If you are thinking about firing an employee, the primary step in the process will be to determine if a contract exists between your company and the employee. Indeed, the employment contract might limit your flexibility, by providing the employee with a specific term of employment, listing the acceptable reasons to fire or by mentioning […]
Sexual harassment and discrimination
As an employer, it is your duty to prevent any kind of discrimination or sexual harassment within the workplace. Sexual harassment is defined as any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Any conduct of a sexual nature that makes an employee uncomfortable has the […]
Tips for employers about overtime, meals, rest breaks and breast feeding
When you own a business with employees, you want to make sure that you comply with all the requirements of California’s employment law and that you didn’t leave any important matter behind. The most current overlooked issues within the workplace seem to be breaks, lunch breaks and overtime. Regarding overtime, most federal and state laws […]
Independent contractor or employee? What does an employer want? How does the government see it?
When you hire someone new, they will either be an employee or an independent contractor. This status will define the legal obligations that you will have to satisfy with the government. The worker’s status does not only depend on what the employer and the employee agree on. That status will be defined by a series […]
Starting a business?
Interested in starting a business but not quite sure how to begin? You first might take a look at what your options are: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company (LLC), C or S-corporation (for-profit), nonprofit corporation and cooperative. If you are trying to decide between a LLC and a Corporation please note that […]
Are you planning on filing a lawsuit in California? Court cuts have delayed all cases in court.
For the pasts 3 years, Bay area courts have suffered from deep state budget cuts. Recent state cuts have diminished the court’s ability to serve the public. Indeed, California’s courts have lost about 65% of their general fund support from the state in the past 5 years! Some areas such as divorce, child custody and […]
Getting divorced? Have you thought about mediation?
Getting a divorce can often be stressful and expensive.Though not always possible, other strategies like mediation may be used to allow you to make most of the decisions by yourselves and keep control over important matters like custody of the children, division of the property, etc. In case you need help with choosing which forms […]
Has your landlord increased your rent? Are your premises covered by rent control statutes?
Living in a rent control building means that your rent can only be raised by a certain amount per year. The San Francisco rent control law covers most rental properties in the city, constructed before June 1979. Also, some types of housing like subsidized housing; dormitory or residential hotels are not covered by rent control. Single family […]
Scott H, CA, 7/02/2013
First of all please let me congratulate you on your 20th (plus) years of dealing with people’s unfortunate issues! Let me also thank you for your help in my personal matter. Thank you for your patience, for your clarity throughout the process and your persistence when you noticed that things didn’t look quite right. I have already […]
Paul M. San Anselmo, CA, 11/08/2011
Peter is still my lawyer. We just completed a complex family will that brought up a lot of skeletons in the closet I did not know I had! Peter handled our family matters with great patience.