LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Real Tips HR: Restaurants Stealing Tips From Waitstaff

Restaurant tips are often illegally withheld from waitstaff. Attorneys Andrew Lieb and Mordy Yankovich discuss employer's liability and exposure to wage and hour disputes plus best practices for restaurants to avoid being named in a class action with astronomical damages.




Friday, January 10, 2020

New Law: Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Extended to 1/1/2021

On December 20, 2019, Public Law No: 116-94 extended 26 USC 108(a)(1)(E) to 1/1/2021. 

According to the IRS, this law "allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualify for this relief."

Short sales, modifications with debt forgiveness, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure are now viable options for many more distressed homeowners for the remainder of 2020.

Thursday, January 09, 2020

Real Tips Real Estate: Closing Dates

A highly popular question in the transactional area of law. Does "on or about" or "on or before" mean on that date, around that date, within 30 days of that date? How can a buyer or seller plan for the closing date? Andrew Lieb, Esq explains what these terms mean and how to set expectations for buyers and sellers in this 3 minute clip.



Monday, January 06, 2020

New Law: Nuisance Call Act - RE Brokers Be Warned - Telemarketers Must Give a Warning to Avoid Heavy Fines

On December 6, 2019, S4777, the Nuisance Call Act, became law and telemarketers must now give specific information to customers starting on March 5, 2020, the effective date of the law, or face heavy fines.

Under the Nuisance Call Act, General Business Law section 399-z now requires that a "telemarketer or seller [] inform[s] the customer that he or she may request that his or her telephone number be added to the seller's entity specific do-not-call list" where the telemarketer must immediately end the call if the customer so elects.

This is serious - fines can be up to $11,000 per violation if you fail to give this information.

Real Estate Brokers must advise all of their associated Real Estate Salespersons immediately and train their teams. In fact, a defense to a fine includes that "the person has trained his or her personnel in the requirements of this section."

Get your training today at Lieb Compliance, LLC.

Thursday, January 02, 2020

2019 Year in Review: Andrew Lieb, Esq., Lieb at Law, P.C.