TheCalifornia Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), enacted in 2018, creates new consumer rights relating to the access to, deletion of, and sharing of personal information that is collected by businesses. The CCPA took effect on January 1, 2020 and is one of the most significant regulations overseeing the data-collection practices of companies...
When you wake up in the morning, what is the first app you open on your phone? Most likely, if you are not checking your emails, you are tuning into Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, or other social media platforms. While most people use social networks for leisure activities and...
On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, the California State Assembly passed AB-5, a bill that impacts the classification of workers, making it more difficult for companies to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. The bill instructs businesses to determine worker classification by using the “ABC test” from the 2018...
Just before the world celebrated May Day, an international day honoring workers, the California Supreme Court changed how independent contractors are classified under state law. This law may affect many industries that routinely rely on the independent contractor classification for its workers. In deciding Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, the...
Many companies know that it is important to accurately classify their workers. Whether someone is an employee or independent contractor can have significant impacts on a company and how it does business. Classifying workers as employees requires that the employer abides by local, state, and federal laws regarding minimum wage,...
In 2010, Maryland became the first state to authorize benefit corporations. Since then, thirty-one states, including California, have passed benefit corporation laws, making it the most successful social purpose entity in terms of its widespread acceptance amongst companies and legislatures. The primary aspect of the benefit corporation which makes it...
Whether sifting from mineral remnants in a pan or receiving stock certificates from a Silicon Valley company – California has been the beacon of investment and good fortune throughout our nation’s history. However, as Benjamin Franklin said, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and...
Effective January 14th, 2017, the USPTO will be implementing fee changes to their paper and electronic filing systems. The full list of changes can be found by clicking HERE. Additionally, below we have highlighted the changes that most effect those who file electronically. TEAS Regular application filing fee is raised by...
Last week, a Texas federal judge halted the implementation of a federal overtime rule, which would have substantially increased the federal salary threshold for overtime pay exemptions. The Texas court granted a national injunction – which is a legal term basically meaning ‘maintaining the status quo’ –preventing the salary threshold...
If you are a business owner with multiple locations or you’re looking to expand your current operation to new locations, it is important to know if you’re considered a franchise or not. It does not matter what label the parties to an agreement put on a transaction (i.e., license, joint...
November 8th is a little over forty days away. While the debate earlier this week focused on who was going to take the oval office in November, California has another big decision to make – whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Although California has repudiated marijuana legalization for...
By 2023, California’s minimum wage will reach $15.00 an hour, making it the highest minimum wage in the country.[1] While the benefits and burdens of this increase are mostly speculative, the empirical examples of wage increases in West Coast cities may illuminate an otherwise murky future for small businesses. Like...
