Business Blog
Medical Loss Ratio Q&A
Thank you to Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. for providing the following information about the healthcare reform timeline for 2013 and 2014. Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. is an independent, multi-service, insurance brokerage and counseling firm. As benefit advisors, representing all major insurance carriers, Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. can assist you in determining real solutions to your benefit needs [...]
2013 Healthcare Reform Medical Loss Ratio
Thank you to Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. for providing the following information about the healthcare reform timeline for 2013 and 2014. Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. is an independent, multi-service, insurance brokerage and counseling firm. As benefit advisors, representing all major insurance carriers, Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. can assist you in determining real solutions to your benefit needs [...]
Healthcare Reform Next Steps
Thank you to Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. for providing the following information about the healthcare reform timeline for 2013 and 2014. Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. is an independent, multi-service, insurance brokerage and counseling firm. As benefit advisors, representing all major insurance carriers, Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. can assist you in determining real solutions to your benefit needs [...]
2013 Rings in Plethora of New Employment Laws
By Yuwen Chang
Range from Wage & Hour to Social Media Privacy 2013 ushered in numerous employment laws that will significantly affect California employers, with topics ranging from wage and hour to social media privacy. Employers should review their policies, practices, and employee handbooks to ensure compliance with these requirements, which, unless otherwise noted, went into effect January [...]
Changes Affecting Employers & Group Health Plans- 2013 & Beyond
Thank you to Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. for providing the following information about the healthcare reform timeline for 2013 and 2014. Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. is an independent, multi-service, insurance brokerage and counseling firm. As benefit advisors, representing all major insurance carriers, Maniaci Insurance Services, Inc. can assist you in determining real solutions to [...]
Trade Secrets & Employees-Part Two
Part Two: Strategies for Employers Losing Key Personnel to a Competitor When a high-value employee quits, there may be a chance that he or she could misappropriate the company’s business trade secrets. This can be exacerbated when a competitor hires the departing employee. In part one of our series about trade secrets and [...]
Trade Secrets & Employees
Part One: Lawfully “On-Boarding” a Competitor’s Employee I recently attended a symposium focused on trade secrets and litigation trends surrounding the loss of key personnel to competitors. In California, it is well established that an employee has a right to leave an employer at any time. Non-compete clauses are not enforceable against employees in [...]
Should I Sue?
By Iman Reza
Imagine you have the most amazing case. If you sue, there is little doubt that you would win. The facts appear perfectly aligned for you. But should you sue? Among the most important investigations you should commit to is a credit check (an asset search and financial investigation) of the defendant. In other words, does [...]
Time Off to Vote
By Yuwen Chang
With the upcoming general election on November 6, we’d like to remind you that California law provides employees with up to two hours paid time off to vote if he or she does not have sufficient time to vote outside of normal working hours. Employers may provide additional time off, but only a maximum of [...]
The Cautionary Tale of Entering Into a Private Loan with High Interest
By Iman Reza
In these difficult economic times, some are providing loans to distressed businesses and individuals at high interest rates. Based on a recent experience, I caution lenders to ensure their interest rates are legal. As you will see, there are some expensive pitfalls for breaking usury laws. Usury is the charging of interest in excess of [...]
Senate Bill 1060 Extends Anti-Deficiency Protection To Refinance Loans
By Lynn Lee
Homeowners who have resisted refinancing despite the low interest rates for fear of risking personal liability in the event of foreclosure will soon have cause to celebrate. Starting January 1, 2013, a new law enacted in California will protect homeowners who default on their refinance loans from personal liability for any deficiency following a foreclosure. [...]
Series LLC An Innovative Option to Forming Separate LLCs for Multiple Businesses or Properties
By Lynn Lee
There is a relatively new and exciting form of limited liability company (“LLC”) that has been attracting owners who own multiple properties. This form of LLC is the series LLC (“Series LLC”). A Series LLC is a limited liability company that has separate series under the umbrella of a parent LLC. Each series insulates the [...]
Senate Bill 1060 Extends Anti-Deficiency Protection to Refinance Loans
By Lynn Lee
Homeowners who have resisted refinancing despite the low interest rates for fear of risking personal liability in the event of foreclosure will soon have cause to celebrate. Starting January 1, 2013, a new law enacted in California will protect homeowners who default on their refinance loans from personal liability for any deficiency following a foreclosure. [...]
Insurance Companies Required to Pay Overtime to Adjusters
A California court has ruled insurance companies must pay their insurance adjusters overtime. Pursuant to Wage Order 4-1998 and Wage Order 4-2001, regulations promulgated by California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (ICW), as well as the Eight-Hour-Day Restoration and Workplace Flexibility Act of 1999 employers do not have to pay overtime to administrative employees. Interpreting the statute and [...]
When Can “Sold-Out” Junior Lienholders Obtain a Deficiency Judgment?
California has extensive foreclosure and antideficiency statutes designed to protect borrowers from deficiency judgments. Generally, under Code of Civil Procedure Section 580d, a lender is prohibited from recovering any deficiency on the loan from the borrower when it sells the property via a nonjudicial foreclosure. However, a potential exception occurs when a junior lienholder is [...]
Buying or Selling a Home in Foreclosure? Be Aware of California’s Strict Home Equity Purchaser Statute
In this declining real estate market where home prices have fallen drastically, it is tempting for investors to purchase residential properties in default to help friends or relatives or simply to pursue potential good investments. However, before you purchase or invest in a property, be certain that you know what you are getting into as [...]
Where Did My Settlement Go?
There was a point in time when you could settle an injury claim (e.g., automobile accident, slip and fall), and all you needed to worry about was your lawyer’s share of the settlement fund. That’s changed over the years, and among other things, you now need to consider whether a Medicare Set-Aside is going to [...]
Summer — A Great time to Review and Update Employment Practices
By Yuwen Chang
Last week we heard the news of an improved economy because the July 5 report from the Labor Department and ADP, Inc., indicated that new jobless claims fell by 14,000 from the previous week and the private sector added 176,000 jobs in June. The very next day we heard that the economy was still stagnant [...]
California Employers Must Provide Meal & Rest Periods, But Do Not Have to Ensure They Are Taken
By Iman Reza
The California Supreme Court released its much anticipated decision regarding the requirements for meal and rest breaks for non-exempt employees. The decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, No. D049331 (April 12, 2012) provides employers some needed clarity for a number of employment issues regarding the scope and timing of meal and rest breaks. [...]
