January 30th, 2012
As of 2012, California employers should update their employee handbooks, leave policies, and posted notices to conform to two new changes in California’s pregnancy disability leave laws. The first of these changes clarifies that the employee’s pregnancy disability leave rights cannot be interfered with or restrained by the employer. The second and more significant change requires employers with five or more employees to continue paying group health insurance premiums for up to 16 weeks for employees who are disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Employment, Labor Law, Running a Business
January 30th, 2012
If you are holding an unaffordable mortgage that substantially exceeds your home’s present value, you have several options: a federal HARP or PRA loan modification to reduce your mortgage to your home’s fair market value; a short sale of your home; a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure with agreement to void the remaining mortgage; or even a strategic default and foreclosure. The disadvantage to these options is that mortgage debt that is “forgiven” or “eliminated” is generally considered taxable income. However, legal strategies can allow you to avoid paying tax on this fictional “income.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Foreclosure, Home Ownership, Real Estate, Selling a Property, Short Sale, Taxes
December 23rd, 2011
Your business advertising, including TV and print ads, signage, website, newsletters, and promotional items will typically require artwork. This may be photography, illustration, film clips, graphic design, fine art, or even typography. You can pay to have these items created just for you, but going through multiple drafts to get exactly what you want can be costly. The solution is to buy a “right to use,” or copyright license, for already existing artwork that you’ve seen and approved. Here is how your business can buy the rights you need at the lowest cost, while avoiding copyright infringement that could lead to a lawsuit. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business Disputes & Lawsuits, Copyright
December 23rd, 2011
One of the most persistent problems in commercial real estate contracts is the tendency of the parties to “agree to agree” on some aspect of a contract at some future time. The problem is twofold: an agreement to agree is not generally enforceable, but both parties to an agreement have the obligation to act in good faith so as not to deny the benefits of the agreement to the other party. If one party detrimentally relies on an “agreement to agree,” and the other party then fails to negotiate in good faith, the result may be that a court makes the “agreement to agree” enforceable on whatever terms it decides would be fair. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business Disputes & Lawsuits, Business Real Estate, Buying a Property, Real Estate
November 23rd, 2011
There is no statewide California law that automatically protects your home’s pleasant views. However, if your views are impaired by something on your neighbor’s property, local laws and regulations, and your development’s CC&R’s (if you have them) may provide the protection you need. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Boundaries, Home Ownership, Real Estate, Views
November 23rd, 2011
What would you do if you found your employee expressing potentially offensive personal views on Facebook, Twitter, or Linked In? On their computer screensaver at their workstation? On their own blog, or in comments on other people’s blogs?
If you order the employee to remove the offending material, he or she may file a claim for discrimination or for violation of his or her employee labor law rights. If you do nothing, other employees may be offended, and if the material has sexual, racial, religious, or other discriminatory overtones, you may see your inaction as approval of hostile workplace conditions that discriminate against them. Your employee’s offensive comments may also cause you to lose customers or valued business associates. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Labor Law, Running a Business, Social Media
October 28th, 2011
Many San Diego real estate owners learn too late how issues with zoning and zoning variances (special use permits) can stall their plans to build or develop real estate, or jeopardize deals to buy or sell real estate. To keep your goals or project on track, you should find out before you sell or buy property exactly what it is zoned for. If you inherit property, its zoning should be one of the first things you find out before you make any use of the property or put it up for sale. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business Real Estate, Buying a Home, Buying a Property, Real Estate, Zoning
October 4th, 2011
Should California businesses be wary of lawsuits from employees claiming discrimination for being ugly? An economics professor’s recent op-ed in the New York Times points out some of the disadvantages to being less than good-looking, and asks whether protections against discrimination in the workplace and in other areas should include the “looks-challenged.”
Our primary anti-discrimination laws come from California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Taken together, these laws cover discrimination based on the usual categories, such as gender, age, race, and religion. They don’t say it’s illegal to discriminate against the ugly, or for other appearance-related reasons. And while there are a few laws here and there outlawing appearance-based discrimination, such as some cities’ local laws (ordinances), for the most part it’s still an open question. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business Disputes & Lawsuits, Running a Business
August 19th, 2011
Owning a condominium is very different from owning a house. Condominium owners typically do not have to worry about outside maintenance on “common areas” shared by all the owners, such as landscaping, swimming pools, and roofs. For the most part, the condominium homeowner’s association – or HOA – pays to take care of repairs and maintenance of the condominium common areas by collecting monthly dues from each owner. However, when an injury occurs in a common area, the insurance policy of the unit owner has becomes extremely important. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in CC&R's, Home Ownership, Real Estate
August 19th, 2011
If you are a California employer, it’s crucial to accurately calculate overtime pay for employees. If you unintentionally violate overtime pay laws, your employees can file a state or a federal claim against you. You can then be forced by the government to pay all unpaid overtime, along with hefty penalties. As an employer, you can save a great deal of money and worry when you understand which employees are entitled to overtime pay under California and federal labor laws, and when that overtime pay is due.
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees
California wage-and-hour laws classify employees as either “exempt” or “non- exempt.” A California exempt employee is one who meets the legal requirements to be considered “exempt” from receiving overtime pay. California exempt employees are also not covered by most other California wage-and-hour laws, such as those pertaining to rest breaks, meal periods, alternative work week schedules, requirements for time keeping, and so on. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Employment, Labor Law, Running a Business
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