• 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. 24, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Employment Issues,  Business,  Trade Secrets,  Managing Risks
• Employment,  employee,  employer,  Business,  Trade Secrets

We see it in movies all the time—a key employee is enticed away from his or her current position by a competitor who promises a bigger salary, better benefits package, Read More

• posted: Aug. 23, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Employment Issues,  Employment Law,  Labor Law,  Wage & Hour
• Employment,  Labor law,  Wage & Hour,  Healthy Workplace Healthy Families Act,  paid sick leave,  paid time off,  sick leave

It is rare that an individual will go an entire year without getting sick, and whether we like it or not, chances are that if we fall ill, it will 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: Aug. 16, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Construction,  Construction Defects
• Construction,  Construction Defects

When homebuyers invest in a brand new home, they expect that home to be essentially perfect and free from defects. Unfortunately, even new homes come with their fair share of Read More

• posted: Aug. 09, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Business,  Product Liability Lawsuits,  Risk Management
• Business,  Product Liability Lawsuits,  Risk Management

In 1998, Dow Corning was sued for $4.2 billion by 170,000 customers claiming that their silicone breast implants ruptured, causing bodily harm, scleroderma, or death. Because of the outstanding number Read More

• posted: Jul. 12, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Business,  Business Partnerships,  Mergers & Acquisitions
• Business,  Mergers,  Managing Risks

  Starting a business is a new and exciting adventure, but it is also one that requires asking a lot of important questions and making a lot of important, often irrevocable 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

• posted: Jun. 29, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Civil Litigation,  Real Estate,  Contracts
• Real estate,  commercial real estate,  civil litigation,  Breach of Contract

In 2008, right before the housing market crashed, a middle-aged couple in Carlsbad, California sued their real estate agent for misrepresenting their home’s value. They bought the home for $1.2 Read More

• posted: Jun. 28, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Employment Issues,  Employment Law,  Business,  Wage & Hour,  Contractor vs Employee
• Employment,  employee,  Business,  Wage & Hour

Many companies hire independent contractors to do any number of tasks, from running weekly payroll to providing copywriting services. Typically, independent contractors are a lot cheaper to hire than full-time Read More

• posted: Jun. 22, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Uncategorized,  Employment Issues,  Employment Law,  Business,  Healthcare Workers
• Employment,  employee,  employer,  Business,  Labor law,  Healthcare Worker

  In the town of Chico, California, a local hospital has demanded change as a result of their failing union. The healthcare workers, expressing their grievances towards the union system at Read More

• posted: Jun. 21, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Employment Issues,  Employment Law,  Labor Law,  Business
• litigation,  Employment,  Employment discrimination,  harassment,  employee,  employer,  Wrongful Termination,  Business,  Labor law,  Sexual Discrimination,  workplace discrimination

California is an “at will” state, meaning that employers have the right to hire and fire individuals at will, without any real reason or explanation (so long as the reason Read More

• posted: Jun. 15, 2016
• Tod C. Gurney
• Employment Law
• Social media,  employment termination,  posting on social media

In today’s digital age, privacy has nearly become a thing of the past. You can check in on Facebook, send out tweets to a mass audience on Twitter, and start Read More

• posted: Jun. 14, 2016
• leslieburkhammer
• Business

Much like when individuals enter into a marriage, when two individuals enter into a business partnership, they do so with starry-eyes and visions of success. What they do not foresee Read More

• posted: Jun. 14, 2016
• Melinda Garcia
• Business,  Succession,  Mergers & Acquisitions
• Business,  Succession,  Mergers

Much like when individuals enter into a marriage, when two individuals enter into a business partnership, they do so with starry-eyes and visions of success. What they do not foresee Read More

• posted: Jun. 09, 2016
• leslieburkhammer
• Employment Law
• CPFL,  parental leave,  San Francisco employment

Beginning on January 1, 2017, the Paid Parental Leave Ordinance will require some San Francisco employers to provide six weeks of paid parental leave for purpose of bonding with a Read More