Recent articles

SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE - The Truth About What Employers Should Know About Social Media

An article by Poul Lemasters, NCBVA Legal Counsel

You know the old story. An employee posts some bad comments about his boss. Boss fires employee. Employee sues for wrongful termination. Employee wins.

Yup - you read that right. You, the employer may not be able to fire someone just because they say some negative stuff about you on social media.

• So what can you do when it comes social media?
• Do you have a policy? Are you allowed to have a policy?
• And forget about employees - what about consumers talking about you on social media outlets: What can you do there?

Make sure you know the ins and outs of social media and how it effects your business.

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DISINTERMENT - Who is in charge?

An article by Poul Lemasters, NCBVA Legal Counsel

How many disinterments have you participated in over the years? The number is probably more than zero - and in today’s world, it seems disinterments are becoming more common.

So who is responsible? Funeral home? Cemetery? Vault company? Depending on what the disinterment authorization states - oh wait - you’ve never seen or used one of those? I can promise that if you haven’t used a release or authorization, you have never been protected. 

As someone that is involved in the disinterment process, you need to know and understand the process. Such as:

• What are the state laws for disinterment? 
• Can the cemetery allow disinterment without any family? 
  
• Who is responsible for the vault? 
  
  

Make sure you know the risks - and more importantly - the process of how to handle disinterments.

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GRAVESIDE LIABILITY - How To Avoid Grave Cemetery Problems: A Primer On A Few Cemetery Liability Issues

An article by Poul Lemasters, NCBVA Legal Counsel

While death may be the most common theme among cemeteries, the truth is that accidents happen at the cemetery too. The problem is that many professionals don’t really think about the potential accidents; and even if they think about the accidents, they don’t think about how or why they may be responsible. This article is a look into a few ‘accidents’ that, unfortunately, do occur at the cemetery.  The focus will be to identify the potential accident; understand who is responsible (aka liable); and then share ways to avoid the problem. In no way is this meant to solve every potential accident, but hopefully this article will provide the framework to help in these accidents, as well as others.

• The tents blow away!
  
• Someone falls in the grave!
  
• We need to open that casket!
  

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MARIJUANA IN THE WORKPLACE - 5 Issues that are ‘High’ on the List of Things to Know

An article by Poul Lemasters, NCBVA Legal Counsel

The times they are a changing! What was once banned, illegal, and thought by some as immoral is now legal and becoming one of the largest businesses in the US. Yes, marijuana is now the in thing. The problem is that despite the legal status changing in many states, many businesses still have drug-free workplaces.

• What can a business do?
  
• Is it time to throw in the towel and just let it all happen?
  
• Or is there a path to float down that may allow proper oversight by an employer on this topic?
  

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THE OSHA SILICA DUST STANDARDS - Understanding this dusty regulation

An article by Poul Lemasters, NCBVA Legal Counsel

In case you haven’t heard - the OSHA Silica Standard went into effect in June of 2016, and all general industry business (like a vault company) have until June 2018 to be compliant.

• Are you ready?
  
• Have you taken the steps required under the new OSHA rule?
  
• Do you even know what you need to do to start?
  

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