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Why should Oregon food consumers care about a California ballot measure?

8/30/2012

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Demand Honest Food Labels! Support Prop. 37
Transparency is the absolute heart and the strongest guardian of consumer protection -- the ability of a shopper to know the truth about what the seller is offering is critical to a just marketplace.

That's why I, an Oregon attorney, am writing about a California ballot measure, and urging you to support California's Proposition 37.  Prop. 37 is a simple change to require a trivially easy modification to food labels that won't cost a cent:  it simply requires that foods that have had their genetic codes re-engineered in laboratories disclose that right on the label, so that real people can make the choice about whether to support those technologies or to pass on them.
  So whether you have concerns about these technologies or whether you are totally comfortable with them and happy to have them, you should support Prop. 37, because all it does it require transparency.

What's astonishing and depressing is how many big companies with organic products are pouring money into the anti-labeling campaign in California (see poster above).  Those companies, shown on the left in red in the poster, are actively spending and working to keep consumers in the dark, and prevent transparency.  That's appalling.

As Oregonians, we know that California is a huge market, and that what happens there often spreads.  Well, when it's a good idea like making food labels honest and transparent, the sooner it spreads to Oregon the better.  And you can download a copy of the poster (below) to take it with you to the store, so you can be sure to support the companies on the right (in green), the ones who want you to be able to know when you're being sold genetically engineered food.


  Support Prop. 37!  

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A must-read for all nonprofit leaders

8/28/2012

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A good essay about the biggest risk in nonprofit leadership (pdf):

            Seeing but not really observing what's going on in the organization.

Nearly all of Behn's public management essays are good -- although supposedly aimed at the government sector, I can't think of a single non-governmental nonprofit that would not benefit greatly by having all its board and senior staff read and discuss one of his essays every month.  Or share them all and do a retreat where different board members summarize the ideas and discuss how they could be applied within their own organization.
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Imagine -- a law saying that long-term-care insurance companies have to treat you as if you were human in their eyes!  What a concept!

8/27/2012

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New Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Protections
By:  Oregon Insurance Division July 10, 2012 --

Oregonians who have long-term care insurance now have the right to have their claims paid promptly and to appeal an insurance company decision to deny benefits.

The changes are due to a 2011 law that became effective for people who buy new policies starting July 1, 2012. For those with existing policies, the law is effective when their policy renews, meaning it will be phased in over a year’s period.

“Consumers with long-term care insurance policies have not had the same protections as consumers with other health insurance claims, yet they are some of the most vulnerable Oregonians,” Oregon Insurance Commissioner Lou Savage said.

“Now, people with long-term care insurance or their representatives can more easily challenge claim denials or delays, which are the most typical complaints we receive,” Savage added.

Long-term care insurance covers people who are chronically ill in a variety of settings – at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home, for example. Typically, people become eligible for benefits if they can no longer perform certain daily activities such as eating, dressing, or bathing or if they have a mental impairment such as dementia.

Highlights of the law

  • Insurers must pay claims that are submitted with all the required information within 30 days of receiving the claim. If they fail to pay on time, they must pay the claim plus interest.

  • Consumers may appeal insurers’ decisions that they are ineligible for benefits. If an internal review by the company upholds the denial, consumers may request an external review. In this case, an independent review organization determines if the insurer made the correct decision. The insurer pays the costs of the independent review.

  • Insurers who deny a claim for benefits must notify consumers of their appeal rights and the deadlines.

Consumers with questions about long-term care insurance or their appeal rights may contact an insurance consumer advocate at 888-877-4894. Additionally, the Insurance Division of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services has general information about long-term care insurance and rates on its website at http://insurance.oregon.gov/consumer/long-term-care/long-term-care-info.html.

Rules establishing long-term care insurance appeals procedures and the requirement that insurers pay claims promptly can be found here: http://insurance.oregon.gov/rules/attachments/recently%20proposed/id03-2012_rule.pdf.

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Thinking of Co-signing a Student Loan?

8/26/2012

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Don't.  Really.  Just don't.  Here's just one story of thousands about what can happen if you ignore this advice.

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Summmmertime . . . and the scamming is easy . . .

8/21/2012

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Summertime is when people like to move. That's also when scam moving companies like to catch big fish.  Don't be one of them. 
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Another Crucial Reminder for Nonprofits:  Good Records Matter - a LOT

8/16/2012

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The time to verify your recordkeeping systems are in place and working well is BEFORE the crash.
The case below is a vital reminder for nonprofits of the value of keeping proper records about your organization:

Failure to keep accurate records about what employees do cost this small business almost $70,000 in higher worker's comp premiums.




The only differences between that business and most nonprofits are

   (1) that the business will definitely learn from the experience, and

   (2) that the business will have the resources to pay the higher assessment until the records are straightened out, if they aren't already.


If your nonprofit thinks keeping timely and accurate records is just something to aspire to, you and your group are probably at risk in any number of areas.  Remember, the prime duty of a board member for a nonprofit is to do what a reasonable and prudent person would do to oversee the affairs of the organization, which means paying attention, which requires timely and accurate records.

As a board member, you don't have to check every record yourself, but you have to assure yourself that there is a SYSTEM to make sure that the records are being kept, that there is a SYSTEM so that they are checked as much as necessary to give you confidence that they are accurate, and (most important) that there is a SYSTEM in place so that, if they aren't kept or are being kept poorly, you will quickly know it --- before you get the $70,000 bill.  

employment_law_-_why_you_must_keep_good_records_in_your_nonprofit_a145610.pdf
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Important reminder -- are your "independent contractors" really employees?

8/16/2012

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  I advise nonprofits as a key focus in my practice.  Like all small businesses, nonprofits struggle with payroll taxes, worker's comp, unemployment insurance, and sometimes the board decides, "hey, I've got an idea, let's just use independent contractors instead of employees." 

It's possible to do that, but you really have to work hard and take special care to do it right, or you can face penalties and interest on the not-quite-avoided payroll taxes.

Remember, authorities at every level (IRS, SAIF, Employment Dept.) have a very serious interest in making sure that only those people who are truly independent contractors get treated that way.  And don't think that the "contractor" wanting to be treated that way cuts any ice with anybody.  People have a funny way of having memory lapses in times of trouble -- such as when budget cuts force you to drop the contractor, who only then realizes that "independent contractors" can't claim unemployment, or when they fall down the stairs while working for you and only then learn that they don't have any worker's comp coverage (of course, not having worker's comp also might mean that they could have a right of action against your agency for personal injury). 

If you're only going to know one thing about this area of law it's this:  Anyone who does work for pay is an employee unless you establish otherwise, and the burden is on you, the employer to prove otherwise; in other words, if you are using an independent contractor in your nonprofit and someone decides that you have misclassified that person and that you should have been paying payroll taxes on their wages all along, it is you who has to prove them wrong.  (If you fight them to a tie on the issue, then you lose, because you failed to carry your burden.)

The opinion announced today in Oregon is a well-written, clear cut guide to the issue that anyone who is using independent contractors might want to review and discuss with an attorney versed in this area.
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Washington State Supreme Court rejects bogus arguments offered by MERS

8/16/2012

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foreclosure_defense_8-16-12_bain_v_mers_wa_state_supremes_great_decision.pdf
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The Washington Supreme Court today announced an important decision, finding --- as the Oregon Court of Appeals just did recently in the Niday case --- that the phony-baloney attempt to dodge recording fees known as MERS can't have it both ways and claim to be just an administrative convenience AND force people out of their homes.  Another blow for justice in the Northwest.
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Maybe the most awesome Fair Debt Collection Practices Act opinion EVER

8/3/2012

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maybe_the_most_awesome_fdcpa_opinion_ever_evon_v._law_office_of_sidney_mickell_9th_circ._8-12.pdf
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John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

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