pay litigation continues to cause angst for employers doing business in California. In addition to the federal Equal Pay Act, employers operating in California must comply with laws requiring equal pay for men and women for substantially similar work unless a statutory defense applies. The landscape of the equal pay protections is ever-changing, having been recently expanded in California to include not only sex but also race and ethnicity. Additionally, the new amendments to the California Fair Pay Act preclude employers from using prior salary as the sole justification for a pay differential. State and local jurisdictions are also considering and passing more legislation prohibiting prospective employers from even asking applicants about salary history as a way to minimize historical pay disparities.

Despite legislative efforts to curb inquiries into salary history, employers may be feeling more confident after a recent win in Rizo v. Yovino, where the Ninth Circuit confirmed that prior salary can be a “factor other than sex” under the Equal Pay Act for pay differences, provided that the employer shows that prior salary “effectuate[s] some business policy” and the employer uses prior salary “reasonably in light of [its] stated purposes as well as other practices.” However, the employer has the burden of proof on this defense. They also must exercise caution on whether they can inquire about prospective or current employees’ prior salaries depending on the application of local and/or state laws that preclude such an examination. And under California’s amended Fair Pay Act, relying on prior salary history alone to justify a pay differential is prohibited.

In Rizo v. Yovino, a female math consultant for a school district sued the superintendent, claiming a violation of the Equal Pay Act because she was paid less than the other math consultants in the School District, all of whom were male. The superintendent argued that the School District’s pay schedule was based on the previous salaries of the employees, and the difference in pay between Rizo and her male counterparts was based on a factor other than sex. The District Court denied the superintendent’s Motion for Summary Judgment and concluded that “when an employer bases a pay structure ‘exclusively on prior wages,’ any resulting pay differential between men and women is not based on any other factor other than sex.”

On appeal, the Ninth Circuit found that the superintendent offered four business reasons for using a standard pay structure that was based primarily on salary history. Indeed, the superintendent contended the policy to use prior salary (1) was objective; (2) encouraged candidates to seek employment with the County because they would receive a 5% pay increase over current salary; (3) prevented favoritism and ensured consistency in application; and (4) was a judicious use of taxpayer dollars. Upon remand, the superintendent would have the burden of proving the business reasons articulated and that the use of prior salary was reasonable.

Despite this recent ruling in Rizo v. Yovino, employers doing business in California should continue to be vigilant in their compensation practices to ensure that they are not paying employees differently based on sex, race, or ethnicity, or basing the new compensation solely on prior salary. Keeping up to date on the hot issue of whether and how employers can ask about and use prior salary information is critical to compliance.

ARTICLE BY Anne Cherry Barnett & Michele Haydel Gehrke of Polsinelli PC

Trade Secret Misappropriation: What To Do When You Hire A Thief

trade secret misappropriationEmployers victimized by trade secret misappropriation appropriately express righteous outrage, both at the offending ex-employee and sometimes at the new employer. However, on another day the roles can reverse: That same employer may unwittingly — or worse, intentionally — have hired someone who has stolen trade secrets or confidential information. Failure to take appropriate precautions or implement sufficient remedial measures can expose the hiring employer to a variety of civil, and even potentially criminal, claims. Burying your head in the sand is not a winning strategy, especially given how easy technology has made it to copy and take confidential information.

The following tips can eliminate or minimize this risk and/or mitigate the consequences of having hired an individual who has misappropriated trade secrets. Prospective prevention steps include:

  • asking all potential hires if they are subject to a non-compete or restrictive covenant that could impact their duties in the proposed position, and potentially restructuring their job duties or whom they interact with, depending upon the circumstances;

  • reminding new hires, preferably in writing, that they are not to take, disclose, or use another company’s confidential and proprietary information — this should occur before they leave their current employer and before they start with you; and

  • educating employees, and especially hiring managers, on the company’s policy to respect the trade secrets rights of others.

What if despite these preventative measures, you discover that a new hire, who is now on your payroll, has taken the confidential information of a prior employer? The following steps can help mitigate the consequences to your company in such a circumstance.

  • Act immediately to preclude the use or disclosure of the information, including the quarantining of such information. Work with your information technology department or outside consultants to ensure that the steps you take are thorough and effective.

  • Investigate and assess what happened, the sensitivity of the information taken, and the culpability of the employee and others, especially when the matter involves a high-level employee, and consider retaining an attorney to conduct the investigation, to foster independence and obtain the benefits of attorney-client privilege.

  • Discipline or terminate the offending employee, depending on the circumstances.

  • Generally cooperate with the previous employer when confronted. Such cooperation could include anything from information sharing to a computer forensic review and agreed-upon deletion; this cooperation must be carefully managed to protect your trade secrets and bring closure to the situation.

All of this can be tremendously complex, nuanced, and important. Therefore, carefully consider each action and involve a multidisciplinary team, including Management, Human Resources, Information Technology and, Legal.

© 2017 Foley & Lardner LLP

IRS Delays Notice Requirements for Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Accounts

Small Employer Health Reimbursement AccountsThe 21st Century Cures Act (“Cures Act”), signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2016, included a provision that exempts qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (“QSEHRAs”) from the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA’s”) group health plan rules. On February 27, 2017, the IRS extended the time for plan sponsors to provide the required QSEHRA notice to employees. This Update describes the general rules for QSEHRAs under the Cures Act, as well as the extension recently granted by the IRS.

Background – Health Reimbursement Accounts Under the ACA

A health reimbursement arrangement (“HRA”) typically consists of an arrangement under which an employer reimburses medical expenses (whether in the form of direct payments or reimbursements for premiums or other medical costs) up to a certain amount. Under the ACA, employers are generally prohibited from establishing an HRA unless it is “integrated” with (that is, considered part of) the employer’s ACA-compliant group health plan. This is because an HRA, standing alone, is a group health plan that will not satisfy several ACA requirements, such as the prohibition on annual or lifetime benefit limits. The IRS has also stated that a non-integrated HRA violates the ACA regardless of whether reimbursements or direct payments are treated as pre-tax or after-tax. An employer that offers a non-compliant HRA is subject to an excise tax under Section 4980D of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) of $100 for each day that it offered the non-compliant HRA.

For more information about HRAs under the ACA, including types of HRA arrangements that do not violate the ACA, see our June 11, 2015 Compensation & Benefits Legal Update.

HRAs for Qualified Small Employers Under the Cures Act

Under the Cures Act, a QSEHRA established by an eligible employer is not considered a group health plan for purposes of the ACA. As a result, the QSEHRA does not need to comply with the ACA’s market reforms, and an eligible employer that establishes a QSEHRA is not subject to the Code Section 4980D excise tax. To be an eligible employer, a company must have fewer than the equivalent of 50 full-time employees and must not offer a group health plan to any of its employees.

A QSEHRA may pay and/or reimburse for medical care expenses, as defined in Code Section 213(d), including premium payments for individual health insurance policies covering the employee or enrolled family members, regardless of whether the policies are purchased through a broker or through a health insurance exchange. In addition, a QSEHRA must meet the following requirements:

  1. It must be provided on the same terms to all eligible employees of the eligible employer;

  2. It must be funded solely by the employer (i.e., no salary reduction contributions);

  3. It must require employees to provide proof of coverage before the payment or reimbursement of benefits; and

  4. It must limit the amount of payments and reimbursements for any year to no more than $4,950 for single coverage or $10,000 for family coverage (prorated for partial-year coverage).

If an eligible employee enrolls in a health plan that qualifies as minimum essential coverage for the year, the QSEHRA benefit will not count as taxable income. Otherwise, the amount will count as taxable income. The employer must report the total amount of the QSEHRA benefit on each employee’s Form W-2, regardless of whether the amount is taxable.

QSEHRA Notice Requirement

An employer that offers a QSEHRA must issue a specific written notice to all eligible employees. The notice must describe the benefits including the maximum annual benefit, state that the employee should disclose the amount of the QSEHRA benefit when purchasing coverage through a health insurance exchange and that the QSEHRA benefit will offset the amount of any premium tax credit, and state that if the employee is not enrolled in minimum essential coverage he or she may be subject to the individual mandate penalty under the ACA and that any reimbursements from the QSEHRA may be taxable income.

The QSEHRA notice must be provided no later than 90 days before the beginning of the QSEHRA plan year (or, if the employee becomes eligible during the QSEHRA plan year, by the date the employee becomes eligible to participate). However, an eligible employer that provides a QSEHRA for a year beginning in 2017 will not be treated as failing to timely furnish the initial written notice if the notice is furnished to its eligible employees no later than 90 days after the enactment of the Cures Act, which was March 13, 2017. An employer that fails to provide the required notice will be subject to penalties of $50 per employee for each failure, capped at $2,500 for all such failures during a calendar year.

Extension of QSEHRA Notice Requirement

On February 27, 2017, the IRS issued Notice 2017-20, in which it recognized that some eligible employers may find it difficult to comply with the QSEHRA notice requirement absent additional guidance concerning the contents of the notice. Therefore, the IRS provided that an eligible employer that provides a QSEHRA to its eligible employees for a year beginning in 2017 is not required to furnish the initial written notice to those employees until after further guidance has been issued by the IRS. That further guidance will specify a deadline for providing the initial written notice that is no earlier than 90 days following the issuance of that guidance. Employers may provide QSEHRA notice to their eligible employees before such further guidance, and may rely upon a reasonable good faith interpretation of the Cures Act to determine the contents of the notice.

©2017 von Briesen & Roper, s.c

Challenges and Priorities for the New Secretary of Labor

secretary of labor alexander acostaAlex Acosta was confirmed by the Senate to be the next Secretary of Labor.  He now takes responsibility for several high-profile issues with critical implications for government contractors.

As we have previously written, the Labor Department was an exceptionally active regulator from 2013 through the end of the Obama Administration.  Although few of us expect that pace to continue, Secretary Acosta will have to balance two competing pressures.  On one hand, the President has already signed a law repealing one of the Labor Department’s most controversial regulations (the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule) and directed agencies to review current regulations with a critical eye.  On the other hand, Acosta will be leading a department charged with enforcing the laws that protect or favor workers’ rights, which sometimes compete with the priorities of their employers.

These potentially opposing viewpoints were on display during Acosta’s confirmation hearing where he was pressed repeatedly by Senators to discuss his views on various regulations.  Asked by Senator Roberts to give his “overall philosophy on regulation,” Acosta emphasized the need to eliminate regulations “that are not serving a useful purpose,” and the need to enable small businesses to thrive.

Some uncertainty remains with respect to two specific cases that government contractors are watching closely.  First, the regulations governing paid sick leave were not raised during Acosta’s confirmation hearing, and Acosta has not publicly opined on them.  They were issued late in President Obama’s second term, and therefore fell within the window of the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”), but the level of chatter about repealing those regulations has lately been quite low.

Second, the Department is currently litigating proposed changes to overtime pay rules.  A district court held last year that the Department acted without authorization by doubling the salary threshold for defining executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees (so-called “white collar” employees) from approximately $24,000 to $47,000.  Acosta demurred when Senators asked for his opinion on the merits of the case.  He acknowledged, however, that the large increase was partially a result of the long delay in adjusting the salary threshold, which had not been changed since 2004.  Adjusting for cost of living rises, Acosta suggested, would result in a revised threshold closer to $33,000.  He declined to say whether the Labor Department might change its position in the litigation in the Fifth Circuit, where briefing is scheduled to be complete in at the end of June, or withdraw the rule and propose an alternative.

On a positive note, Acosta expressed support for the practice of publishing detailed “opinion letters” from the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.  This practice has been halted since 2009.  This type of guidance, although not binding on a court, could provide helpful clarity to employers with contracts covered by the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act.

Get the Most Out of Retirement: Checklist for Happiness, Health, Purpose and Financial Security

Get the Most Out of RetirementThe American Bar Association and AARP have partnered to bring you Get the Most Out of Retirement: Checklist for Happiness, Health, Purpose and Financial Security. As our population continues to age, more Americans are retiring.  These Americans will need help with all the aspects of retirement.  This book provides an easy step-by-step approach to making decisions that are tailored for this growing segment of the populace.

Click here to order.

Whether you’re planning for or already living in retirement, there’s a lot that goes into making the most of every day. From crafting a budget and managing your money to last a lifetime to simplifying your life so you can really focus on what you want to do next, Get the Most Out of Retirement walks you through the process.

You’ll get step-by-step, practical tips to

  • Nurture new and old relationships
  • Find meaning through volunteer and work opportunities
  • Take classes and pursue hobbies
  • Decide where to live
  • Retire abroad
  • Get organized and clean out the clutter
  • Stay within your budget
  • Simplify the legal paperwork
  • Live healthfully
  • And more!

Our generation has decades of [bonus] years ahead that our parents didn’t have. This is the one book you’ll need not just to manage the business of life wisely but to make your retirement rich with health, happiness, and meaning.

 

Navigating Amazon: “On-Demand” Worker and World of Ultra Fast Delivery

amazon on demand workerOn March 22, 2017, Amazon unveiled its Prime Now” one-hour delivery service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which brought the total number of cities where the service is available to over thirty. The Prime Now service provides the speed and convenience that many online consumers now expect. In meeting the growing consumer demand for speed and convenience, Amazon has adopted the “on-demand” workforce model similar to the one used by Uber Technologies and Lyft. The on-demand workforce concept is still somewhat in its infancy and is certainly not without its faults. It is (and will continue to be) the focus of increased regulatory scrutiny and a platform for potential suits from workers who may feel they are being exploited.

Labor Laws and the “On Demand Worker”

Amazon originally relied on third-party companies to handle its ultra-fast delivery service but began hiring “on-demand” drivers directly through its Amazon Flex program in September of 2016. There are a number of potential advantages of the “on-demand” workforce. For example, it helps the company reduce labor costs by classifying the drivers as independent contractors thereby providing flexible work arrangements and allowing the company to reduce its employment costs through opting out of local minimum wage and overtime laws. Using an on-demand workforce also allows the company to adjust the size of its workforce based on demand. However, the model also carries many risks. Namely, the risk of lawsuits from workers who claim worker’s compensation, unemployment benefits or other employee benefits. The relationship could also be subject to scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service or state taxing authorities. These are risks that retailers will need to carefully analyze and consider before implementing the on-demand workforce concept.

The Drones Are Coming

One possible solution to the workforce issues that has garnered mass media attention is Amazon’s stated goal of using drones to deliver its products and packages in a half hour or less. The timetable for drone implementation has not been set but the use of drones purport to solve many of the labor law issues that continue to challenge the “on-demand” workforce model. However, the use of drones does require the review and analysis of myriad legal and regulatory issues. The legal issues requiring consideration include compliance with any applicable Federal Aviation Administration regulations which have gone into effect regarding drones. Some of these regulations appear to limit some of the potential to scale the use of drones. Retailers utilizing drones will also need to consider the labyrinth of local and state law and regulations that may be adopted.

As a leader in the world of hyper fast delivery, Amazon has already tested its competitors’ ability to adapt and so far Amazon has outperformed its competition in this space. The world of traditional brick and mortar will need to keep pace by more efficiently managing their retail operations and discovering innovative ways to deliver their products to assure customer satisfaction. To accomplish this, there are many leasing, distribution and economic factors which need to be properly considered and documented,

©2017 von Briesen & Roper, s.c.