The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Rakestraw v General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. clarified whether a disability produced as a result of symptomatic aggravation of a pre-existing, non-work-related medical condition was compensable. The Supreme Court held the claimant must establish more than the aggravation of symptomatology from a pre-existing, non-work-related condition for that claim to be compensable based upon aggravation of that condition by work-related factors. However, […]

Recently, CMDA attorneys Ronald Acho and son James Acho successfully disposed of a case that garnered some local publicity. A police officer sued a local municipality for retaliatory discharge, when the municipal police department discharged the officer from his employment, based on performance. The officer had filed some inter-departmental complaints and felt that his termination was in retaliation by the police department for filing the complaints. Thankfully, we were able […]

With more and more workers relying on e-mail and other forms of electronic communication, there is a natural tendency to occasionally use the company e-mail for personal matters. In earlier issues of On Law, we summarized the employer’s right to view e-mails vs. the employee’s right of privacy. The rule has been: provided the employer provides the employee with notice that an employee’s e-mail at the office does not have […]

Recently, questions have been raised by community mental health facilities as to whether an electronic signature is given the same legal effect as a traditional, written signature. In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA). Two years later, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a draft of a proposed HIPAA security regulations. In part, the regulations addressed security obligations of “covered […]

For those of us who grew up in small-town America, most memories of childhood include happy hours spent outside, on the sidewalks of our neighborhoods. Even today those memories of the old neighborhood still speak to you of “home,” “safety,” and a carefree outlook on life. As a homeowner, however, one place of potential liability to consider is the sidewalk and parkway in front of your house. Local Law: the […]

Whether you are a small, medium or large sized business owner or human resources professional, working your way through the State of Michigan unemployment process can be daunting at best. The fact that the state recently shortened the name of its agency from the Michigan Employment Security Commission to the less unwieldy Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has done nothing to simplify the process of dealing with former employees who apply […]

Jim Acho, attorney for former Detroit Lions Ernie Clark, is pleased to announce that after several months of negotiating, Mr. Clark is the new spokesman for Health Alliance Plan (HAP). HAP is a non-profit health plan based in Detroit that provides health care coverage to 570,000 members. Mr. Clark followed up a Big 10 run at Michigan State with a career as a linebacker with the Detroit Lions from 1961-1968 […]

We are pleased to announce that attorney James R. Acho has been named 2013 dBusiness Top Lawyer in the Entertainment and Sports Field category. Mr. Acho focuses his practice primarily in the areas of labor and employment law, entertainment and sports law, commercial law and personal injury law. To select its Top Lawyers, DBusiness magazine polled more than 21,000 attorneys in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw and Livingston counties among 51 […]

As a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling to uphold the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), there will be some tax effects for workers and recipients of investment income. Beginning in 2013, an additional 0.9% in Medicare taxes are assessed on wages in excess of $200,000 for single filers, and $250,000 for married, filing jointly, or $125,000 each when married and filing separately. Further, […]

Firearms:  Open Carry is Legal in Michigan  Earlier this year Nicholas Looman walked into Aderdeen Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Michigan to vote wearing his holstered pistol on his hip.  The school officials contacted the police, and Mr. Looman was arrested for bringing a firearm into a school.  Later, William Forsythe, the Kent County Prosecutor, issued a statement that Mr. Looman had done nothing illegal because he possessed a valid […]