Miami Business Law Blog

Una de las formas más fáciles para que un ciudadano extranjero inmigre a los Estados Unidos es mediante la compra de un negocio en el país, particularmente si el ciudadano extranjero es ciudadano de una nación que tiene un tratado con los Estados Unidos, como Argentina, Italia, Colombia y Honduras entre otros. El Departamento de Estado Norteamericano publica una lista de países que tienen un tratado con los EE. UU., que se puede encontrar aquí: Treaty Countries.

Según las regulaciones de visas de los Estados Unidos, si un ciudadano extranjero invierte de $150,000 a $250,000 y compra un negocio, ese ciudadano extranjero podrá trabajar y vivir en los Estados Unidos casi indefinidamente, siempre que el negocio continúe operando. Además, hay múltiples negocios en venta en el rango de $150,000 a $250,000, especialmente en el área del sur de Florida. A continuación, se presentan ejemplos reales y actuales de negocios, que estan disponibles al dia de hoy para comprar:

• Peluquería con 19 años de historia ubicada en Doral, Florida - $175,000
• Farmacia en Tamarac, Florida - $175,000
• Subway sandwich shop en Miami, Florida - $180,000
• Negocio de reparación de automóviles en Hialeah, Florida - $190,000
• Restaurante italiano en Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida - $200,000
• Gimnasio en Miami, Florida - $200,000
• Negocio de aseo de mascotas con 24 años en el mismo lugar en North Miami, FL - $240,000
• Negocio de limpieza en seco en Miami Lakes, Florida - $245,000
• Estación de servicio Sunoco, con tienda incluida y lavado de autos en Hialeah, FL - $250,000
• Pizzería en Sunny Isles Beach, Florida - $250,000
• Restaurante pequeño en Key Biscayne, Florida - $250,000

Under the Florida False Claims Acts, if an employee becomes aware that his or her employer has filed a false claim to a governmental agency, that employee may file a lawsuit and be awarded as much as 25 to 30 percent of the amount recovered. There is also a federal False Claims Act that covers federal false claims. For example, if an employee is required to submit a false time card or false report (e.g., an insurance report) to a state or federal agency under which the employer has a contract to provide products or services, the employee may sue under the applicable Florida or federal False Claims Act and will be awarded compensation. These laws are meant to assist the government in recovering money that is stolen by government contractors. The lawsuits are called "Qui Tam" lawsuits, which is short for "Qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso," a Latin phrase which means "He who sues on behalf of the King, also sues for himself as well."

However, it should be noted that an individual cannot file a claim based on "public information." The individual must be the original source of the information, e.g., he or she must have personal knowledge of and/or seen the false claim or fraud perpetrated. In the employment context, if an employee is required by his employer to submit a false claim or report, that employee has standing to sue under the False Claims Act and may recover as much as 30 percent of the amount recovered by the government. If an employee files a claim under the False Claims Act and gets fired because of it, then the employee can sue the employer for retaliation under the Florida Civil Rights Act or under the applicable federal law.

El Franchise Disclosure Document (o documento de divulgación de franquicia) (FDD) es un documento legal que se proporciona al franquiciado con respecto a la información de divulgación relacionada con el funcionamiento de una franquicia. El franquiciado es aquel que tiene la intención de comprar una franquicia. Las franquicias que operan en los Estados Unidos están parcialmente reguladas por la Federal Trade Commission (Comisión Federal de Comercio) (FTC). La FTC establece que se deben cumplir ciertos criterios para garantizar que las franquicias proporcionen a los posibles franquiciados (compradores potenciales) toda la información necesaria necesaria para que la persona tome una decisión bien informada sobre si o no para convertirse en franquiciado en la empresa.

As many people know, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, persons who work for tips are called tipped employees and the employer may pay such employees less than the required minimum wage. For a the employer, this is called the "tip credit."  This applies to most restaurant employees, such as waiters, bussers, etc. However, the law also states that such employees must be able to keep all of the tips received and the employer cannot keep any portion of those tips.

However, nowadays, many restaurant establishments are implementing what is called a "mandatory gratuity" or a mandatory "service charge" (such as 18%) and the question is how is that treated? Under the law, a mandatory gratuity that is imposed by the restaurant establishment is not considered a tip and, as such, the employer may keep all of the mandatory gratuity and not share any portion of it with the employee. The question then becomes whether the "mandatory gratuity" is really mandatory. That seems like a circular question, but if the customer has the ability to pay less than the mandatory gratuity (because, for example, the customer complains), then all of a sudden, that mandatory gratuity becomes a bona fide tip that only the employee can keep.