Friday, October 14, 2011

Jennings, Strouss & Salmon Expands Phoenix Office with the Addition of Callie N. Parkinson

PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 12, 2011) - Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, PLC, a leading Phoenix-based law firm, is pleased to announce that Callie N. Parkinson has joined the firm as a litigation associate in the Phoenix office.

"We are fortunate to have such an enthusiastic and accomplished person as Callie come on board," stated Frederick M. Cummings, Chair of the firm's Litigation department. "I anticipate a very bright future for her at the firm."

Parkinson will focus her practice in the areas of litigation, health care, and medical and professional liability defense.

"I am thrilled to join such a well-respected law firm and have the opportunity to work with the talented and experienced attorneys at Jennings Strouss," stated Parkinson. "I look forward to contributing to the firm, being involved in the business and legal communities, and building relationships with our clients to better assist with their needs."

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Parkinson served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Ann Scott Timmer, Chief Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals. She earned a J.D. from Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and a B.A. from Arizona State University. While in law school, Parkinson was a Pedrick Scholar, President of the Federalist Society and a member of the Sandra Day O'Connor Inns of Court. She also completed over 100 hours of pro bono work through the Juvenile Legal Assistance Program. She currently resides in Scottsdale.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

FASB Has Reissued its Accounting Standards Update

We previously advised our friends and clients about the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) decision to withdraw the requirement that an employer contributing to a multi-employer pension plan must include the employer's share of the plan's unfunded liability on its financial statement. FASB has now reissued its Accounting Standards Update (No. 2011-09). Although employers will not have to include a calculation of their share of a plan's unfunded liability, they will have to include funding information about multi-employer pension plans to which they are obligated to contribute. Employers should work with their counsel to determine how to obtain that information from the plans. The new rule applies to all nongovernmental employers contributing to multi-employer pension plans. It is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2011 for publicly held employers, and for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012 for non-publicly held employers. The Accounting Standards Update can be found here.

Each case a business or individual may face is unique and may require legal advice. If you would like additional information regarding the content of this article, please contact the author, Keith Overholt, or the Chair of our Labor and Employment Department, John Egbert.

NRLB Requires Employers to Post Notice Regarding Employee's Rights to Join a Union

Effective November 14, 2011 virtually all employers which are not in the agricultural, railway or airline business will be required to post a notice advising their employees of their right to be represented by a labor union. If 20% or more of the employees speak a foreign language, the notice must be in the foreign language. It will be an unfair labor practice to fail to post the notice. Although the National Association of Manufacturers has filed a lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia to contest the NLRB's authority to require the notice, the regulation currently remains in effect. The notice can be obtained here and can be posted as one 11x7 notice or two 8x11 pages.

Each case a business or individual may face is unique and may require legal advice. If you would like additional information regarding the content of this article, please contact the author, Keith Overholt, or the Chair of our Labor and Employment Department, John Egbert.