Effective January 1, 2017, Assembly Bill 2532 eliminates the requirement that private employers contracting with state and local government agencies to provide specified employment services verify an individual’s legal status or authorization to work prior to providing services to that individual, as required by federal procedures.  AB 2532 also repeals posting requirements that notices be placed in prominent locations stating that only persons authorized to work in the United States be permitted to use the agency’s or the organization’s employment services. 

This ...

Effective January 1, 2017, Senate Bill 1015 removes the 2017 sunset provision of 2013’s Assembly Bill 241, the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which granted overtime protections to California’s privately hired domestic workers who are personal attendants.  The law is therefore permanent.  Under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, daily overtime is required after 9 hours worked in one day and weekly overtime after 45 hours are worked in one week.

This blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP.  It is essentially the random thoughts and opinions of ...

A prior Ask the Receiver® discussed the Fifth Circuit case Janvey v. The Golf Channel, Inc., 780 F. 3d 641 (5th Cir. 2015) (“Golf Channel I”). There the court found The Golf Channel liable to return $6,000,000 paid to it for advertising services it provided, that were used to help solicit investors in the Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme. The court found the advertising did not provide “reasonably equivalent value,” from the standpoint of the Stanford creditors, and, therefore, could not be used to support The Golf Channel’s defense to the receiver’s fraudulent transfer ...

Existing law requires businesses that serve the public or are open to the public and maintain toilet facilities to make those facilities available to the public free of charge. Existing law also states that publicly and privately owned establishments where the public congregates must maintain a sufficient number of temporary or permanent toilet facilities to meet the needs of the public at peak hours. These laws also require that each business establishment provide, within reasonable access, a sufficient number of toilet facilities for the use of the employees.

Effective March 1 ...

Unless you reside in a cave (in which case you likely will not be reading this), you are aware that we are moving towards a paperless society.  However, assumptions about providing documents electronically can be dangerous, and privacy rights must also be respected.  With respect to issuing Form W-2, IRS Publication 15-A provides the following:

Furnishing Form W-2 to employees electronically. You may set up a system to furnish Form W-2 electronically. Each employee participating must consent (either electronically or by paper document) to receive his or her Form W-2 ...

California law already prohibits employers with 25 or more employees from discriminating or retaliating against employees who take time off work for specified purposes related domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Assembly Bill 2337 (AB 2337) amends Labor Code section 230.1 to require that employers provide written notice of these rights to all new hires and, upon request, to current employees.  The bill also requires the Labor Commissioner to develop a form that an employer can elect to use to comply with this requirement, and when developed, to post it online.  The notice ...

QUESTION:  As receiver,  I sued a third party to collect funds owed to the entity in receivership.  I have settled the lawsuit.  The defendant’s attorney insists that I get court approval of the settlement. What a pain. Am I required to get court approval of the deal I cut? If so, which court needs to approve the settlement and what do I have to establish to get the settlement approved?

ANSWER:  Sorry, but yes, you do need to get court approval of the settlement unless the court previously gave you authority to settle litigation without subsequent court approval.  The court that has to approve the ...

Employers should post California’s recently issued 2017 minimum wage poster found at   https://www.dir.ca.gov/IWC/MW-2017.pdf .  The new poster reflects that the state minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees increases to $10.50 on January 1, 2017, and to $11.00 on January 1, 2018.  For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage remains at $10.00 until January 1, 2018, when it increases to $10.50.

The poster also contains 2017 and 2018 maximum lodging and meal credits that may be used to meet part of the employer’s minimum wage obligation for live-in ...

Effective January 22, 2017, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring will prohibit most employers in the City of Los Angeles from inquiring about a job applicant’s possible criminal history until an initial job offer is made.  Part of a national trend of “ban the box” laws, the ordinance bans the “check the box” or other questions on a job application regarding criminal convictions and prohibits employers from inquiring about such convictions by any other means until a conditional employment offer is made.  With limited exceptions, the ordinance applies to ...

QUESTION:  I have been appointed receiver to enforce a judgment. I filed a motion in the case which I served on counsel for the plaintiff (the judgment creditor) and counsel for the defendant (the judgment debtor).  The court denied my motion, without prejudice, stating that I need to serve the judgment creditor himself and that service on his counsel was not good enough.  What’s going on? I thought service on counsel for a party constituted service on the party.  

ANSWER:  Prior to the entry of judgment you are correct. Service on counsel who has appeared for a party in an action constitutes ...