When employing or considering the employment of a member of the Armed Services, it is imperative that employers be aware of the strong federal protections put in place for such individuals through the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) was Read more…
Employers accumulate and receive substantial volumes of documents as a result of their day-to-day business. The office manager or head of human resources compiles such documents as job postings, employment applications, résumés, reference checks, testing data, personnel files, wage and hour records, payroll records, and disciplinary files, as part of their Read more…
The implementation date of the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act has finally arrived. The act, which was passed in 2013, requires Home Care Organizations to be licensed within the Department of Social Services (CDSS) and creates a public online registry for Home Care Aides who have been background checked. This implementation Read more…
On October 2, 2015, Governor Brown signed urgency legislation (Assembly Bill [AB] 1506) that immediately amends California’s Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) to address increasing civil litigation alleging technical violations of itemized wage statements (pay stubs) issued to employees. Existing law required an employer to provide Read more…
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the standard mileage rates for the business, medical, or charitable use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 57.5 cents for 2015 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving Read more…
If you own your own business, you have a duty to your company and your employees to conduct background checks before you hire new people. Conducting background screening is quickly becoming standard practice in many workplaces and businesses – even all across the world. Every type of organization is mitigating Read more…
1 in 3 Americans have been convicted of a crime in their lifetime. [1] Getting a job with a criminal record in the healthcare industry is difficult, even impossible for certain jobs. Not only are the licensing authorities who issue licenses to medical professionals likely to discipline a license holder Read more…
Congratulations are in order for Justin D. Hein, attorney at Simas & Associates, Ltd., for being named to the 2015 Top Lawyers List from Sacramento Magazine. This list is compiled annually, based upon nominations by peers, and published in the magazine’s August issue. Justin was named as one of Sacramento’s Read more…
As the business world has turned increasingly tech-savvy, more and more employees—even run-of-the-mill support staff—are exposed to what businesses consider “confidential, proprietary, or trade secrets.” To protect the business, many employers have been advised by their attorneys to require employees to sign confidentiality agreements at the time of being hired Read more…
Have you been laughing and cringing along with Silicon Valley on HBO? This half-hour comedy skewers the achievements and missteps of a technology startup, and the eccentric characters they encounter along the way. Set in the famous, eponymous region of northern California, Silicon Valley is an audacious comedy, and many Read more…