Employment

When Should I Have My Employees Sign A Non-Disclosure Agreement?

February 16, 2018 | Ryan Penhallegon

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California is one of the most innovative and creative job markets in the world. Every year, advances in a wide variety of industries reach consumers as a direct result of work done by California employees. Fashion, entertainment, technology – these are just a few of the many industries which develop cutting-edge consumer goods in California. Employers can protect their valuable intellectual property in this creative and fast-paced market by making sure to have their employees sign a non-disclosure agreement. With strategic employment agreements, such as non-disclosure agreements, employers can create legally enforceable protections for their products, designs, developments, and other intellectual property.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property is a broad term which applies to creations of the mind. It can apply to artistic works, such a manuscripts or songs. It can apply to branding, such as logos, colors, and package designs. It can also apply to designs for inventions and consumer goods. All of these types of intellectual property have value, which is owned by an employer who hired a worker to create them. In some cases, this intellectual property can be a highly valuable asset. Employers should seek out an experienced California Employment Attorney to help ensure they have the correct strategic employment agreements to take precautions to protect their intellectual property.

Drafting and Enforcing Complex Indemnification Provisions

December 29, 2017 | Brett Bunnell

Risk management is an important strategy for any business. Silicon Valley businesses can protect themselves from liability with effective indemnification provisions – These provisions can be instrumental to easing the financial burden of a lawsuit against your company. Rather than your company paying for the legal costs of a lawsuit due to one of your business partners, you can obligate your business partners to pay for the legal costs through an indemnification provision. Learn more about the terms and conditions of indemnification and how to protect your business from future legal liability.

How Do I Indemnify My Business?

The first step to drafting an effective legal indemnification is identifying the specific types of liability your business needs to be indemnified from. For example, some businesses, such as theme parks, are based around services which are potentially dangerous to consumers. It is important that these businesses appropriately indemnify themselves against claims by those who use their business facilities. Specifically, theme parks may want to consider obtaining an indemnification in any contract with repair or technician companies providing repair and maintenance to their theme park rides. Professionals with high rates of malpractice claims (such as obstetricians) must also consider the appropriate means for indemnifying themselves against legal claims by patients.

Human Resource Department – Does My Company Need One?

November 17, 2017 | Jaclyn Ford

Silicon Valley companies have human resource (HR) departments to manage employment issues. HR departments both limit the company’s exposure to legal liability for employment-related claims and

facilitate the timely resolution of workplace disputes. For small companies, however, it can be difficult to train, staff, and maintain HR employees. A Silicon Valley employment law attorney can help you determine whether an HR department is right for your business.

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The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Human Resources

Negotiating A Severance Package

October 27, 2017 | Jaclyn Ford

Changing employment can be a stressful, life-changing event. Severance benefits can, however, ease the transition period. With sound advice from a skilled employment law attorney, California employees and employers can both negotiate severance packages which suit their needs.

While it may seem like a severance package is simply a final lump sum figure, the reality is that it can be a complex combination of many different components. An effective negotiation begins with identifying which of those components are most important to you. For example: many employees may be concerned with continued access to health insurance, and may therefore negotiate a lower lump sum payout in exchange for continued coverage. Employers, on the other hand, may be concerned with preventing a future lawsuit against the company. These employers may negotiate a comprehensive release of liability in exchange for the employee’s agreement not to sue the company.

Some people imagine negotiations as a poker game, in which neither party reveals his or her ultimate goals. This will not result in any resolution – let alone one which satisfies both sides. Instead, it is important for each side to be clear about what is most important so that solutions can be tailored to the needs of all involved parties.

Recovering Punitive Damages In Breach of Contract Cases

October 20, 2017 | Structure Law Group, LLP

A breach of contract can be a costly expense which causes an array of legal damages to a business. In some cases, this damage can be mitigated by negotiating a settlement with the breaching party

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in advance. In other situations, the contract must be resolved in litigation. And in the most egregious cases, a court can award a plaintiff punitive damages to deter the defendant from engaging in the behavior in the future. The experienced Los Angeles contract attorneys at Structure Law Group can help you explore all options after any breach of contract.

What are Punitive Damages?

Can My Business Partner Sue Me?

July 21, 2017 | Gokalp Gurer

When multiple individuals begin conducting business together, they may have effectively created a partnership, even if they didn’t intend to do so. Thus, even though partnerships can be formed without the partners actually signing a partnership agreement, the partnership and its partners become subject to state laws governing partnerships. The California business attorneys at Structure Law Group, LLP understand the laws and mechanics required to build a strong foundation for a partnership. Being careful and meticulous about the partnership formation process can also help to prevent litigation if and when a dispute arises between and among business partners.

Partnership Agreements

Although not required under California law, as discussed above, entering into a partnership agreement when forming a partnership is highly recommended. A partnership agreement is a legally binding contract that, among other things, dictates the roles of the partners and establishes guidelines for management of the partnership. In addition, partnership agreements set out how potential legal disputes will be resolved.

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:

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.

How To Prevent Competitors From Invading Your Workforce

December 9, 2016 | Jaclyn Ford

Many people will say that your business is only as good as your best employees. In fact, you may have one or more top employees who are absolutely integral in building and maintaining the success of your company. While having talented employees is a benefit to any business owner, it also tends to draw the attention of your competitors.

Identify the most important employees.

Your company may have some employees who could leave with only minimal interruptions to your business operations. On the other hand, there may be a select few whose absence may substantially harm your bottom line. Identify the top performers in your company through performance reviews and other tools and focus on keeping them satisfied. After all, your competitors will not be actively seeking your “benchwarmer” employees – they will be looking to take your Stephen Curry.