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SSA Blog

©2024 by the Self Storage Association (SSA). SSA and SSA Magazine are trademarks of the Self Storage Association, Inc. Opinions expressed by authors and other contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the SSA, publisher or editors, nor do they represent the policy or positions of the SSA. Information contained within articles should not be construed as the primary basis for legal or investment decisions.

Archive by author: Carlos KaslowReturn

Carlos Kaslow is a California attorney and has served as the General Counsel to the Self Storage Association. He is the editor of the Self Storage Legal Review, the SSA’s legal periodical. He is a founding partner of the Self Storage Legal Network; the industry’s only telephone legal information service. Mr. Kaslow has provided legal consulting services to several of the largest U.S. self storage operators, including Public Storage, Inc., Shurgard Storage Centers and U-Store-It. He has written numerous articles on legal and insurance issues confronting self storage for the SSA Magazine and other industry publications. He is the co-author of the Rental Agreement Handbook.

The First Self Storage Lawsuit

Carlos Kaslow posted on 10/10/2017 4:25:00 PM

There has been a long-standing debate within the self storage industry about when the first self storage facilities were built. The general census is that the first self storage facilities were built in the southwest in the mid-1960's.

| Categories: Legal | View Count: (6547)

The New I-9 Form Goes into Effect September 19

Carlos Kaslow posted on 8/25/2017 10:16:00 AM

Employers must begin using the revised I-9 form for new hires no later than September 19, 2017. Employer must ensure that every new hire executes an I-9 within the first 3 days of employment and must retain the form for at least three years from the hiring date or one year after the last day of employment, whichever occurs later.

| Categories: Legal, Operations | View Count: (3267)

Meal Breaks: Washington Supreme Court Places New Burden on Employers

Carlos Kaslow posted on 7/24/2017 10:56:00 PM

Not all states require that employees who work more than a set number of hours to be given an unpaid meal break. In states that do require meal breaks litigation against employers is common.

| Categories: Legal, Operations, Legislative / Regulatory | View Count: (3764)

Cellphone Parity

Carlos Kaslow posted on 5/9/2017 10:51:00 AM

According to a recent National Health Survey, 50.8% of households had only cellphone service in the second half of 2016. This is the first time that the survey indicated that more households exclusively used cellphone service than a landline. It is a trend that is expected to continue.

| Categories: Legal, Legislative / Regulatory | View Count: (3337)

House Passes Class Action Reform Bill

Carlos Kaslow posted on 4/27/2017 9:58:00 AM

The United States House of Representatives has passed the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017 (H.R. 985) by a 220 to 201 margin.

| Categories: Legal, Legislative / Regulatory | View Count: (3966)

Limitation of Value of Stored Property

Carlos Kaslow posted on 4/17/2017 9:33:00 AM

On December 17, 2014 an Illinois Circuit court judge ruled that a limitation of value provision in a container storage agreement violates public policy and was not enforceable. The judge’s ruling greatly expanded the mobile storage operator’s potential liability for damages.

| Categories: Legal, Legislative / Regulatory | View Count: (4856)

IRS Warns Businesses to Beware of W-2 Phishing Scam

Carlos Kaslow posted on 2/23/2017 1:34:00 PM

The Internal Revenue Service has renewed its warning about an email fraud that uses a corporate officer’s name to request employee Forms W-2 from company payroll or human resources departments.

| Categories: Operations | View Count: (3870)

America’s Smallest Self Storage REIT

Carlos Kaslow posted on 2/9/2017 1:09:00 PM

When most people think of publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), they think of billion dollar companies with hundreds or even thousands of properties. Public Storage and Extra Space Storage are two companies that come to mind in the self storage industry.

| Categories: | View Count: (7114)

California Supreme Court Rules on Employee Rest Breaks

Carlos Kaslow posted on 1/12/2017 2:26:00 PM

Most California employees are entitled to two 10 minute rest breaks when working an eight hour shift. One question that has not been addressed is whether workers who are taking a rest break may be “on call” to respond to the occasional situation that requires their attention.

| Categories: Legal, Legislative / Regulatory | View Count: (4251)

The FDCPA Exception

Carlos Kaslow posted on 12/19/2016 4:05:00 PM

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDPCA) does not regulate the direct collection activities of businesses, such as self storage facilities, to which the debt is owed. It regulates the activities of businesses, such as collection agencies, to whom a debt is referred for collections. However, there is one exception in the law that can result in a creditor being subject to the law’s regulations.

| Categories: Legal | View Count: (4630)

About SSA

The Self Storage Association (SSA) is a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization formed in 1975 under Section 501-c-6 of the Internal Revenue Code. For over 40 years, the Association has served as the official trade organization and voice of the U.S. and international self storage industry.