It’s been 25 years since Glendale-based FutureLogic Inc. became a force in the thermal printing industry. What’s responsible for the company’s longevity? Technological innovation, according to Nick Micalizzi, FutureLogic’s vice president of sales and marketing. As its name suggests, thermal printing is a process by which heat is applied to specially treated paper to create images. “It’s a very economical technology and, from a standpoint of low maintenance, or, in some cases, no maintenance, it’s the best technology out there,” Micalizzi said. “There’s really no moving parts to it.” When it developed the first Ticket In, Ticket Out gaming printer, FutureLogic broke new ground. The printer eliminated the need for coins at casino slot machines, producing instead a bar-coded slip to be redeemed for cash or inserted into compatible slot machines. Micalizzi estimates that more than four billion tickets are printed annually across the globe using the machines. FutureLogic started out on a different path,electronic design consulting. In 1995, the company created its first custom printer for the medical device market. FutureLogic printers also helped usher in the supermarket coupon systems used to retain and reward shoppers. The company has also found a niche designing and manufacturing thermal printers for electronic ballots and gas pumps. “We deal in industries that are very highly regulated and require very special equipment,” Micalizzi said. Question: How did the company go from an electronic design consulting business to making the first medical device custom printer for the medical market? Answer: Our first venture into the market other than consultancy was with medical companies. And I would point out that all of our printers and everything we do from a board standpoint,it’s all custom. I think that one of the things that forms such a strong relationship between FutureLogic and its customers is the ability to look at what the customers’ unique needs are and be able to fulfill them. And there was just a natural evolution from that point into the specialty printer market. Today our core market is gaming, working with casinos and slot manufacturers. We’re still very involved with medical accounts. We’re also in electronic voting. We work with two of the larger voting machine companies in the world. Q: Since the 2000 election, there’s been so much concern about voting procedures. A: A lot of it is hung up in legislation right now, and a number of things have yet to be resolved, but I think this going away from punch cards and things like we had in the Florida election will become quite widespread, and people will be going to more high-tech machines to cast ballots. Q: You also had a role in developing the supermarket coupon systems. A: That’s what we got our start in, in what I would call promotional couponing, back actually in the late ’80s. We helped [a company] develop a system for printing promotional coupons in a supermarket, and, by that, I mean, you’ve probably been in a supermarket where you get the little receipt that has the red stripe on it. Basically, if you’re buying, let’s say, Huggies, that you would get a coupon from the register that would give you money off on a competing brand. Q: How did you branch out into casino gaming? A: We got involved in that in 1999, when there was a lot of discussion among the manufacturers about doing away with the coin drop in slot machines. Much of the expense in the casino was the management of money. We got involved in 1999 with IGT, International Game Technology, who is the largest slot machine manufacturer in the world. They asked us to come in, along with some others, and take a look at their requirements, and we were fortunate enough to be the winning company and we’ve partnered with IGT ever since, but they’re not the only one. We work with probably between 35 and 40 manufacturers around the world, supplying printers for their slot games. Q: What factored into the company’s growth? A: The way we grew was, basically, we were the first to market, and, because of that, it created a tremendous amount of pull-through at the casino level. People realized what the advantages of TITO were at the casino level. Once IGT started putting those machines out in the field, the rest of the market followed. And since 2004, we’ve opened an office in the UK, which handles Europe, South America and South Africa, and, most recently, we’ve opened up an office in Macau, which is China.

There’s no need to ask “Why is this guy smiling?” Rick Caruso is on a roll. His high-profile, $400 million mixed-use Glendale development dubbed Americana at Brand is set to open in mid-April. It’s moving apace and despite the winter weather he’s averaging 1,000 workers on site everyday. The available retail space is 90 percent leased with high-end national and international stores unique to the region or the country, and he has three times as many people who have expressed interest in living there than there is space for. His company, Caruso Affiliated, has “a billion dollars worth of projects begun or set to begin in the next year,” Caruso said including The Shops at Santa Anita next to the race track and The Village at Playa Vista in Marina del Rey. Of the projects for which he’s known throughout the region, The Grove in the Fairfax District stands out. The others aren’t easily dismissed either: the Waterside in Marina del Rey; The Promenade at Westlake, The Lakes and The Village at Moorpark in the Conejo Valley; The Commons at Calabasas and Encino Marketplace. Plus, he went toe-to-toe in court with rival mall developer General Growth Properties Inc. and won $90 million in punitive and compensatory damages when a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found General Growth intimidated the Cheesecake Factory Inc. while it was considering leasing space at Americana at Brand, across the street from General Growth’s Glendale Galleria mall. But that’s not the only way he’s made news. He was past president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and the youngest commissioner in the history of the City of Los Angeles with his appointment to the Department of Water and Power board. Public television station KCET, honored Caruso with its “2006 Visionary Award,” for being dedicated to positive change through philanthropic, business and civic leadership. He was also recently named one of L.A.’s most influential leaders by the Los Angeles Times. His philanthropic activities include his service on the boards of Para Los Ni & #324;os, the National Institute of Transplantation, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation and the California Hospital Medical Center. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of USC and the Board of Visitors of Pepperdine University School of Law. Caruso lives in Los Angeles with his wife Tina, and their three sons and a daughter.

The Justice Department charged a San Fernando money transfer service with failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. Sigue Corporation will forfeit $15 million to the U.S. government and has agreed to commit to a $9.7 million upgrade of its anti-money laundering program as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. In light of Sigue’s remedial actions and acceptance of responsibility the government is to recommend the dismissal of the charge in 12 months, upon completion of the terms of the agreement. Money laundering is not a victimless crime and contributes to an untaxed, underground economy, said Eileen Mayer, Chief, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. “Those who choose to launder proceeds obtained from unlawful activities, including proceeds from the illegal sale of narcotics, face the consequences of criminal prosecution,” Mayer said. “Money transmitting businesses should heed today’s proceedings as a warning that the government is monitoring your activities.”

The Antelope Valley Fair is on a hot streak. For the second year in a row, it has won the International Association of Fairs and Exhibitions’ best advertising campaign award, known as the Hall of Honor Communications Award. The two-year winning streak is quite a feat considering that its competitors hail from as far away as Australia and include big names such as the Los Angeles County Fair. “This is an outstanding accomplishment for the Antelope Valley Fair when one considers that there were over 1,100 entries from around the world in these competitions,” IAFE President and CEO Jim Tucker said in a statement. In addition to Australia, this year the Antelope Valley Fair faced international competition from event promoters in Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. Wendy Bozigian, Antelope Valley Fair marketing manager, believes the fair won because of “the cohesiveness of the campaign, as far as the advertising and the look.” Lots of color was used in advertising materials. There was a unique creative flair also, Bozigian feels. For example, the cows featured in promotional materials had wildflower-shaped spots in keeping with the 2007 theme, “Wildflowers & Wild Fun!” The public had a hand in the campaign strategy. Each year, the fair seeks submissions from the public to determine what theme the fair will adopt. After a contest winner is chosen, the fair’s art department chooses artwork befitting the theme to appear on T-shirts, billboards, in advertisements and more. “They were helpful,” Bozigian said of the art department. “We have in-house graphics, and together they got it all done, a pretty tall order.” In 2006, the first time the fair won the IAFE award, “Let the Good Times Grow” was the theme. This year, the theme will be “Peaches ‘n’ Screams” in light of the amount of peaches grown in the Antelope Valley. The screams component references the fair’s carnival rides. Though the Antelope Valley Fair was honored by IAFE for its 2006 advertising campaign, Bozigian said fair organizers did not expect to win for a second consecutive year. “It’s a surprise, and it’s always an honor,” Bozigian said of the two-time win. “It wasn’t like a slam dunk.” IAFE wasn’t the only organization to honor the Antelope Valley Fair in 2007. The fair won 15 awards from the Western Fairs Association, including a handful of first place awards for its outdoor and unique advertising, theme, new ideas and news photography. The WFA represents 150 fairs throughout the US and Canada, ranging from the Calgary Stampede in Alberta to the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque and all the fairs to the west of that line, according to Executive Director Stephen Chambers. Participants enter the best of what they’ve done locally in the areas of communication and creative management, which includes television commercials and posters, efforts to obtain sponsorship and to improve fairs overall. WFA officially recognized the Antelope Valley Fair during its Industry Awards Dinner on Jan. 9. In 2004, after the Antelope Valley Fair moved to its new fairgrounds, WFA granted the fair its most prestigious honor, the Merrill Award. While that honor went to another fair in 2007, Chambers said the fact that the Antelope Valley Fair managed to snag a slew of awards from his organization is also worthy of note. “With 150 fairs participating, winning 15 awards is impressive,” he said. The 70th annual Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival will run Aug. 22 through Sept. 1.For more info, visit www.avfair.com.

The regional model for an outdoor lifestyle center may be The Grove in the Fairfax District, developed by Caruso Affiliated. The success of that high-end project’s mix of restaurants and luxury retail amid leafy pathways and fountains has created the impetus to replicate the model around the region. Significantly, Caruso is replicating the model in Glendale at the Americana at Brand development, due to open in mid-April. “As great as The Grove is, this will be much stronger,” the developer’s namesake owner Rick Caruso said. Plazas and tree-lined walkways are included to entice shoppers who can linger at the project’s two-acre park. The outdoor mall is a complex of 75 shops occupying 475,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 90 percent of which was leased three months before it’s due to open. The site will also have 238 apartments, 100 condominiums and 3,500 parking spaces. In addition to the showcase retailers already signed up, there’s a Pacific Theaters 18-plex cinema and the center will have some of the usual suspects, ubiquitous vendors like Barnes & Noble, Pinkberry, Jamba Juice, Urban Outfitters, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Cheesecake Factory, the restaurant whose presence at Americana lawsuits were filed over. Last November, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury supported Caruso Affiliated’s assertion that Glendale Galleria owners, General Growth Properties, engaged in “fraud, malice and oppression” in trying to intimidate the Cheesecake Factory into not signing a lease with its rival next door. Chicago-based General owns 200 malls across the country and the suit alleged that the Galleria’s owner threatened the restaurant chain with delaying or scuttling deals in other locations the real estate company owns. Caruso Affiliated won about $90 million in compensatory and punitive damages. At the time, owner Rick Caruso said the money was being put back into the Americana development, and was not a windfall. “It delayed us a couple of years. It increased our costs, and they have to pay the price,” Caruso said recently. General Growth may have been the first to drop a lot of money over the location, but shoppers will soon follow, albeit in lesser denominations, the developer hopes. Americana has attracted the top tier of luxury goods retailers: Kate Spade in its first L.A.-area store, the high-end Sur La Table kitchen products store, Barneys New York, J.Crew spinoff Crewcuts; hip Swedish apparel retailer H & M; and Anthropologie, known for its fashion forward goods. Also signed up is L.A.-based Planet Funk clothier and its youth-oriented side brand, Play; there’ll be a BCBG Max Azria; Armani Exchange, and an Aveda salon. Puma will sell its shoes and athletic wear. Westfield Topanga Australia-based mall developer Westfield isn’t going to let itself be outdone. They have put $350 million into upgrading the Westfield Topanga mall; Neiman Marcus will put its first L.A.-area store into the West Valley project, a counterpoint to the new Target that opened last year. Neiman Marcus and other luxury retailers are expected to open their doors in the fall. Westfield plans a $700 million mixed-use lifestyle-type mall they’ve dubbed The Village at Westfield Topanga on 31 acres of property south of the Topanga mall and north of their Promenade mall which will consist of 438,500 square feet of retail space and 75,000 square feet of restaurant space amid 1,000 trees. The design calls for 40 percent open space between buildings constructed to “green” standards. The project will also have a hotel and office space. Snyder Project In North Hollywood, developer J.S. Snyder is set to build a “hybrid lifestyle” center, a 750,000 sq. ft. open air mall on 17 acres. Macy’s will anchor the project with an 180,000 sq. ft. store and be situated at the southwest corner of Laurel Canyon and Victory Boulevards, moving a block north from its current Laurel Plaza location. The project will also feature a 14-plex stadium-style seating movie theater amid electronics and apparel retailers. Cliff Goldstein, a Snyder senior partner, said “It’s a unique site that comes along once every few decades.” The location is amid an established business district with easy freeway access and adjacent to an old-style mall that will be repurposed into a luxury residential project. “It will be an anchor for the East Valley,” he said. The project represents the firm’s eight-year involvement and groundbreaking could begin in January 2009. “We are hoping to clear the entitlements by June with the final draft environmental impact report released within 30 days,” Goldstein said recently. Snyder is also proceeding with the final phase of its NoHo Commons development, 180,000 sq. ft. of office space and 78,000 of ground floor retail and a seven-screen Laemmle movie theater. The site will feature a rehabilitated historic Phil’s Diner railroad dining car.

Striking film and television writers strengthened their resolve to continue picketing in the face of media reports of an imminent deal with the Hollywood studios. “Now is when showing up counts the most,” said Michael Tabb, a filmwriter from Porter Ranch who has been a strike captain outside The Walt Disney Co. since the strike began in November. The Los Angeles Times, New York Times and other media outlets reported the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had reached an outline of a new contract. A final contract could be presented to the WGA board for approval as early as Feb. 8, the L.A. Times reported. A recorded telephone message to Guild members sent on Feb. 3, however, cautioned that the strike was not over and to “set aside” rumors and second guessing. Picketing continued at NBC Studios and Warner Bros. Studios, also in Burbank; and the CBS lot in Studio City. The writers began their walkout nearly three months ago after talks with the Sherman Oaks-based Alliance failed to result in a new contract. The main sticking point has been pay for writers whose work is distributed online and through mobile devices. The informal talks between the Guild and Alliance have made progress on compensation through new media, the L.A. Times said. In the Guild’s corner is the approaching Academy Awards on Feb. 24. ABC, the Disney-owned network, stands to lose millions in advertising revenue if the broadcast is scaled back – as happened with the Golden Globes – or cancelled. Plus there are millions more in ancillary advertising for the studios to promote their nominated films. “People will want to see the movies everyone is talking about,” Tabb said. “Every studio gets something from the Oscars.”

The Los Angeles County Business Federation is attempting to accomplish what arguably no such collective has done before: bring area business groups together to obtain political clout. The federation’s formation was announced at a Jan. 29 press conference at the Los Angeles Hall of Administration. It includes 44 organizations representing more than 70,000 businesses. Valley resident David Fleming, outgoing chairman of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, is serving as chair, while Tracy Rafter, former Daily News publisher, is serving as chief executive. “It’s truly a grassroots alliance. This is not run by any single organization,” Rafter said. “It’s not just an offshoot of one organization. This effort’s been more equipped and broad-based.” By mobilizing trade groups, chambers of commerce, businesses and business organizations, the federation hopes to exert influence on policy makers in the same way that labor organizations have. “I think anybody that’s familiar with the inner workings of government in Sacramento and Los Angeles knows that labor has done a fantastic job in getting their message across and their ability to get what they want in most instances,” Fleming said. “Business on the other hand has been AWOL for a long time.” The reason? Business hasn’t been organized, Fleming feels. “Businesses by their very nature tend to be more insular. They’re concerned about making payroll next week. They’re fighting to stay alive, and so, consequently, the political considerations are not the first order of business for them,” he said. While Fleming is concerned about the political sway labor organizations have in the state, he said his federation will not function as an opponent to labor. “Considering the fact that our goals are to expand jobs and bring in new business opportunities and more wealth, we have more in common with labor than we have in opposition,” he said. “I see us working hand-in-hand with labor to solve a lot of problems.” Online Tools The federation’s Web site, bizfed.org, will play a key role in mobilizing members of the business community, as it will give businesspeople access to the contact information of legislators, allowing them to air their concerns and have them swiftly addressed, Fleming and Rafter said. “What we have done is to provide them through the Internet the opportunity to become involved in the political process and to play a role,” Fleming said. The Web site has maps of Los Angeles County, including those of congressional districts, state senate districts, the state assembly, the Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles City Council and more. “We will have the opportunity to allow those 70-plus thousand businesses through this Web site to contact their elected representatives at all levels of government,” Rafter said. “And we’re going to encourage them to do that. This is what’s been missing.” The Web site will also feature action alerts in which members receive information about pertinent issues and the contact information of the policymakers best fit to address the issues at hand. All the member organizations will be able to use an online calendar of special events. There will also be information posted about the organizations in the federation. Rafter said that a company she owns will be responsible for aggregating the information for the Web site, so, in essence, bizfed.org will be her enterprise. Business Group Leaders Weigh In While Rafter and Fleming have high hopes about the federation, not everyone in the business community shares their enthusiasm. The Valley Industry & Commerce Association is a member, but President Brendan Huffman has reservations about how much the group will be able to accomplish. “There have been several attempts to organize the business community in this decade alone,” Huffman said. He did add, however, that “the Business Federation is far and away more organized and better funded.” Still, Huffman isn’t sure how effective the federation will be in gaining more political clout. “I think until more candidates get elected that are friendlier to business, it will be very hard to change the mind of a sitting lawmaker.” Huffman said that, while VICA needs all the help it get can get in advocating for business, he’s uncertain as to how the federation will get the dozens of business groups in Los Angeles County on the same page. “The federation hasn’t identified the issues they’re going to address,” he said. “All the federation has done is set up a governing body to get a domain name.” Huffman also bristles over the comparisons Fleming has made between business and labor. He’s not sure the two should be juxtaposed. “Labor operates differently,” Huffman said. “Are we going to expect that business will behave as labor does? Are we going to go out and walk precincts? Are we going to have rallies? Are we going to give money to pro-business candidates the way labor does for their candidates?” Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the Central City Association, a business membership organization representing more than 450 county businesses, trade associations and nonprofits, has decided not to participate in the group. She prepared a statement as to why. “We commend their efforts to raise the voice of the business community. We don’t, however, buy into the notion that the business community lacks a voice,” she said. “Our views and concerns are communicated and heard by decision makers at every level of government.” Schatz cited the business world’s previous success in building coalitions to address a wide range of issues. “We believe that targeted responses to specific issues are the most effective way for the business community to have an influence and, hopefully, success on an issue,” she said.

It’s election time again and I, along with all other registered California voters, recently received my sample ballot and voter information pamphlets. As I began to navigate through the usual cumbersome poorly written and confusing information my frustration began to build, reaching the boiling point when I noticed that, once again, the voter information that is contained in the Official Voter Information Guide issued by the Secretary of State and the Voter Information Pamphlet compiled by the Los Angeles City Clerk contain untruthful statements and arguments designed to sway voters’ decisions. The guide issued by the Secretary of State even provides a false sense of information security by presenting (on the front cover) a Certificate of Correctness signed by the Secretary. Here is the wording of the Certificate of Correctness: “I, Debra Bowen, Secretary of State of the State of California, do hereby certify that the measures included herein will be submitted to the electors of the State of California at the Presidential Primary Election to be held throughout the State on February 5, 2008, and that this guide has been correctly prepared in accordance with the law.” As you can see, the “Certificate” says nothing as to the truth of the information presented. I wonder how many voters will glance at the “Certificate” without reading and interpreting it completely and believe that the information presented is all true. The fact is that the laws do not require that the information presented to voters in the “Official” guides and pamphlets contain the truth or the full truth in the condensed descriptions or in the arguments presented for or against the measures. The only information in the guides that we can rely on to contain truth is the detailed text of the measure and, probably (in the case of the State measures) the analysis presented by the legislative analyst. Since many voters rely only on the condensed summaries, the arguments for and against and the names of the endorsers, when making their decisions, their votes are often based on untrue and incorrect information. Here are a couple of examples to further illustrate the problem: Proposition “S” (City of L.A.) Condensed description follows: REDUCTION OF TAX RATE AND MODERNIZATION OF COMMUNICATIONS USERS TAX: Shall an ordinance be adopted to reduce the City’s tax on communications users from 10% to 9%; modernize ordinance to treat taxpayers equally regardless of technology used; exempt low-income senior-citizen and disabled households; to fund general municipal services, such as 911, police, fire protection, street maintenance, parks and libraries; subject to an annual independent audit. The underlined words and phrases above are untrue and appear to be used to obtain a “yes” vote from voters. As I have written before, this proposition is for a new “communications tax” of 9 percent that will apply, not only to telephones, but will now include voice over internet protocol (VOIP), text messaging, instant messaging and T-1 lines (used by many businesses, large and small, for internet access) as well as other wireless services. This expanded application of tax is what is referred to above as “MODERNIZATION.” The 9 percent tax rate of Proposition S is not a reduction of an existing 10 percent telephone tax. That tax has been challenged as illegal and is expected to be struck down by the courts. At that point, the tax rate will be ZERO, thus it cannot be reduced. This new Proposition S tax is intended to replace a lost revenue stream that will occur as a result of the expected court action. However, it could potentially result in a significantly greater amount of taxes once VOIP and other services grow in volume of use, which is only a matter of time. Prop. S does not “treat taxpayers equally” as stated. It provides for you and me to pay a 9 percent tax while telemarketers are only required to pay a 5 percent tax. Additionally, taxes provided by this measure will be available for any use that the elected city officials deem appropriate. The words “such as” when referring to 911, police, fire, street maintenance, parks and libraries (above) do not guarantee funds from Prop. S will be used only, primarily or even at all for those purposes. I recently viewed a list of proposed reductions in City services in the event that the telephone tax is struck down and Prop. S fails. This list was purported to have been sent from the City Administrative Officer to the Mayor in October. The cost of the reductions totaled approximately $344 million or $74 million more than the shortfall anticipated from the loss of the telephone tax. The amount included for police and fire totaled $43 million, thus it would appear that there would be no necessity to make cuts in these services if Prop. S fails and if it passes the funds wouldn’t necessarily be needed or used for police and fire. Proposition 93 (State of CA) Although the condensed description (referred to as Official Title and Summary) contains truthful statements, it does not include the full truth. It appears that legislative term limits will be shortened from a total of 14 years in both houses to a total of 12 years for all legislators. What it doesn’t say is that because there are 80 seats in the Assembly and only 40 in the Senate, most legislators currently serve only 6 years. When they are termed out in the Assembly there are no Senate seats available for them. Since Proposition 93 allows 12 years in one house, these legislators will be able to serve an additional 6 years. To find this out, one would need to read the detailed text of the proposition. The other fact that is not stated is that due to a special exemption in Section 5 of the proposition, Don Perata, the current President Pro Tem could spend 14 years in the Senate rather than the 12 year maximum in one house. This also is only able to be determined by reading the detailed text of the proposition. I believe that all voters are entitled to receive the truth and nothing but the truth in official voter information materials. How else can one be expected to make a proper decision when voting? In the current situation, voting is truly a process where the term “Caveat Emptor” (“buyer beware”) applies. _____________________________ Gregory N. Lippe, CPA, is Managing Partner of the Woodland Hills-based CPA Firm of Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison, LLP, Chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) and a Director of First Commerce Bank.

The National Labor Relations Board just announced new guidelines for private sector employers detailing just how far an employer may go in restricting employee use of its e-mail system. This was a case of first impression for the Labor Board. The issue arose in a case involving a unionized newspaper publisher in Eugene, Oregon. The immediate question in the case was whether the employer violated federal labor law by disciplining the employee under its e-mail policy for using the employer’s e-mail in support of a union. The employer policy at issue prohibited employees from using e-mail for “non-job related solicitations.” In ruling on the issue, the Labor Board took the opportunity to announce a new set of guidelines on employer e-mail policies. These guidelines must be followed by union and non-union employers alike that are covered by the federal law. Here is what happened and what you need to know. Background The written policy at issue prohibited the use of e-mail for “non-job-related solicitations.” In practice, however, the newspaper had allowed a number of non work-related employee e-mails such as jokes, baby announcements, party invitations, and the occasional offer of sports tickets or a request for services such as dog walking, though there was no evidence that the employer had ever permitted e-mails urging support for groups or organizations of any kind. The employer issued three written warnings to an employee (who also happened to be the union’s president) for sending three different union-related e-mails. The union challenged the warnings by filing unfair labor practice charges with the Labor Board. The Labor Board issued a complaint against the company alleging that the mere maintenance of the policy by the employer chilled employees’ federally protected rights to support a union or otherwise express their displeasure about working conditions. The Labor Board also alleged that the employer “discriminatorily enforced” its rule by disciplining the employee for her union support, while allowing other personal e-mail. The Labor Board addressed each issue and laid out a new set of rules for when such policies violate federal labor law. Policy Maintenance Addressing the mere maintenance of the policy issue, the Board piggybacked on a series of older precedents to conclude that the rule itself was lawful. The Labor Board previously had ruled that employees have no statutory right to use an employer’s equipment for union organizing or other purposes. Likening the e-mail system to any other piece of employee equipment like a telephone or bulletin board, the Labor Board found no reason to change that view in the context of e-mail. Differential Treatment In enacting the federal law in 1935, Congress gave employees the federally protected right to form, join or assist a labor union to organize at the workplace and to band together to convey displeasure or disagreement over working conditions. Consistent with that mandate, longstanding Labor Board policy has prohibited employers from “discriminating” against employees by imposing harsher discipline or more onerous working conditions on employees that express favor for a union or granting more favorable working conditions to those who don’t. Thus, the Labor Board will scrub the facts looking for evidence that the policy is not being evenhandedly enforced on account of the content (i.e., union related matters are treated more harshly than others). Applying this standard, there have been literally hundreds of Labor Board rulings against employers where it was established that the employer had allowed some innocuous solicitation while prohibiting those relating to a union. The current case is good news for employers because the Labor Board took this opportunity to take fresh look at how it analyzes such matters. In doing so, the Labor Board decided to discard many of its prior rulings in favor of a new and more employer friendly approach to the whole issue. Notably, the new approach will allow an employer to permit some forms of personal solicitation while still prohibiting all “non business related” solicitation. In clarifying how much differential treatment by the employer will now be permitted, the Labor Board cautioned that that not all differences in treatment will violate the law. Rather, it’s only those distinctions aimed at protected union organizing activity. The Labor Board then gave the following examples of when the employer violates the law and when it doesn’t. The Labor Board stated that an employer would clearly violate the law if it permitted employees to use the e-mail system to solicit for one union, but not another, or if it permitted solicitation by anti-union employees, but not by pro-union employees. By the same token, the Labor Board said that the following are permitted distinctions in the application of an employer email policy: (1) allowing e-mail to be used for charitable solicitations while prohibiting all other solicitations; (2) allowing e-mail to be used for solicitations of a personal nature (e.g., sale of a car) while prohibiting solicitations of a commercial product (e.g., Avon products); (3) allowing e-mail to be used for invitations of a personal nature (e.g., a party) while prohibiting invitations for an organization; and (4) allowing e-mail to be used for business related purposes, while prohibiting use of the e-mail system for non business related purposes. In what is good news for employers, the Labor Board announced that the mere fact that union solicitation might fall on the prohibited side of the line does not establish that the line being drawn by the employer is illegal. The key distinction in each case is that employer policy was not specifically aimed at activity protected by the labor law. In the future, the Labor Board will carefully examine whether the permitted uses of the employer’s e-mail system were of the same character or nature. This is favorable news for employers that may wish to allow employees to use the company e-mail system for limited personal or charitable reasons without having to open up the entire e-mail system for use by union organizers. In applying this new analysis to the newspaper, the Board ruled that the employer lawfully implemented a policy that its “[c]om-munications systems are not to be used to solicit or proselytize for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside organizations, or other non-job-related solicitations.” The Board then found one of three disciplinary actions was unlawful, but upheld the other two. The warning found to be unlawful was issued for sending an e-mail clarifying the facts about a previous union rally. The Board observed that this e-mail was not a violation of the employer’s policy prohibiting “non business related solicitation” because it did not actually contain any kind of “solicitation” at all. Thus, the Labor Board concluded that the employer must have issued the warning because of its content (i.e., the e-mail was union-related). The Future The case has far-reaching implications. The law has long been interpreted to allow employees to voice grievances and organize for a union. Until now, the Labor Board rulings allowed employees to use company e-mail for these purposes whenever the employer allowed employees to use the e-mail system for any other non-business purposes such as e-mailing jokes, invitations to a party, or other personal messages. The new ruling changes all that. Employers may now safely permit certain non-work related e-mail, such as to support charitable causes, without concern that in doing so, the company is opening the e-mail system for employees who wish to use it to solicit for a union or otherwise express anti-employer sentiment. What Should I Do? If you wish to take advantage of the ruling, we recommend conducting a legal review of existing policies concerning the use of e-mail and other employer property, solicitation of employees, and workplace communications. Since the ruling allows for new flexibility, you may expand existing restrictive policies to allow for such things as charitable or entirely personal solicitations. In conjunction with that effort, it is recommended that you also inventory current practices with management to ensure that managers are properly enforcing existing policy. Where that hasn’t been the case, a strategy should be developed to distance the old way of doing things from the new.

With a week to go before California’s presidential primary on Feb. 5, the Business Journal asked business people from a broad spectrum of industries whom they think would be the best candidate from a business perspective. Katherine Whitman Pomegranate International “Strictly from a business standpoint I think that Mr. Romney has the best experience. He has been involved in a lot of hedge funds and venture capital and things like that; he certainly has that understanding of the business world. That wouldn’t be something that would hurt right now.” David Honda Honda Construction “I like Mitt Romney only because he’s had a job and made a payroll. It’s a personal conviction of mine that if you haven’t run a company big, little, it doesn’t matter and make a payroll and worry about paying taxes and paying vendors you shouldn’t be in the business of politics. I think politicians should have at least have Economics 101 before they get into politics. They are not effective unless elected. And once elected you hope they stand by their convictions. I hope Mitt Romney would.” Sandy Sigal NewMark Merrill Companies “My kneejerk reaction is I like Mitt Romney. He obviously ran a business, a venture capital firm, seen lots of business in action, ran the Olympics, and was chief executive of a state. Intuitively I like that better than I like somebody who might be a senator or has been in politics their whole life. That’s not to say I don’t like McCain or Giuliani. I actually like both of them. But if I wanted to say who looks best from a business perspective I think it’s Mitt Romney.” Diane Duke Free Speech Coalition “The candidate that would be best for the Adult Entertainment Industry is the one who respects adults’ right to be adults; respects and upholds our Constitution; and does not impose their brand of morality on others. Of the candidates left in this Presidential race, ask yourself “Who do I think will respect my ability to make choices for myself about what products I buy, what I read, and what movies I can watch?” then, you’ll know who is the best candidate for our industry.” Jim Dunn Airtel Plaza Hotel “I just don’t know. It’s just so hard to believe anybody anymore. That’s the problem I have with all the candidates. The question I ask myself is, what do they promise and what do they deliver? Whether they are Democrats or Republicans, depending on the make up of the House or the entire Congress, what’s the deliverable they can really do? I cannot pinpoint a particular candidate that ignites my passion for believing in somebody.” Greg Lippe Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison LLP “McCain. He’s more fiscally conservative yet he’s still a moderate. If business wants any legislation passed for the benefit of business you are going to need somebody who can work with both sides. Because he’s moderate he has the best chance of working with both sides. There is no question that Mitt Romney is the most knowledgeable person in business but McCain is the best for business.” Bert Boeckmann Galpin Auto Group “I was really impressed by with [Mitt Romney]. In fact I have not supported any of the candidates thus far because I was so impressed with Romney when he came by the dealership and went over things with me. My only concern is when you are going national across the United States is who is going to be the best candidate. If you were to say to me today who is the most formidable Republican left it’s our fella from Arizona [Sen. John McCain]. I think he’s good for business but I don’t think he’s a Mitt Romney. I think he would be good for business and I think he’s the more electable of the two.” With a week to go before California’s presidential primary election, the Business Journal asked business people from a broad spectrum of industries whom they think would be the best candidate from a business perspective. Katherine Whitman Pomegranate International “Strictly from a business standpoint I think that Mr. Romney has the best experience. He has been involved in a lot of hedge funds and venture capital and things like that; he certainly has that understanding of the business world. That wouldn’t be something that would hurt right now.” David Honda Honda Construction “I like Mitt Romney only because he’s had a job and made a payroll. It’s a personal conviction of mine that if you haven’t run a company big, little, it doesn’t matter and make a payroll and worry about paying taxes and paying vendors you shouldn’t be in the business of politics. I think politicians should have at least have Economics 101 before they get into politics. They are not effective unless elected. And once elected you hope they stand by their convictions. I hope Mitt Romney would.” Sandy Sigal NewMark Merrill Companies “My kneejerk reaction is I like Mitt Romney. He obviously ran a business, a venture capital firm, seen lots of business in action, ran the Olympics, and was chief executive of a state. Intuitively I like that better than I like somebody who might be a senator or has been in politics their whole life. That’s not to say I don’t like McCain or Giuliani. I actually like both of them. But if I wanted to say who looks best from a business perspective I think it’s Mitt Romney.” Diane Duke Free Speech Coalition “The candidate that would be best for the Adult Entertainment Industry is the one who respects adults’ right to be adults; respects and upholds our Constitution; and does not impose their brand of morality on others. Of the candidates left in this Presidential race, ask yourself “Who do I think will respect my ability to make choices for myself about what products I buy, what I read, and what movies I can watch?” then, you’ll know who is the best candidate for our industry.” Jim Dunn Airtel Plaza Hotel “I just don’t know. It’s just so hard to believe anybody anymore. That’s the problem I have with all the candidates. The question I ask myself is, what do they promise and what do they deliver? Whether they are Democrats or Republicans, depending on the make up of the House or the entire Congress, what’s the deliverable they can really do? I cannot pinpoint a particular candidate that ignites my passion for believing in somebody.” Greg Lippe Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison LLP “McCain. He’s more fiscally conservative yet he’s still a moderate. If business wants any legislation passed for the benefit of business you are going to need somebody who can work with both sides. Because he’s moderate he has the best chance of working with both sides. There is no question that Mitt Romney is the most knowledgeable person in business but McCain is the best for business.” Bert Boeckmann Galpin Auto Group “I was really impressed with [Mitt Romney]. In fact I have not supported any of the candidates thus far because I was so impressed with Romney when he came by the dealership and went over things with me. My only concern is when you are going national across the United States is who is going to be the best candidate. If you were to say to me today who is the most formidable Republican left it’s our fella from Arizona [Sen. John McCain]. I think he’s good for business but I don’t think he’s a Mitt Romney. I think he would be good for business and I think he’s the more electable of the two.”