• posted: Mar. 28, 2017
• Melinda Garcia
• Business,  Contractor vs Employee,  Employee Rights,  Independent Contractors
• Business,  Employee Classification,  Independent Contractors

Many business owners hire independent contractors because it reduces overhead costs and liability. At least, that is what many business owners believe. While it is true independent contractors are not Read More

• posted: Feb. 02, 2017
• Melinda Garcia
• Trade Mark,  Employee Rights,  Invasion of Privacy,  Email Correspondence
• Employment,  employee,  employer,  Trade Secrets,  Email correspondence

According to the State of California Department of Justice, “Your employer is generally allowed to monitor your workplace communications, such as business phone calls and computer usage, and to access Read More

• posted: Feb. 01, 2017
• Hester Nguyen
• Construction,  Employee Rights,  OSHA,  Policies
• employee,  alcohol testing,  drug testing,  OSHA,  OSHA compliance,  post-accident drug testing

California employers who require drug and alcohol testing following a workplace accident should revaluate their policies in light of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) final ruling on employer’s Read More

• posted: Jan. 26, 2017
• Melinda Garcia
• Employment Issues,  Employment Law,  Labor Law,  Business,  Applying for a job,  Discrimination,  Employee Rights,  Disabilities Act,  Family Responsibilities,  FMLA
• Employment,  Employment discrimination,  employee,  employer,  Business,  Labor law,  FMLA

Family responsibilities discrimination (FRD) is a common type of employment discrimination that occurs in the workforce, especially towards pregnant women and mothers. However, FRD is not a type of discrimination Read More

• posted: Jan. 25, 2017
• Tod C. Gurney
• Business,  Employee Rights,  Invasion of Privacy,  Company property
• employee,  employer,  Business,  Managing Risks,  Company Cell Phones

In City of Ontario v. Quon, the Supreme Court ruled that employers have the right to read employees’ text messages – including personal ones – if they believe that the Read More

• posted: Jan. 24, 2017
• Melinda Garcia
• Intellectual Property Rights,  Infringement,  Employee Rights
• employee,  employer,  Intellectual Property Rights

Once upon a time, working with independent contractors was considered risky and even a bit frivolous. Today, however, hiring out work to freelancers is not only the norm, but it Read More

• posted: Jan. 20, 2017
• Tod C. Gurney
• Discrimination,  Employee Rights,  FEHA
• employee,  workplace discrimination,  disability,  FEHA

  Ever since California passed its first law protecting the rights of workers with disabilities in 1974, it has been at the forefront of the Americans with Disabilities movement. Under California’s Read More

• posted: Jan. 10, 2017
• Melinda Garcia
• Uncategorized,  Employment Issues,  Wage & Hour,  Employee Rights
• Business,  Labor law,  Wage & Hour

Thanks to cell phones, laptops, and other mobile devices, communication between employers and employees is just a few clicks away. Because of how pervasive a presence smart technology has in Read More

• posted: Jan. 06, 2017
• Tod C. Gurney
• Employment Law,  Discrimination,  Employee Rights,  First Amendment,  Protected Rights,  Social Media
• Employment,  employee,  Social media,  Labor law,  First Amendment Right

Individuals find themselves in hot water all the time over what they post on social media. For some, their posts go so far as to get them arrested; for others, Read More

• posted: Jan. 05, 2017
• Melinda Garcia
• Employment Issues,  Employment Law,  Labor Law,  Wage & Hour,  Discrimination,  Employee Rights
• Employment,  Employment discrimination,  employee,  Business,  Labor law,  Wage & Hour,  Background Checks

Labor laws are constantly changing, and it is important that California employers keep up with those changes so that they do not unknowingly violate any of them. The Pleasanton business Read More

• posted: Dec. 30, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Uncategorized,  Employment Issues,  Labor Law,  Wage & Hour,  Employee Rights
• Labor law,  Wage & Hour

With the Holidays upon us, it is a good time to brush up on California’s labor laws regarding holiday pay and time off. Many employees throughout the state assume that Read More

• posted: Oct. 11, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Employee Rights,  Bankruptcy
• Employment,  wage & hour laws,  Bankruptcy,  FLSA

It happens all the time: A company files for bankruptcy and a vast majority of the employees are sent home without having had any prior knowledge that something was wrong. Read More

• posted: Oct. 04, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Uncategorized,  Discrimination,  Employee Rights,  Wrongful Termination
• Employment discrimination,  employee,  Labor law

“How can I ask my older employees to retire?” This is a question that a lot of employers find themselves asking as their workforce ages but shows no signs of retiring. Read More

• posted: Aug. 30, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Uncategorized,  Employment Issues,  Employee Rights,  Invasion of Privacy
• Employment,  employee,  Managing Risks,  Email policies

From company credit cards to company cars, and company cell phones to company email accounts, employers these days provide it all to their employees, and while such perks are mostly Read More

• posted: Aug. 17, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Discrimination,  Gender Discrimination,  Employee Rights
• Employment,  Employment discrimination,  harassment,  employee

Today’s women want it all: The career, the marriage, the house, and yes, the family. And they can have it all, with some juggling, multitasking, and super-human willpower. Unfortunately, some Read More

• posted: Jul. 05, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Uncategorized,  Employment Issues,  Business,  Wage & Hour,  Buyouts,  Employee Rights
• Employment,  employee,  employer,  Business,  Wage & Hour,  Employee Rights

As the economic outlook becomes more stable in the U.S., more and more corporate mergers are taking place, with 2015 seeing a record high of $5 trillion in deals (Harvard Read More