QUESTION: The last Ask the Receiver article discussed whether, in federal court, an order approving a receiver’s sale of assets is appealable. While the discussion was interesting, it was not too helpful to me because I am a state court receiver. What is the rule in California state court? Are orders approving a receiver’s sale appealable?

ANSWER: As the prior Ask the Receiver article indicated, in federal court the appealability of orders in a receivership are limited to three types of orders: (1) orders appointing a receiver; (2) orders refusing to windup a receivership; and ...

Effective upon signing, Assembly Bill 1506 amends the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, commonly known as “PAGA”, in a manner that should benefit employers and employees alike and reduce lengthy litigation. Among other things, PAGA permits employees to bring civil actions for violations of California Labor Code section 226(a)(6) and (8), which require an employer to provide its employees with specified information regarding their wages, including the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid and the name and address of the legal entity that is the ...

Assembly Bill 304 was enacted on an emergency basis shortly after California’s paid sick leave law, known as the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, became effective on July 1, 2015. There were good reasons for the amendment: the paid sick leave law was confusing and difficult to implement. Effective immediately, AB 304 seeks to clarify some aspects of the sick leave law and provides employers with greater options regarding implementation. Specifically, AB 304 permits employers to use a sick leave accrual rate other than the one hour for every 30 hours worked rate ...

Senate Bill 579 expands Labor Code Section 230.8, providing additional circumstances under which employers with 25 or more employees must provide school or child care activities leave. Beginning January 1, 2016, employees may take leave of up to 40 hours per year, not to exceed eight hours per month, to find, enroll and re-enroll a child in school or with a licensed child care provider, and to handle certain child care emergencies and school emergencies that prohibit the child from attending or require that the child be picked up from school. The leave will extend to a parent ...

QUESTION: I purchased assets from a receiver. The court approved the sale over the objection of one of the defendants. The sale has now closed. I was just informed that the defendant is appealing the order approving the sale. Can the defendant set aside the sale to me or am I safe?

ANSWER: In United States v. Antiques Limited Partnership, 760 F.3d 668 (7th Cir. 2014), the federal government sued to enforce tax assessments against a husband and wife and partnerships they controlled to which they transferred property. A receiver was appointed to manage the partnerships and to sell their ...

Effective January 1, 2016, Assembly Bill 1513 establishes Labor Code Section 226.2, which requires that employers paying piece-rate compensation must pay employees for rest and recovery periods and other nonproductive time separately from any piece-rate compensation, and that wage statements reflect these payments. The hourly rate paid for rest and recovery periods must be the greater of the applicable minimum wage, or the employee’s average hourly wage for all time worked excluding rest and recovery periods or overtime, and the rate paid for other nonproductive time must ...

Senate Bill 588, referred to as the wage theft bill, significantly expands individual liability for wage and hour violations by authorizing the Labor Commissioner to hold a hearing to recover civil penalties for wage and hour violations against not only the employer, but also a person acting on behalf of an employer, which includes an owner, director, officer, or managing agent of the employer. These persons may now be held liable for violating or causing a violation of any provision regulating minimum wages or hours and days of work in any Wage Order or the Labor Code. SB 588 also makes it ...

It was little commented upon as it worked its way through the legislature, being just one of thousands of laws proposed each year, but make no mistake about it—Senate Bill 358, The Fair Pay Act, is an important new law for California employees and employers. Prompted by the continuing wage gap between men and women, SB 358 is designed to improve a California law that has existed since 1949. Prior to the enactment of SB 358, employees claiming that they received unequal pay based on their gender had to demonstrate that they weren’t paid at the same rate as someone of the opposite sex at ...

Effective January 1, 2016, Assembly Bill 987 prohibits an employer from retaliating or otherwise discriminating against a person for requesting accommodation of his or her disability or religious beliefs, regardless of whether the accommodation request was granted. This legislation was in response to the California Court of Appeal decision in Rope v. Auto-Chlor System of Washington, Inc., in which the court held that a request for reasonable accommodation was not a protected activity under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and therefore a claim of retaliation ...

QUESTION: I know receivers often bring actions to set aside fraudulent transfers and recover the property transferred, but can a receiver be appointed in a fraudulent transfer lawsuit to take possession of and safeguard transferred property pending trial?

ANSWER: Yes, a receiver can be appointed in a fraudulent transfer lawsuit to take charge of the asset transferred or its proceeds, or an injunction can be obtained to prevent further transfers of the asset or its proceeds. These remedies are especially useful when the property involved is income producing. California’s, as ...