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By Laura Weitzman, Esq.  In 2012, the California Supreme Court shed light on the nature of the employer’s duty to provide meal breaks in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (Brinker), 53 Cal. 4th 1004 (2012). California law requires that employers provide nonexempt employees with a 30-minute meal break for each work period of more than five [...]

By Laura Weitzman, Esq. In this tough economy, employers may be tempted to hire workers as “independent contractors” instead of “employees” in order to avoid payroll taxes, requirements under wage and hour laws such as minimum wage, overtime, meal periods and rest breaks, and reimbursement for their workers’ business expenses. Additionally, employers are not required [...]

California strictly prohibits noncompete agreements with three very narrow exceptions involving partners, LLC members, and sale of a business (Business and Professions Code section 16600).  Any agreement that limits the ability of an employee or independent contractor from engaging in the work of his or her choosing is void under California law. Here are some [...]

On April 7, California DLSE released an opinion letter addressed to a program called Year Up.  Year Up places young people in internships in for-profit businesses as part of a year-long educational program.  The internships are unpaid, though the interns do receive a small stipend for living expenses. Even though the private for-profit businesses get [...]

So, you have opened a business, and decided to hire employees – Now What?? A guest post by Susan Zeme, Esq., Law Office of Susan Zeme, 510.652.6895 or susan@swzeme.com 1.  Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Every employer must have Workers Compensation Insurance coverage.  Contact your general liability insurer or State Fund (www.scif.com) for details.  Things to [...]

Being an employer creates lots of legal obligations!  Here are some tips to make sure you are complying with the major ones and to reduce liability exposure (note that many of these are California-specific): Have an up-to-date job description for each employee Have each new employee complete the I-9 form and provide the required documentation [...]