If you should receive a lawsuit, do not panic.  If you are in business, odds are someday that you will be sued by either a customer, vendor or someone that you are doing business with.    The litigation may result from a claim of damages due to failure to delivery a product, breach of contract as to performance of the terms of the agreement, or failure to pay for a product.   If you receive a lawsuit, you have 30 days to respond to the litigation (if in state court in Califor

Periodically, there is a wave of claims that are made by various individuals, who are disabled, just trying to get money, through some very specific attorneys, making claims as to access to facilities stating that they cannot use facilities, or in some cases websites.   We have seen some very far-reaching claims trying to get compensation, and such claims need to be looked at and determine whether or not the person is entitled to compensation, and how much, if any, that they

There is a group of law firms that are marketing to current and former employees of companies seeking to obtain individuals to act as a class representative to sue employers on behalf of the individual and all other employees of the company. This will include not only former employees but also employees that are employed and would not ever consider bringing such an action. Employers usually learn about such potential claim by the receipt of a letter from one of these firms, m

We recommend that employers include in their standard employment agreement an arbitration provision. There was an attempt to makes such arbitration terms in California employment agreements to be unenforceable, including a requirement that an employee must sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment. A federal court decision overruled this attempt, and arbitration agreements, if they are fair and equitable, are enforceable in employment agreements in California

Employers need to understand the difference between an exempt employee and a nonexempt employee. An exempt employee is not required to be paid overtime, they are not required to be afforded paid rest breaks, and they are not required to be provided a lunch break (from a practical standpoint, employers should provide these items for the exempt employee for efficiency).  A nonexempt employee must receive payment for overtime, they must receive required 10-minute rest breaks if

It is time that all employers to immediately review all of their employment procedures (including employee handbooks and employment agreements) to make sure that wage an hour reporting is in compliance with the law. Failure to do so, can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars being assessed against the employer, for failure to pay wages correctly.  Every employer needs to make sure that employees are receiving proper compensation, that employees are receiving both their m