Wage and Hour
California Supreme Court Brinker Restaurant Rest/Meal Period Decision
After years of waiting, and $100s of millions (if not billions) in legal fees, settlements and damages paid by California businesses, the California Supreme Court has issued its rest and meal period decision in the Brinker Restaurant case. read more
California Supreme Court Hears Argument in Brinker Restaurant & Brinkley
A Vision law attorney attended the live oral argument before the California Supreme Court in San Francisco on November 8, 2011 on a case involving an employer’s obligation under California law on rest periods and meal periods. It is astonishing that the highest court of the State of California must rule on whether adults in [...] read more
Meal Period Waivers
California law requires an off duty unpaid meal period of at least 30 minutes for every five hours worked. The failure to provide the meal period results in a penalty of one hour at the employee’s regular hourly rate of pay (Labor Code section 226.7 – mandated meal or rest periods). California has two exceptions [...] read more
Independent Contractors
A Distinction With a Difference We are in the information age where the “knowledge worker” is king. More and more workers wish to operate as “free agents”—independent contractors. The problem is the federal and state government haven’t quite figured that out yet. The hot topic for them is “reclassifying” free agent independent contractors to employees [...] read more
Preventing Employment Law Problems
Avoid Emergence of Employee Legal Problems Many business owners and entrepreneurs tell us that dealing with employment law matters ranks among their least favorite management activities, while also being one of their greatest concerns. Understandably, they wish to focus their efforts on activities which generate revenue and which keep their customers happy and their employees [...] read more
Top 10 Preventable Employee Lawsuits
Wage and Hour Claims Discrimination Claims Wrongful Termination Claims and Whistle Blowing Claims Leaves of Absence Related Claims Harassment Claims Breach of Contract Trade Secret Misappropriation and Unfair Competition Defamation Claims Invasion of Privacy and Drug Testing Class Actions, and Business and Professions Code 17200 Actions (Download Full Report (PDF)) Avoiding Employee Lawsuits The California [...] read more
Litigation Defense
Limiting Costs and Liability Employment law litigation is expensive, which is why much of Vision Law’s practice involves helping employers prevent the emergence of labor problems that could result in an employee lawsuit. Unfortunately, we find that in many cases employers only come to us for help after a problem has emerged. In these situations, [...] read more
Employee Handbook Law
An employee handbook is a compilation of labor laws in the state that are applicable to the employees. At Vision Law, our attorneys have considerable experience in the creation of such handbooks. A free custom Employee Handbook is included when your company signs up for Vision’s Predictable Fees Program (12 month subscription). We have the experience [...] read more
Unemployment Insurance
Federal Program Administered Through States Unemployment insurance is a federal wage replacement program administered through the Employment Development Department (EDD) in California. The program is financed by unemployment tax contributions from employers. Employee Eligibility Upon termination of employment, a former employee with any appreciable time in the workforce will generally be entitled to unemployment benefits. [...] read more
Wage and Hour Law
“Class action” lawsuits based on labor law violations threaten large and small businesses around the country. Wage and hour laws are designed to protect laborers against unfair practices by employers, are some of the oldest labor laws in the nation. But today, class-action lawsuits allow a single “representative” plaintiff and their attorney to prove his or her complaint against an employer on behalf of many other employees. In California there is the added threat of a “representative action” under Business & Professions Code 17200 for “unfair competition.”
If you are a business owner, you could receive a summons to respond within 30 days to a complaint that demands millions of dollars in damages. What would you do? Read More »