Most California companies offer employees vacation time. Vacation time is considered an employment benefit and also a form of compensation. Specifically, under California law, if an employee has unused accrued vacation at the end of his/her employment, the employer must pay out the unused but accrued vacation in their final Read more
Declaratory Relief is a legal procedure designed for those seeking “preventive justice.” Specifically, its purpose is to “set controversies at rest before they lead to repudiation of obligations, invasions of rights or commissions of wrongs.” It is a vehicle to allow a presumptive defendant or respondent take adjudicative action to Read more
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
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
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
One question regularly confronted by employers is when a former employee requests copies of “their file.” Ostensibly, the employee is requesting a copy of their personnel file. However, the contents of a personnel file may not include all that which the former employee is seeking. Sometimes the employee is seeking Read more