Government Investigations Government investigators and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) are focusing on alleged payment of kickbacks through cash, gift cards and other direct payment devices. Please make sure to document all sales and cash transactions so that the government has NO basis to try to allege that there are...
US SUPREME COURT MAKES CONTROVERSIAL RULING FREE SPEECH RIGHTS SUPERSEDE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION RIGHTS Yet another Colorado individual providing wedding services to the public (wedding websites) gets a favorable ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The wedding website designer refused to make wedding websites for same-sex couples due to her Christian beliefs...
Medi-Cal Fraud Epps & Coulson, LLP represents groups of clients in four core areas: business generally, real estate, employment and health care. We keep up with what’s going on in those core areas. On the health care front, we help clients stay out of regulatory trouble, as well as all...
Meet Your California Supreme Court Justices The California Supreme Court is the highest court in California. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero is the 29th Chief Justice of California. She was sworn into office on January 2, 2023, making history as the first Latina to serve as California’s Chief Justice. [1] Among...
CA Extends Attorney Appearing Remotely for Court Proceedings Existing law authorizes, until July 1, 2023, a party to appear remotely and a court to conduct conferences, hearings, proceedings, and even trials in civil cases, in whole or in part, through the use of remote technology. While California Senate Bill 133...
FMLA: AVOID PENALTIES AND LAWSUITS Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) guarantees employees unpaid, job-protected leave for 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. Workers can take FMLA leave intermittently, working shorter days or shorter weeks. It doesn't have to be continuous leave. For an employee who normally works 40-hour weeks,...
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STANDARD - CHANGED BY NLRB On June 13th, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) implemented a new ruling that brings about significant changes to the criteria employers employ when determining whether an individual qualifies as an independent contractor. The ruling rejects the previous SuperShuttle ruling, which emphasized entrepreneurial...
Trademarks: Jack Daniels Beats Poop-Themed Toy for Dogs Trademark rights are meant to keep there from being confusion in the marketplace or dilution of brand for a product class. But in this case whiskey brand Jack Daniel can keep a look alike bottle shaped poop-themed toy for dogs. How was...
SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES: INCREASED LAWSUIT CLAIMS Besides government enforcement mechanisms, including surveys, sanctions, corrections, and complete exclusion from Medicaid funding, based on the new case of Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, et al. v. Talevsk, decided by the US Supreme not just the government, but now private...
I-9 Verification of Employee Eligibility Reinstated Until COVID-19, employers were required to conduct an in-person inspection of I-9 Section 2 documents for new employees. That required an employee to show a valid passport, driver’s license, and/or social security card in order to verify an employee’s identity and that the employee...