Learn how regulations under the expanded Americans With Disabilities Act will affect your organization as an employer and when you sponsor meetings and events.

Amendments to the Americans With Disabilities Act in 2009 broadened the definition of disability and changed the standard for determining whether an impairment substantially limits an individual’s major life activity.

Making websites accessible for users with disabilities.

What you need to know about adopting and enforcing ethical codes, while avoiding antitrust concerns.

When conducting compensation and benefits surveys, be sure that your association has followed the necessary structural guidelines to avoid creating unintended antitrust liability.

A look at the four main areas of antitrust law for associations – price fixing, membership decisions, codes of ethics or other forms of self-regulation, and standard-setting and certification.

Understand how the Standards Development Organization Advancement Act creates opportunity for competitors to work together to conduct the beneficial work of developing standards, without automatically constituting a violation of antitrust laws.

Learn how using established procedures can help your association develop consensus-based product standards, enhancing competitiveness in the marketplace.

Before forming a certification board, make sure your trade or professional association understands its role and the role of the certification board in the certification process.

Ensure that your association minimizes legal risks associated with implementing certification programs.

Jed R. Mandel and Kimberly A. Pendo highlight the most important terms for agreements with independent contractors to ensure organizations are well-protected.

Ensure that these key provisions are included in independent contractor agreements.

Meet the conditions needed to ensure your electronic contract and signature are effectively enforced.

Even an association that is not a party to a lawsuit may need to respond to a subpoena for deposition. Know what to do if your association is served with a subpoena.

Understand the pre-litigation duty to preserve evidence and how to respond to ensure compliance with the organization’s legal duties.

Although it is popular to believe that arbitration is “better” than litigation, contracting parties should carefully consider their options before making that assumption.

CLP Partners Susan Feingold Carlson and Jed Mandel recently published an article outlining the legal issues surrounding electronic communications of protected health information in the peer reviewed Journal of Hand Surgery.

A brief overview of the requirements of Canada’s new anti-spam legislation that U.S. associations should understand to ensure compliance.

Be aware of the laws associated with sending promotional faxes.

Understand the limitations imposed by the CAN-SPAM Act before your association sends promotional e-mails.

Understand the basic rules regarding employees' use of personal social media accounts to discuss workplace issues and guidance as to what associations can do to control these discussions.

New U.S. Department of Labor proposed rules for overtime pay and guidance on classifying independent contractors will have significant consequences for non-profit employers.

Take steps now to establish procedures for visitors and employees under new Illinois legislation allowing the public possession of concealed handguns.

Successfully navigate the challenges of negotiating an employment contract that provides appropriate protection for both the employer and the chief staff officer.

Employers must verify the employment and immigration status of all new hires. Understand what U.S. immigration laws require.

Learn the considerations for creating an unpaid internship program that passes legal muster.

Learn how to apply the three principal tests for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.

Understand whether employees should be classified as exempt or non-exempt.

Develop a plan of action to implement before a major illness hits your office.

A Supreme Court decision reminds employers to exercise care to assure that tests designed to be valid and fair do not unintentionally produce an unfair, disparate impact.

A look back at some of the key legal issues that impacted associations in 2016 and advice for 2017.

Evaluate and select the right insurance for your association’s needs using three basic steps.

Essential steps to ensuring an organization’s smooth and successful name transition.

Understand the application and importance of frequent legal terms used in association governing documents, contracts and litigation matters.

Understand how defamation law strikes a balance between distributing information and ideas and protecting people and organizations from harm caused by untrue statements.

Understanding the difference between an ethical code and an ethical guide.

Understand the duties and obligations of a corporation’s registered agent and their importance under state law.

While access to the expertise of the association’s counsel may be a key benefit of membership, members must understand that the association’s lawyer is just that, and does not represent any individual member.

Become familiar with the numerous laws that govern whether and how an organization may conduct raffles, promotional giveaways and contests.

At the end of each year, take the time to review tax, corporate governance, intellectual property and records retention issues in your organization to ensure a good year to come.

Use terms of use, monitoring, and copyright notice procedures to minimize potential liability from interactive, online forums.

Before sharing information, make sure you know what the law in your organization’s state of incorporation requires and what your organization’s corporate governance and policies allow.

Inform and prepare association staff for the proper way to deal with association inquiries over the phone.

How to prepare for, implement and take advantage of recent changes to the Illinois Not-For-Profit Corporation Act.

Review and planning around a few important legal issues can help you minimize potential legal exposure.

With recreational cannabis now legal in Illinois, associations should review their employee handbooks and existing policies to evaluate whether to adopt a zero-tolerance or drug-free workplace policy, and assess if current policies warrant updates to be more "reasonable."

The benefits of a records retention policy are several and a good policy that is consistently put into practice reduces the likelihood of liability for the association and its members.

Learn how associations can function productively and achieve the highest levels of organizational performance by balancing transparency and privacy.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) creates procedures to limit liability for copyright infringement by online “service providers.” Compliance with the DMCA’s requirements is an easy way to limit your association’s liability for copyright- infringing user-generated content posted on your website.

Learn how to ensure that the organization for whom a work was prepared owns copyright in the work.

Understand the potential impact of a recent Supreme Court decision on association publication sales.

Be aware of potential changes in Internet domain names and prepare to protect your names, trademarks and reputation.

Learn what is permissible before your association chooses to ‘link’ to other websites.

Learn ten important things to know about registering and protecting trademarks.

What an association needs to know about legally participating in federal elections.

Understand federal, state and local lobbying disclosure and registration requirements for associations and individuals who lobby for them.

Ensure that if an organization interacts with the City of Chicago, members and staff comply with the new Chicago lobbying laws.

An overview of what to consider when developing a political action committee.

It is important for associations and other event sponsors to recognize, and comply with, the requirements of music licensing for meetings, conventions, and trade shows.

Travelers are hesitant to attend meetings where there are known locally acquired cases of the Zika virus. Thus, it is important to let members, as well as other attendees, know that the group is concerned about their well-being and is taking all reasonable and appropriate steps to do what it can to minimize the risk to them and the potential damage to the group.

Legal concerns are raised by the growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to plan, market, broadcast and record meetings and events.

The fact that an association is tax-exempt does not mean that it must “open its doors” to anyone interested in exhibiting and advertising. Understand the discretion that associations have in deciding whether and which companies may exhibit or advertise.

Learn effective ways to limit an organization’s liability and manage risk for outside meeting activities through waivers, permissions, and informed consents.

Include the three essential provisions of permission, representation and indemnification in volunteer speaker agreements.

Understand state laws regarding taxation of hotel cancellation and attrition fees.

Ensure your organization is protected with written speaker agreements giving it broad rights to use the materials and protecting it against liability.

The Internal Revenue Service's current position regarding executive compensation.

An overview for associations of how the first draft of the comprehensive “Tax Reform Act of 2014” could affect nonprofits.

Are you in compliance? The IRS now requires nonprofits to notify it of any changes to the “responsible party” for tax reporting and filing purposes.

All tax-exempt organizations must file a Form 990 with the IRS, but filing requirements vary based on the organization’s gross receipts. Learn the requirements for your organization.

Prepare for the IRS’s new approach to Form 990 information returns and governance policies for 501(c)(3) organizations.

The IRS is offering several one-day workshops for small and medium-sized 501(c)(3) organizations.

The Association Forum of Chicagoland is the "association of associations" in the Chicago area. With approximately 3,000 members representing Chicago area associations, the Forum's mission is to advance the professional practice of association management.

Click here to be connected to the Forum.

ASAE The Center for Association Leadership is is a membership organization of more than 22,000 association executives and industry partners representing more than 11,000 organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world.

Click here to be connected to ASAE.

Click here to access "Exempt Organization Select Check," a free IRS online tool for finding information on tax-exempt organizations.

Click here to access educational IRS webinars on numerous issues affecting tax-exempt organizations.

Click here to watch an IRS video on the importance of properly classifying workers.