Operation Warp-Speed well under way and millions of Californians vaccinated for COVID-19, many still have yet to be vaccinated. And some do not want to be. In fact, a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 27% of Americans are “vaccine hesitant,” saying they probably or definitely would not [...]
Although estate planning is very personal, and requires a detailed understanding of your intent, there are four critical documents that every California estate plan should have, particularly if you want your heirs to avoid probate or costly litigation. Will Your will serves as the ultimate guidebook on who will receive the [...]
What can employers expect next in terms of COVID legislation and oversight? Since President Biden took office, he has signed a number of Executive Orders relating to COVID-19 as well as a detailed, if not ambitious, 200-page National Strategy For The COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness (the “Plan”). The purpose of [...]
2020 was a year for the books and as a result, there are several new laws that require employers of all sizes to update their employee handbook. If your company has not updated its employee handbook to address these new laws, you will want an experienced business lawyer to review your [...]
As we have discussed in previous posts, the 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was drafted to provide temporary paid leave benefits due to COVID-19. The benefits extended to employees of U.S. employers with less than 500 employees. While the FFCRA leave benefits expired under the original statute on December [...]
Several new laws went into effect at the start of this year, several of which have a substantial impact on California businesses. These laws range from Covid-19 policies, minimum wage increases, to expanded leave benefits. Continue reading for highlights of the new laws, effective January 1, 2021. Notification of Potential Covid-19 [...]
Last March, businesses across the state of California were forced to temporarily and permanently shutter their doors. For business owners considering filing an insurance claim for business interruption resulting from the pandemic, now is the time. What’s more, if your business filed a claim that your insurer has disputed, you may [...]
When companies put their financial interests over employee rights, issues can arise. One common issue relates to bonus and commission earners. As a California employee, you have the right to be paid what you have earned and there are several California laws that protect against the unlawful withholding of bonuses and [...]
Over the last year, we have talked extensively about AB 5 and its effect on businesses and workers across California. To recap, AB 5 codified the Dynamex court decision and made the ABC Test for classifying workers as independent contractors the law in California. Many independent contractors were negatively affected by [...]
Over the last six months, many people have found themselves without work, and for a number of these workers, their unemployment status is not welcome. During the coronavius pandemic, many businesses have had to quickly cut costs and sometimes, this includes terminating hardworking men and women. While California is an at-will [...]
As counties are taken off the COVID-19 watch list and state and local governments slowly permit employees to return to work, California employers need to be prepared to protect both themselves and their employees against a myriad of issues relating to COVID-19. In our current climate of uncertainty, those issues can [...]
In another update to the AB5 independent contractor litigation, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office has recently filed lawsuits against transportation companies Uber and Lyft for committing wage theft by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The lawsuits allege that by misclassifying workers, Uber and Lyft failed to meet their obligations as employers [...]
In a recent California Court of Appeal case, a beneficiary, the individual for whom a trust is created, attempted to have a signed Post-it note attached to handwritten interlineations on a trust deemed sufficient to amend the trust. While the Court acknowledged that a signed Post-it note may be sufficient in [...]
The misclassification of workers as independent contractors is a serious and persistent problem nationwide, and certainly in California. A study by the U.S. Department of Labor found that between 10% - 30% of audited employers misclassified workers and that up to 95% of workers who claimed they were misclassified as independent [...]