ARBITRATION CLAUSES – ARE THEY ENFORCEABLE? Business owners, employers, vendors, all of us often use or are confronted with an arbitration clause in agreements. Busy judges typically enforce the provision and send disputing parties to arbitration, instead of the courts. But what if an arbitration provision is added to an...
EMPLOYERS 2023 - Are You Prepared? Epps & Coulson, LLP wishes all of our clients a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2023. California enacted new laws that affect employers. We already updated you on the Minimum Wage increase [article], which increased it to $15.50/hour (or more, depending on local...
CA: New Laws Allow Multifamily Residential Development on Commercial Property California enacted a law that takes effect on July 2023, which allows residential construction on commercially zoned property. The law at issue is intended to allow for streamline approval of multifamily housing developments in commercial zones. So long as 100%...
Minimum Wage Increase January 1, 2023, Are You Prepared? Since 2017, the state minimum wage has increased every year for employers of all sizes in accordance with legislation signed into law by former Gov. Jerry Brown. That law requires minimum wage of $15 now. Employers with 26 or more employees...
PART 2: Employer Internal Investigations An employer can be held liable for sexual harassment by a supervisor unless the employer can prove that it exercised care to prevent harassment and took steps to investigate complaints. Once reported, an internal investigation can make or break the employer’s defenses for litigation. In...
Employer Internal Investigations – Are They Confidential? Many employers get a complaint about an employee or some wrongful conduct and immediately launch into an investigation. Even more, when investigating, the employer often confirms to other employees that what the employee or witness says will be kept confidential. But, will it?...
New California Rules Will Allow Nurse Practitioners to Practice Without Physician Supervision California’s nursing agency just approved rules that will allow nurse practitioners to treat patients without direct physician supervision. This vote is one of the last major steps necessary to fully implement a 2020 law that will allow nurse...
Exempt Employees: What Deductions Are Permitted, Prohibited? The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires employers to pay most employees overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek (some states require overtime in additional situations). The FLSA allows for exemptions from the overtime requirement for...
BANKRUPTCY DOES NOT PROTECT EMPLOYERS FROM WARN ACT EMPLOYEE LAYOFF NOTICE REQUIREMENTS When operating companies file bankruptcy, it often precipitates employee layoffs. Employers should know about the notice obligations (we’ve posted about them before – or just call us). As a recap, the federal WARN Act requires employers to notify...
EEOC RELEASES UPDATED “KNOW YOUR RIGHTS” POSTER The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has released an updated poster (“Know Your Rights”) that federal nondiscrimination laws require employers to display. Covered employers with 15 or more employees must post the new version as soon as possible. Employers covered by federal...