Idaho Law Blog

What Constitutes a Written Employment Contract?

Published on: October 30, 2016 | by Racine Olson

Written employment contracts come in all shapes, sizes and forms. Some even have the unambiguous words “Employment Contract” typed in bold words at the top of the first page. But not all do. 　Under Idaho law there is no magic form that in and of itself is the only form that an employment contract must be in. For this reason, sometimes an employment contract exists and no one even knows that it does. Let’s start with the easiest of all, the document that has the title “Employment Contract.” In Idaho this document is rare and elusive, but it does actually exist. In my experience it is most often found in the realm of professional work.

E-mails, letters and other miscellaneous written documents can also create an employment contract. This occurs in Idaho more often that you might think and usually occurs as the parties are simply discussing the creation of a new employment relationship. Nevertheless, if mutual promises and assent occur, a written employment contract may exist. Usually this type of an employment contract doesn’t provide much more than the start date, the responsibilities and the salary/wage. There typically isn’t any information on the term of the contract or how it can be terminated. When this is the case, the employer’s ability to discipline or terminate an employee is simply left up to the employer, which is the case when no employment contract exists.

The Importance of Having a Living Will

Published on: October 29, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

Although I’ve been an attorney for many years now, the first time I really came to understand the importance of having a valid Living Will was not through work. Rather, it occurred many years ago when a friend suffered a serious heart attack.

The paramedics came and took my friend away to be treated at a hospital. When we arrived to show our support to his wife and his family we learned that our friend had been placed on a life-support system which helped him to breathe and helped his heart to circulate blood through his body. Essentially, he was alive, but the doctors told us that there was no hope for recovery.

Keep Trick or Treaters Safe on Halloween

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

halloween

Halloween is all about fun and being scared for one night. Make sure the fun does not end with a frightening crash. Statistics indicate that children are more than twice more likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Unsafe conditions are created with sunset occurring prior to 7:00 p.m. and children being out on the streets as pedestrians to gather candy. The popular hours to trick-or-treat are between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

AAA Idaho suggests these basic Halloween safety tips:

Drive slower than posted speed limits. Children are excited and preoccupied with the activities of the night and forget about traffic and potential dangers. They may dart out into traffic. Young children lack the ability to judge the speed and distance needed for a car to stop.

Products liability

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Patrick N. George

All manufacturers have a legal responsibility to design, create, and sell products that are free of defects and safe for consumers to use. However, this does not always happen. Manufacturers sometimes overlook safety regulations or rush the manufacturing or testing process. At times they do not have qualified safety design people examining and testing the product. As a consequence, products that can cause consumers injury manage to find their way into the public purview.

Every consumer, has legal rights under product liability laws whenever you purchase a product. These laws ensure that manufacturers, wholesalers, and vendors are responsible for their product and any injuries that result from the proper use of the product. Product liability cases may relate to illness, injury, or death caused by improper label warnings, defective auto parts, dangerous toys, contaminated food, defective trailers, and more.

Residential Lease Agreements and Personal Guarantees

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

The issue of guarantees and/or co-signers on a lease agreement is related to the issue of who the parties to the lease agreement are. The person who owns the property and is renting the property is the landlord. The person who is renting the property is the tenant. Even though these are the basic parties to a lease agreement there are instances where there might be other parties involved as well. These additional parties include persons who guaranty and/or co-sign the lease agreement but who are not actually tenants renting the property. This happens often when you have a young tenant, such as a college student, who may be renting from a landlord for the first time.

A “‘[g]uaranty’ is an undertaking or promise on the part of a guarantor which is collateral to a primary or principal obligation and binds the guarantor to performance in the event of nonperformance of the principal obligor.” Industrial Inv. Corp. v. Rocca, 100 Idaho 228, 596 P.2d 100, appeal after remand, 102 Idaho 920, 643 P.2d 1090 (1979).

Death Without a Last Will and Testament

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Matthew P. Stucki

When people in the community discover that I am an attorney that practices in the area of estate planning, one of the first questions that they ask is what happens upon my death if I do not have a Last Will and Testament. In response, I inform them that if they die in Idaho, the Idaho legislature has promulgated statutes that provide for the distribution of one’s property upon death if there is not a valid Last Will and Testament.

These statutes can be found in Idaho Code, Title 15, Chapter 2. In essence, all community property of a deceased individual passes to the surviving spouse. (See, Idaho Code § 15-2-102). However, if there is not a surviving spouse, then the deceased person’s property passes according to the following priority:

Disciplining Employees for Off-Duty Misconduct

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney

Generally speaking, in Idaho, there are few statutory limitations for disciplining an employee for off-duty misconduct worth mentioning. The only one worth mentioning is contained in the Idaho Civil Service Act (See I.C. §§ 50-1601 et seq.)

Pursuant to the Civil Service Act, each city council that creates a civil service system has to adopt a civil service ordinance that describes the department or employees that will be subject to the Act. 　In most instances, civil service employees include police and firemen.

Which State Should I Set My Business Up In?

Published on: October 27, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Lane V. Erickson, attorney

I often have clients ask me which state they should set their business up in. More often this question is, which state should I incorporate in? Many people wanting to set up an LLC or corporation have heard or read on the internet that states like Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming can offer business benefits beyond what most states can offer. So where do you set up your business or corporation? My advice and counsel is that unless you own, or plan to own, a business that is large and doing business in many states, it is almost always best to set up you business in the place where you already live. There are 3 main reasons for doing this.

1. THE COSTS OF REGISTERING A BUSINESS

Executing a Valid Will – Part 4 Proper Execution

Published on: October 27, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Matthew P. Stucki

This is the fourth of four posts discussing the execution of a valid Last Will and Testament. The first three steps in executing a valid Last Will and Testament include testamentary intent, testamentary capacity, and voluntary creation of the Last Will and Testament free from fraud, duress, or undue influence. The fourth and final step in the execution of a valid Last Will and Testament requires that the Testator execute it under a specific ceremony per state law.

For example, in Idaho, a Testator’s Last Will and Testament must be signed by the Testator and by at least two witnesses who either witnessed the Testator signing or had the Testator acknowledge his or her signature to the witnesses. Both the Testator signatures and the witness’ signatures should be signed or acknowledged in front of a notary public. Once this ceremony is completed, the Testator has a valid Last Will and Testament.

2 Roll-Over Accidents in the News With Very Different Outcome

Published on: October 27, 2016 | by Racine Olson

click-it

Recent news reports of accidents are a reminder of the importance of seat belt use. A head-on crash happened on Tuesday evening, October 18, 2016 near Caldwell on U.S. Highway 20/26 between a 1997 Ford Taurus driven by Joseph Upchurch of Nampa and a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. The Ford crossed the center line while traveling eastbound on the state highway near the intersection of Farmway Road, and struck the Chevrolet driven by Jorge Ruiz of Nyssa, Oregon. The Ford rolled and came to a stop off the side of the road. The driver, Upchurch, who was wearing a seatbelt, was transported to a local medical center. The highway was blocked for almost 2 hours. The crash is still under investigation by the ISP.

Another accident which occurred on Saturday afternoon October 22, 2016 on Notus Road near Red Top Road was a single car crash with tragic results. A 65 year-old woman from Parma, Martha Booth, who was driving a 1998 Dodge pickup on Notus Road, went off the road onto the left shoulder, returned to the road and overcorrected, causing the pick-up to roll. A child who was a passenger in the pickup was ejected and died at the scene. Ms. Booth was transported to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center by air ambulance. Neither the driver nor the child was a wearing seat belt. The ISP investigated the crash scene for 3 ½ hours.

The Office of Highway Safety-ITD reports that seatbelts are estimated to be 50% effective in preventing serious and fatal injuries. 80% of Idahoans used their seat belts in 2014 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) statistics. A large number of the fatalities involving children indicate they were unbelted at the time of the crash.