California Employers: If you have 5-50 Employees You Must Offer a Retirement Savings Plan by June 30, 2022 Employers of five or more employees in California take heed: you must offer employees a retirement savings program by June 30th. That does not mean that you have to start a 401k...
Banks: Does A Lender Owe A Borrower A Duty to Process a Loan or Loan Modification Without Error? The Supreme Court recently ruled in Sheen v Wells Fargo Bank that a borrower could not pursue a negligence claim of bank error, holding that the lender did not owe the borrower...
Avoid Website Accessibility Lawsuits The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently released “Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA.”[1] The Guidance is intended to assist businesses and the public to ensure websites are accessible to people with disabilities, which might also avoid unnecessary lawsuits, which have proliferated in the last...
Landlords, Tenants, Guaranties and Bankruptcy The new case of Lariat Company, Inc. v. Wigley (In re Wigley), 15 F.4th 1208 (8th Cir. 2021) shows exactly what a landlord should do in pursuing a guarantor (and his wife) when the tenant defaults and the guarantor tries shenanigans to try to avoid...
Reminder to California Employers: Vacation Unlike meal breaks, rest breaks and sick time, California employers do not have to give employees vacation time and if an employer does decide to provide that benefit, there is no specified amount of time required. But, if the employer does provide this benefit, it...
Employers: FMLA Audits Planned by DOL The Department of Labor (DOL) stated that it would increase Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and wage and hour audits of employers. Of particular attention are employers in the warehouse and logistics industries. Employers should prepare now, as a FMLA violation often leads...
Arbitration Clause Federal Ban In Effect We previously wrote on the upcoming federal ban on arbitration clauses for sexual-harassment and sexual assault claims and advised that employers should review employment agreements, handbooks, and policies that previously required arbitration of employee disputes, and to exclude sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. ...
BUSINESS BANKRUPTCIES: IF YOU’RE FEELING THE PINCH, DON’T WAIT TO FILE On March 28, 2022, certain provisions in the CARES Act expire. Importantly for businesses on the brink, the amount of eligible debt permissible for a debtor to file under subchapter V decreases from $7,500,000 back to the original amount...
Employers in All States: No More Pre-Dispute Arbitration Employers often include arbitration clauses in employee handbooks and policies. However, arbitration of sexual assault or harassment employee claims cannot be enforced. California has been opposed to secret arbitration of these types of claims and now a federal ban on pre-dispute...
WHEW! California Mask Mandates For Indoors End Yea! It’s a start. California’s indoor mask mandate ended and as of today, vaccinated persons do not have to wear masks indoors. For the unvaccinated, you must still mask-up. And for anyone in nursing homes, hospitals, and on/in public transportation, you must still...