An “advance fee” is money your client gives you upfront to pay the cost of legal representation. Typically, such payments are called “retainers.” However, unlike true retainers, which are paid to ensure your availability to a client and are therefore earned in full at the time you receive them, advance fees Read more…
Federal law bars anyone who has been convicted of a felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust from willfully engaging in or participating in the business of insurance. It is a criminal offense, found under the the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Title 18, United States Code, Read more…
Our client, a correctional officer, was severely injured on the job. The injury required an immediate visit to the ER and the residual effects of the injury prevented him from being able to use a firearm or a baton, but the California Public Employees Retirement System accused him of faking Read more…
False imprisonment is the wrongful restraining, confining or detaining a person without that person’s consent. It is a crime (i.e. Penal Code, § 236) and can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor. It is also a common law tort. False imprisonment can arise in the employment context. This would typically Read more…
No. Unfortunately, you cannot. Section 17002 of the Beverly-Killea LLC Act (Corp Code Sections 17000-17666 or “LLC Statute”) states that subject to any limitations contained in the articles of organization and to compliance with any other applicable laws, a limited liability company (“LLC”) may engage in any lawful business activity, Read more…
A recent settlement agreement Simas & Associates, Ltd. on behalf of two licensed professionals inspired this blog. The parties – call them Doctor and CPA — had a business dispute and were settling the case. The settlement agreement was presented for review and contained the standard provisions, including a release Read more…
Time clock rounding is legal under federal and California law. Time clock rounding is the practice of adjusting raw employee punch-in and punch-out times to a standardized, nearest time increment. It is typically justified as a way to simplify payroll calculations or to provide a minimal amount of time warranted for completing recognizable Read more…
Rules 26b and 34 of the Federal Rules of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure instruct that information stored on computers is discoverable under the same rules that apply to tangible, written materials.[1] According to Principle 12 of The Sedona Principles:[2] Absent party agreement or court order specifying the form or Read more…
Obesity is no longer considered just a case of over-eating and lack of self-control. It is acknowledged as a “chronic progressive disease resulting from multiple environmental and genetic factors” by various International and National scientific organizations, including the World Health Organization. The National Institute of Health recommends bariatric surgery as Read more…
Overtime pyramiding is the (often mistaken) practice of counting the same hours against two different overtime limits. The most common example of overtime pyramiding is using hours that have been counted against daily overtime to calculate a weekly overtime limit. This is especially common because daily overtime is usually a Read more…