In today’s New York Times, there was an interesting article entitled, “Affordable Care Act Could be Good for Entrepreneurship.” In the article, the author cited a new study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Urban Institute, and Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute that showed how the Affordable…
On May 23, 2013, the California Court of Appeal ruled in Heyen v. Safeway that a store manager lost her exempt status by simultaneously performing exempt and nonexempt duties. The plaintiff in this case, Linda Heyen, worked for Safeway as an Assistant Store Manager. Safeway classified Ms. Heyen…
In today’s New York Times business section, there is an article that discusses “favorite startup tools” of entrepreneurs. It discusses tools that assist entrepreneurs with (1) testing an idea, (2) getting user feedback, (3) idea iteration, (4) email marketing, (5) analytics, (6) project management, and (7) stakeholder communication….
I am often retained to recruit executive and professional-level employees for companies. I use a specific process that goes way beyond asking standard questions like, “What did you like about your last job?” or “Why do you want to work here?” Those questions aren’t all that helpful in…
As you know from previous posts in this blog, the choice of entity is a big question for most startups. Whether to form an C Corp, S Corp, LLC, partnership, or something else is one of the earliest — and most important — decisions an entrepreneur confronts. There…
On March 11, 2013, San Jose’s Minimum Wage Ordinance went into effect. That law, which was passed by voters in the November 2012 election, requires employers to pay their employees a minimum wage of $10.00 per hour for work performed within the city limits and requires the minimum…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a new federal I-9 form. This is the form that all employers must use in order to verify a new employee’s eligibility to work in the United States. Employers can continue to use the old I-9 form only until May…
On February 21, 2013, the California Court of Appeal held in Sanchez v. Swissport, Inc. held that an employer may be required to provide additional leave as a “reasonable accommodation” beyond the 4 month maximum pregnancy disability leave (“PDL”) required by California law. The Facts of the Case Employee Sanchez…
In Harris v. City of Santa Monica, the CA Supreme Court ruled that an employer could be liable under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) if that employer took “adverse employment action” against an employee and unlawful discrimination was a “substantial factor motivating” that action. However, the Court…
Many employers attempt to control what their employee can (and cannot) say in social media posts about the employer. But, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled in a series of cases that blanket restrictions on employee speech on social media are illegal. The NLRB’s position is…