This document provides contact information for three attorneys and summarizes various legal topics related to agribusiness, including litigation, asset protection methods, insurance, premises liability, dispute handling, business entities, taxes, estate planning, succession planning, employment law, wage and hour law, workers' compensation, and employee classification.

1. William S. Durr
P: 828.348.6062
F: 828.348.6077
E: wsd@wardandsmith.com
Zachary F. Lamb
P: 828.348.6038
F: 828.348.6077
E: zflamb@wardandsmith.com
Devon D. Williams
P: 919.277.9132
F: 919.277.9177
E: ddwilliams@wardandsmith.com
AGRIBUSINESS

2. Disclaimer:
This is not
legal "advice"
THE FINE PRINT
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3. Civil v criminal
Tort, statutory claims, contract
claims
Pleadings, discovery, trial
Settlement
Litigation/
Litigation
Avoidance
General overview of
the litigation
process Judgment
Cost of litigation
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4. MR DEPTRAI
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MR DEPTRAI
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Primary
Methods for
Asset Protection
Corporate Entities
Insurance
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5. Insurance
Types of insurance – property, liability, business
Interruption, etc.
Distinctions between coverage and duty to defend
and value of each
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6. Premises
Liability
and
Waivers
Duties owed to guests and trespassers
Validity of waivers – regardless, they don't prevent
you from being sued
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7. What to do if you
have been
damaged by
someone's actions
or failure to act
I have been sued (or
I have received a
"demand letter") –
what do I do and
not do?
Practical Tips for Handling a Dispute
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8. Formation of entity
Why?
• Limit liability – still need insurance
• Tax efficiency
• Separateness for selling or continuity
• Trademark considerations
General Process
• File articles with SOS
• Create internal documents (operating
agreement, bylaws, minutes, shareholders
agreement)
• File annual reports with SOS
Business
Planning
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9. Tax Considerations
Choice of entity
• S Corp v. LLC
• Income tax driven
• Beware real property in a corporation
Present use valuation for property tax
• Beware recapture of last 3 years if sell or cease use
Estate tax
• Does not affect most folks
• Ability to plan with discounts if estate tax is a
concern
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10. Estate Planning
Importance of having a plan
• Intestacy and surprising
results
• Advance directives for
incapacity
Trusts might help
• Avoid probate
• Preserve assets for
beneficiaries
• Government benefit eligibility
Estate Planning
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11. Succession Planning
for Business
Unlikely to happen without long term planning
Possible Scenarios
• Transfer to family
• Sale to key person
• Sale to 3rd party
Team approach
• Accountant
• Attorney
• Financial Advisor
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12. IRCA/I-9
Obligations of
Employers
Requirement to hire only individuals authorized to work in US
• All employees must complete I-9
• All employees must provide required document(s)
• Within 3 days if employment more than 3 days; on first day if employment less than 3 days
Documents in support of I-9
E-Verify Requirements
Caution re Employment Discrimination
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13. Wage and
Hour
Requirements
Requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act
• General Rule → Must pay all workers at least
the applicable minimum wage and overtime
pay, at 1.5 times normal hourly rate of pay for
all hours worked in excess of 40 in a
workweek
• Good news → There are exemptions…
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14. Minimum Wage
and
Overtime
Requirements
Overtime Pay
• Generally, employers of agricultural workers are exempt from
overtime payment
o Will not apply if work performed on a farm is not
incidental or in conjunction with that farmer's farming
operation
o Will not apply to operations performed off a farm if
performed by employees employed by someone other
than the farmer whose agricultural products are being
worked on.
Agricultural exemptions from:
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15. More Agricultural
Exemptions From FLSA
Agricultural exemptions from minimum wage:
• An employer in agriculture who does not utilize more than 500 "man
days" of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding
calendar year is exempt from minimum wage and overtime provisions
of FLSA for that current year;
o A "man day" is any day in which an employee performs
agricultural work for at least one hour
• Immediate family members
• Those engaged on the range in the production of livestock
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16. More Agricultural
Exemptions From FLSA
Agricultural exemptions from minimum wage:
• Local hand harvest laborers who commute daily from permanent
residence are paid on a piece rate basis in traditionally piece-rated
occupations, and were engaged in agriculture less than 13 weeks
during the preceding year
• Non-local minors, 16 years of age or under, who are hand harvesters,
paid on a piece rate basis in traditionally piece-rated occupations,
employed on the same farm as their parent, and paid the same piece
rate as those over 16.
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17. Three requirements for exemption
• Duties test
• Salary basis payment
• Wage more than $455 per
hour (stay tuned)
Duties tests (most common)
• Professional
• Secretarial
• Executive
FLSA changes on the horizon
Minimum
Wage and
Overtime
Requirements
Overtime
exemptions for non-
agricultural workers
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2
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Payment of all wages
promised
• Vacation default
rule
North Carolina
Wage and
Hour
Requirements
Records
• Hours worked, rate
• Burden of proof on
employer
Withholding wages
after separation
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19. Workers'
Compensation
The North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act requires that all
businesses which employ three or more employees, including
those operating as corporations, sole proprietorships, limited
liability companies and partnerships, obtain workers’
compensation insurance or qualify as self-insured employers for
purposes of paying workers’ compensation benefits to their
employees.
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20. Workers'
Compensation
Exemption
• farm laborers when fewer than 10 full-time, non-seasonal
farm laborers are regularly employed by the same
employer;
• “sellers of agricultural products for the producers thereof on
commission or for other compensation, paid by the
producers, provided the product is prepared for sale by the
producer.”
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21. Employee vs. Independent Contractor
• The increasing risk of miscalculation
Interns and Volunteers
Other
Traps?
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22. Questions?
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