Corporations

Minimum Wage Increase Across the States

June 16, 2017 | Jaclyn Ford

If your business employs at least one person, you should always be aware of the ever-changing wage and hour laws in California and your particular city. In addition, if your company has locations and employees in multiple states or cities, you need to be in compliance with the laws of those jurisdictions, as well. One important aspect of employment law is that many states and cities are raising the required minimum hourly wage. Ignorance of the changes to minimum wage laws is not a valid defense to violating those laws and noncompliance can be costly. Contact the California employment attorneys at Structure Law Group, LLP to stay up-to-date on the latest employment law. The following is a brief overview of the recent updates to minimum wage in California and increases in other parts of the United States.

California Minimum Wage Adjustments

California has a legislative plan in effect that aims to raise the minimum wage across the state to $15.00 per hour by the start of 2022 for most businesses and by 2023 for smaller businesses. There is one set of guidelines for companies that employ 26 or more individuals and another set for companies with 25 or fewer, so it is important to know which set of guidelines applies to your business. However, depending on where you conduct your business, a higher minimum wage may apply than what has been enacted by the California legislature, as many cities across the state have increased the minimum wage on their own. For example, San Francisco raised its minimum wage to $13.64, which will increase to $14.00 per hour on July 1, 2017. San Jose’s minimum wage is currently $10.50 for all employers and will increase to $12.00 per hour on July 1, 2017. It is critical to know what the local and state minimum wage is in order to ensure compliance and the employment attorneys at SLG can help.

What do I Need to Know when Firing a Problem Employee?

May 26, 2017 | Jaclyn Ford

As the owner of a corporation, LLC, or other business, you want employees on your team who improve efficiency and increase profits. However, as cautious as you may be during the hiring process, there is always the chance that an employee may become a problem. In some cases, talking to an employee and discussing an issue can result in them changing their behavior for the better. In other cases, behavior may get worse. You may be getting complaints from your customers, vendors or even other employees. In such cases, it may be best to terminate the employment relationship.

Often, the problem is that not many people take getting fired lightly. While California is an “at-will” employment state, meaning employees can be fired for any legal reason (e.g., non-discriminatory) or no reason at all, many people get angry and look for a reason to hold the business accountable for their job loss, even if it did nothing wrong. For example, if you excuse a male employee for being late regularly yet fire a female employee for tardiness, you may be accused of sex discrimination. Allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination can be made. Even if such allegations are unfounded, you could have to spend valuable time, energy, and money defending against these claims.

The experienced employment law attorneys at Structure Law Group, LLP can help you establish employment practices and employee handbooks that will allow the employment process to run more smoothly. The following are some things to consider when firing a problem employee:

Drafting Website Terms of Use – Part II

April 28, 2017 | Structure Law Group, LLP

Previously on this blog, we discussed two important matters relating to the formation of the Terms of Use on your business’s website: avoiding using boilerplate language in favor of terms tailored to your specific business and having a privacy policy regarding the collection of customer information. The following are two more important things to consider during the process of drafting and posting your website’s Terms of Use.

Have Clear Sale Conditions

Many companies use their website to conduct online sales. No matter what your product is or the size of your operation, failing to have clear conditions of sales on your Terms of Use can result in disputes and even legal claims. The terms of a sale should be in clear language that the customer can read and agree to prior to making a purchase. Some terms to address in this part of your Terms of Use include the following:

What Constitutes Undue Influence?

April 21, 2017 | Ryan Penhallegon

Every time a contract is signed, the potential exists that one party fails to perform the obligations specified under the contract. In such cases, the aggrieved party may elect to file a lawsuit to try to seek performance under the contract or, more typically, for losses incurred as a result of the other party’s non-performance. However, in some cases, there may be a defense to the enforcement of the contract. One such defense is undue influence.

Undue influence is the unfair or improper persuasion of one person by another or excessive persuasion that causes another person to act or refrain from acting by overcoming that person’s free will resulting in inequity. A party’s apparent consent to a contract (or transaction) is not free or real when it is obtained through undue influence. In other words, a contract obtained though undue influence is voidable. Consent is deemed to have been obtained through undue influence when the purported consent would have been refused if the acts constituting undue influence had not existed.

In California, there are four circumstances, prescribed by the civil code, in which undue influence occurs:

What do I do if I have a Data Security Breach?

April 14, 2017 | Mark Figueiredo

As a business owner, you should take every possible precaution to ensure that the information of your clients, customers, and employees are safe. However, as many corporate owners will tell you, even the most well-prepared companies – large or small – can be the victims of data breaches. One precaution to protect your company from these data security breaches is to seek counsel from an experienced California e-commerce attorney from the start. The following are only a few steps you may want to consider taking if a data breach happens to your business:

Take Immediate Action

The minute you learn of any type of breach, you should start working to repair the leak. You can do a lot of damage control by immediately addressing security flaws and securing the rest of your data. You should identify which servers have been affected and the nature of the data on those servers.

Differences Between S- and C-Corporations

March 31, 2017 | Katya Mezek

Entrepreneurs are faced with numerous decisions when forming a business. First, they need to contemplate the nature of the corporate entity they wish to operate (i.e., corporation, limited liability company, partnership, etc.). This decision hinges on many factors including the type of business, the desired ownership structure, tax considerations and potential financing opportunities. If the entrepreneur determines that forming a corporation is most advantageous for his or her particular situation, then he or she must next decide whether the corporation will be taxed as an S-corporation or a C-corporation.

The “S” and “C” designations refer to different subchapters of the federal tax code. They each have their own governing requirements and qualifications, some of which are laid out below.

S-Corporations

The Basics of Crowdfunding – Part 2

March 17, 2017 | Mark Figueiredo

Types of Crowdfunding for Investors

Like other types of investments, all crowdfunding campaigns are not created equal and one campaign can vary significantly from the next. There are two main types of crowdfunding investments on which we will focus here: reward-based crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding. However, it is important to realize that these are not the only types of crowdfunding available for investors in today’s market. In addition, there are many guidelines, requirements and regulations differing for each type of crowdfunding.

Reward-based Crowdfunding

What are the New Overtime Regulations?

March 10, 2017 | Jaclyn Ford

Last year, the Department of Labor (DOL) set forth a new “Final Rule” on overtime requirements that gave millions of Americans the right to time-and-a-half overtime pay. The law in place for years gave automatic overtime rights to non-exempt individuals who earned $455 per week ($23,660 annually). The new rule approximately doubled this threshold to $913 per week and was set to go into effect December 1, 2016.

On November 22, 2016, a judge in a Texas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction on the overtime rule, which halted it from taking effect. The DOL initially sought an expedited appeal of the matter and all of the briefs in the appeal of the injunction were to have been filed by January 31st. However, the litigation is on-going so what will happen to the law is still very much uncertain.

The change of administration only complicates the matter further, as the Trump administration opposes the rule. In reality, the new leadership of the DOL could drop the appeal and simply let the injunction remain permanently. Having an experienced employment lawyer who is up-to-date with these laws can help you understand the rules and mold your business accordingly.

Drafting Website Terms of Use – Part I

February 17, 2017 | Structure Law Group, LLP

The Terms of Use for a website is critical to maintaining control of how users access and use the information on the website, and in limiting liability for unapproved uses. Regardless of whether users actually read the Terms of Use – many don’t because it typically contains complex legal jargon – the Terms of Use binds users to its terms by virtue of their use of the website. The Terms of Use constitutes a contract between the business and the customer. That legal jargon protects from liability from users and allows control over the information contained on the website.

Businesses with an online presence — whether it be social media, e-commerce, mobile, static or interactive site — should always craft a carefully written Terms of Use. These terms are written to include a variety of different subjects relating to the business, the customer, information that is exchanged, information received and how that same information may be used.

Avoid Using Boilerplate or “One Size Fits All”

The Basics of Crowdfunding – Part 1

February 3, 2017 | Mark Figueiredo

What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding refers to entrepreneurs seeking relatively insignificant financial contributions from a large number of people, often via social media or other internet networks, to fund the start or growth of a business venture. According to one report, more than 600 crowdfunding sites exist and raised billions of dollars for various types of businesses in 2015 alone, worldwide.

Types of Crowdfunding