Non-Solicitation and Non-Acceptance of Business Clauses are Not Enforceable in San Diego As many San Diego and California businesses know, non-compete agreements are not enforceable in California. That is, except for a few limited circumstances, you cannot enforce any agreement by which an employee agrees not to compete against [...]
Confidentiality Clauses in San Diego Business Contracts (Part I) It is not uncommon to find confidentiality clauses in business contracts. Such clauses come in two varieties - confidentiality with respect the agreement itself and/or the contents of the agreement, and confidentiality with respect to commercial information and trade secrets [...]
Non-Compete Agreements in San Diego: When are They Valid? In general, under California law, a current employer cannot restrict an employee from leaving and taking another job, even with a competitor. In many states, employers are allowed use so-called "Restrictive Covenants" or a "Non-Compete Agreements" to prevent an employee [...]
Does My San Diego Business Need an Employee Handbook? If you have employees, then, yes, your San Diego business needs an employee handbook. As we have written previously, employee handbooks ("EH") do not have to be complicated. Basically, EH combine into one "book" all the various information that you [...]
Who Can Work for a San Diego California Professional Corporation? Professional corporations can be created specifically for doctors, nurses, and healing arts practitioners under the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act. See Cal. Corp. Code, §§ 13400-13410. When formed, the professional corporation becomes a legal entity separate and apart from the [...]
Tips on Winning an Independent Contractors/Consultant Tax Audit If your San Diego or California business has independent contractors and/or consultants, you may be subject to an audit by taxing authorities to determine whether you have purposely or inadvertently misclassified your employees as independent contractors/consultants. This is NOT an audit [...]
What Should be in Your Severance Pay Agreement? Many San Diego and California businesses have employees. Occasionally, despite the best wishes and efforts of the business owners, employee layoffs and terminations are necessary. This happens for many reasons. Sales were just not high enough, changes in consumer preferences and [...]
San Diego Business Law: What is the Joint Employer Doctrine? Let's say you are running a pharmacy in San Diego. Let's call it San Diego's Best Drug Store. Like many businesses, San Diego's Best Drug Store has customers who want over-the-phone, on-demand, and speedy delivery of their products. Many [...]
San Diego Business Law: Preventing Raids on Your Employees (Part II) We wrote earlier about steps to take to prevent raids on your employees when a high-level, managerial employee is departing. See here. A recent case out of Wisconsin gives us an opportunity to review, update, and provide additional [...]
San Diego Businesses: Finding Workers in the "Gig" Economy Most San Diego and California businesses know about the so-called "gig" economy. Maybe you have hired a few "gig" workers here and there. In general, a "gig" worker is a short-term independent contractor. Given certain structural elements in the national [...]
New California Labor Law: Impacts on Selling/Buying Your San Diego Business As the calendar turned to 2018, many new California laws went into effect. See LA Times news report here. Among the new laws was a provision that now prohibits private and public employers from seeking information on a [...]
Checklist for Limiting Personal Liability When Running Your San Diego Business When you are in business, there are many steps that you can take to limit your personal liability and your family's liability for business debts and obligations. We here at San Diego Corporate Law can help you with [...]
San Diego Business Law: What is an Unpaid Internship? Unpaid internships can be beneficial to both the young intern and to the San Diego business "hiring" the intern. But businesses must be careful because under some circumstances, the "intern" might be considered an "employee" who must be paid for [...]
#MeToo Gets a Victory: Confidential Settlements Will No Longer be Tax Deductible Sexual harassment continues to be in the news. As we wrote recently, sexual misconduct in Hollywood and in the media has been a huge continuing story. It seems like new allegations are made every day. Indeed, it [...]
San Diego Businesses: Checklist for Protecting Your Computer From an Angry Administrator We have written recently about the need to protect your digital and virtual assets. One of many possible threats is a rogue or angry or vindictive recently-fired network administrator. Bad situations do happen; Uber recently was forced [...]
Checklist for Official Social Media-Use Policy for Managed Employees (Part II) This is the second in our series of posts about writing your company's official social media use policy. In the first part, we tackled the issue of generalized social media use for your employees when you do NOT [...]
San Diego Business Law: Updating Your Company Sexual Harassment Policies San Diego Business Law: Updating Your Company Sexual Harassment Policies Since Harvey Weinstein was "outed" as a sexual predator back in October 2017, sexual harassment has been in the news nearly every day. Dozens of other celebrities, politicians, and [...]
Checklist for Writing an Official Social Media Policy (Part I) Even if your San Diego business is small, with just a couple of employees, it is important to have a social media policy statement. Indeed, you may need TWO policy statements: one for regular employees and another for employees [...]
The Value of Mediation as an Alternative to Litigation As we have said in the past, every San Diego and California business can expect to have business-related legal disputes at some point. Disputes arise not necessarily because someone is behaving badly, but often are because mistakes happen or circumstances [...]
California Contract Drafting: Employee vs Independent Contractor Many San Diego and California businesses have employees and many have independent contractors, and some have both. Whether a worker is considered an "employee" or an "independent contractor" has important implications for many aspects of a business including: Labor laws Taxation -- [...]
How Talented Legal Counsel Can Help Your Business Grow Every business needs a talented and experienced business lawyer. Aside from providing good advice, a talented and dedicated business lawyer is actually "good for business" and can help your business grow. Here are the ways that we here at San [...]
Who is a "Director" With Respect to Your San Diego Corporation? In general, San Diego corporations are run by a Board of Directors. The Board meets regularly to make important, strategic decisions. Among those decisions are hiring a chief executive officer ("CEO") and then authorizing the CEO to run [...]
Six Mistakes to Avoid When Running the Family Business A family-owned and family-run business in San Diego should be treated as seriously as any other business. In San Diego County, California, there are six mistakes to avoid when running your family business. Failure to Get Permits, Licenses, and Registrations [...]
What is Vicarious Liability? In San Diego, businesses are liable for the acts of their employees when the employees are working. In general, employees are agents for their employers and all principals can be held liable for the acts or omissions of their agents when conducting the business of [...]
How is a San Diego "Fiduciary" Different from a San Diego "Agent"? In San Diego and all across California, businesses and even ordinary people hire and retain agents. Think, for example, about buying a house. You go online or make phone calls and hire a real estate agent. That [...]
Executive Employment Agreements Require Special Attention With San Diego employment contracts for regular employees, there are the standard provisions regarding job duties, dress code, anti-harassment and discrimination provisions, etc. However, with executive level employees, a well-drafted and well-considered employment agreement is essential both to protect your business and the [...]
Tips for Starting Your Own San Diego Holiday Pop-Up Shop The holiday season is upon us. Along with everything else cheery and bright, the holiday season brings an infusion of pop-up shops. Some San Diego bars are converting to themes for the winter holiday and New Year’s and national [...]
A Checklist for Hiring Your First Employee Starting your own business is exciting, but also challenging. One of the most daunting tasks is formally hiring your first employee. This task is risky, too. Here is a checklist of steps to take before you officially become a boss. Define [...]
Using a California Employment Contract to Achieve Non-compete Goals It is well-known that non-compete agreements in California are unenforceable outside of a couple of limited circumstances. However, a well-drafted California employment agreement can accomplish many of the goals that businesses seek to achieve with a non-compete agreement. Most [...]
Five Steps for Preventing Raids on Your Employees Staffing talent is often one of the most valuable assets for California companies. Preventing raids on your employees is important, particularly when a high-level, managerial employee is departing. The last thing you want is a flood of other employee departing, [...]
Employment Contracts for Savvy Techies Who Want to Hit It Big Technology companies who want to make it in an already cutthroat industry can gain an edge by learning what to look for and what to include in employment contracts. Negotiating salary and starting a new position mean plenty [...]
How Can I Prevent Employees from Leaking Ideas? “Loose lips sink ships.” This common saying describes the fate of businesses whose employees, either inadvertently or on purpose, share ideas with others without permission. Competitors may learn of the ideas or even pay employees for them and then use them [...]
California Law on Non-Competition Agreements In California, both a state statute and numerous court decisions say that non-competition agreements are not enforceable, and delving into the reasons why can help business owners understand how to work around needing them. The term “non-competition agreement” generally refers to a contract between [...]
San Diego’s New Minimum Wage Ordinance On July 28, 2014 the City of San Diego issued a Press Release from the office of the Council President, Todd Gloria, announcing an increase in the City’s minimum wage and providing sick leave for worker’s within the City. Press Release, San Diego Increases [...]
San Diego's Minimum Wage Increases: What You Need to Know In March, the California Legislature approved a plan to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by January 1, 2022. The move made the state the first in the country to significantly boost its pay and encouraged [...]
Do I Need to Register my Business With the California Employment Development Department? “The Employment Development Department (EDD) administers California’s payroll taxes, including Unemployment Insurance, Employment Training Tax, State Disability Insurance (including Paid Family Leave), and California Personal Income Tax withholding. Employers conducting business in California are required to register [...]
I Don’t Want to Pay for Worker’s Comp – Do I Need It? Frequently those contemplating hiring employees ask whether they must obtain and pay for worker’s compensation insurance (sometimes referred to as “worker’s comp”) for their employees. Those same people sometimes believe that they do not need to [...]
Can Uber Claim its Drivers are Independent Contractors? That is the question being answered in the action entitled O’Connor, et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No CV 13-3826-EMC. According to the Second Amended Class Action Complaint, [...]
Examining California’s Workers Compensation System Since 2013, California’s Worker’s Compensation system has utilized a system of Independent Medical Review (“IMR”) to resolve disputes over the treatment of workers injured on the job. Typically, in California’s system, a request by an injured worker for medical treatment must undergo a “utilization [...]
What Factors Does the IRS Look at to Determine Independent Contractor Status? There are many definitions for the term “independent contractor.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines the term “[g]enerally, one, who, in exercise of an independent employment, contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods and [...]
What Should be in my Employee Handbook? Few small businesses in California have them, but all businesses, from large corporations to the small “mom and pop” pizza joint, would greatly benefit from having a well-considered and well-written employee handbook. The well-written employee handbook is one of the best tools [...]
The Non-Solicitation Agreement; Why Use It? California has a strong public policy against restraining the ability of its citizens from engaging in their chosen professions. California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 essentially prohibits almost all forms of agreements between an employer and employee wherein the employee agrees not [...]
Should I Require Key Employees to Sign an Arbitration Agreement? Most employers, as well as other business people, have increasingly turned to arbitration agreements for a variety of reasons. Among the reasons most commonly cited is the avoidance of the cost of employment litigation and the amount of time [...]
A Quick Guide to DOL’s Proposed Changes to FLSA Overtime Regulations The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed several changes to the overtime regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that are expected to take effect in the middle part of 2016. The changes will raise the minimum [...]
M&A Due Diligence: Employee Entitlements in Stock Purchase Deals A crucial activity of any due diligence effort in an acquisition is to review the employee benefits offered and maintained by the target company. This sort of review is vital whether the intended deal structure is an asset purchase or [...]
Classifying Workers: Are They Employees? California businesses face a task with potentially costly legal implications when deciding whether to classify workers as employees or independent contractors. Certain businesses may have an economic incentive to classify workers as independent contractors to take advantage of decreased labor costs that result from [...]
California Sick Pay Law 2015 Are you abiding by the new Healthy Workplace Healthy Families Act of 2014? Are you keeping your employees informed about the amount of paid sick leave they have per pay period via their pay stub or other written notice? Have you been displaying a Healthy [...]
Overtime Law for Small Business President Obama has proposed a new standard for employee overtime. Currently, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts employees who are performing managerial duties or any professional worker receiving $455 a week from overtime. This means an employee earning slightly less than [...]
Small Business Under Obamacare Effective today, there is a change in the healthcare system of the United States of America, forcing government into the once private health care industry through the creation of government exchanges in which people, whether or not employed, must obtain government-mandated health insurance to [...]
Determining Worker Classification Last month we discussed several ways to increase the profitability of your business by reducing operational costs. One of the cost-cutting methods I suggested was to trim from your payroll any employee who did not either make or save money for your business. Based upon this [...]
Starting a New Business Starting a business begins with planning. However, once the plan is in place, the plan must be executed. Below are the ten steps you will need to execute to transform your business idea into an operating business. #1. Write a Business Plan A well written [...]
