Is Your Property Fairly Taxed?

Every year, Ohio counties assess a property’s real estate taxes based on the market value the county places upon the property. However, the county's assessed value does not always accurately reflect the property’s true market value.

Ohio law gives property owners the right to challenge the value the county has placed upon their property if they feel it is in excess of the true market value by filing a complaint against the property's value with the county auditor. That complaint must be submitted by March 31, 2016.

If you believe your property is not valued correctly, please contact our office to discuss whether it is in your best interest to file such a complaint, keeping in mind the deadline of March 31, 2016.

Snow Days and Your Business

Should your business pay employees if a blizzard prevents them from working?

From Employers Lawyers Blog:

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you don’t need to pay non-exempt employees for time not worked, meaning you don’t need to pay non-exempt employees for time missed due to weather-related reasons. This applies whether your business completely shuts down for inclement weather, or if it remains open and individual employees can’t report to work. 
... 
Exempt employees, on the other hand, can’t have their salaries reduced “for absences occasioned by the employer” so if your company closes due to bad weather for less than a full workweek, you must pay exempt employees their full salary for that week. 

Within these broad guidelines, it is advisable to tailor your weather-related policies to your unique business. For example, should nonexempt employees be paid if the business closes early? Can some employees work from home? Under what considerations will the business close? It is essential for your employee handbook to address these and other issues to provide clarity to employees and reduce the potential for misunderstanding or liability.