Across the country, the gender pay gap debate wages and California, despite our tough fair pay laws, is no exception to this rule. Recently, two new laws, one which passed and one which didn’t, aimed to help close and better document this pay gap. According to the census bureau, the average working woman is earning only 86 cents per dollar earned by a man. While stride are being taken to close this gender pay gap, we’re clearly not there yet. The first law, AB 168, bars a prospective employer from asking about previous salary. The goal is to prevent historic... READ MORE

Owners and managers of a business have a number of different duties, enshrined in law, to the business. These duties are designed to protect other owners and the business itself from a single owner. One important duty to understand is the duty of care. This duty places responsibility on each decision maker to use reasonable care when dealing with others and in doing business transactions. Some examples of how the duty of care applies to a business: Property: Businesses that own property have a duty of care to customers who come onto their property. Customers, for example, must be treated... READ MORE

One increasingly common portion of employment agreements is a non-compete agreement, designed to keep an employee from leaving one business and immediately competing with their prior employer. There has been some debate in the courts about the extent to which these non-compete clauses are enforceable and there are some good rules of thumb for businesses looking to use non-compete agreements. Non-compete agreements are generally unenforceable in the state of California. To be valid, a non-compete agreement must be given in exchange for some form of consideration, meaning that the employee receives something of value, such as a job, some company... READ MORE

When you bring someone into your company as an employee or contractor, they may have access to vital trade secret information like client files and lead records. A non-solicitation agreement is an agreement, generally as a portion of a larger employment contract, in which the employee agrees not to solicit your clients and customers after leaving your employment. Some also include an agreement that the employee will not try to hire other employees from your business when they leave. Non-solicitation agreements, while often presented as part of the initial contracts signed upon engagement, they can be presented at any point... READ MORE

You’re probably familiar with the First Amendment and its requirement that Congress not limit or abridge “the freedom of speech, or of the press.” It surprises many people to learn, then that the First Amendment's protections regarding freedom of speech don't apply to a private company’s workplace. The amendment very specifically prevents the government from making any speech rules that restrict speech, but does not restrict companies or individuals from limiting speech. There are employment laws in place that restrict a company from limiting certain forms of employee speech, such as discussion around wages, hours, and working conditions. However, restricting... READ MORE

False advertising occurs when a company publishes an advertisement in a deceptive fashion about the price, quality, or purpose of its products and services. There are numerous state and federal laws regarding the specifics of what constitutes false advertising claims and what companies can and cannot say. An example of a false advertising claim is a company advertising a product at one price and then charging you another price when you complete the order or advertising a special price for a service but after your purchase, you discover that the serviced offered at this price is not what’s expected. We... READ MORE

Chase Law Group is a business and real estate law firm working with business and practice owners to develop comprehensive legal structures. Founder DeAnn Flores Chase earned her law degree from Southwestern University School of Law. She worked for 10 years litigating complex business matters in many Southern California courthouses before starting her own firm, South Bay Business Lawyers, in 2007 (changing the name to Chase Law Group in 2015). DeAnn and her husband, Bruce, have lived in the South Bay since 1996, and their two children attend local schools. Read The Full Article Here READ MORE

In 2016, employers face many risks and challenges in keeping employee information private and secure. As business owners are a particularly lucrative target, dealing with phishing attacks and maintaining absolute privacy are current daily challenges faced by employers. Employers must be constantly vigilant and aware of this type of fraud, especially since scammers and hackers use email, text messages, phone calls, and social media to steal data. In April of this year, former employees of Sprouts initiated a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Southern District of California against Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. ("Sprouts"). Because of a... READ MORE

In 2016, a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the writers of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," went to trial in federal court (Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, 15-cv-03462, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles). In June, a federal jury deliberated for just one day before rejecting the claims by the plaintiff. The plaintiff was a trust representing the estate of the late Randy Wolfe (aka Randy California) the guitarist for the band, Spirit. The alleged copyright infringement at issue in the case was for Wolfe's song "Taurus," based upon a claim that Page... READ MORE

The California Occupational Safety and Health Division issued a “High Heat Advisory,” warning employers to protect their outdoor workers from heat illness as temperatures went over 100 degrees in many areas of California. This should remind employers about the requirements of California’s Heat Illness Prevention (“HIP”) regulation, adopted in 2015. HIP sets specific requirements for potable water, shade, cool-down periods, high-heat procedures, emergency preparedness, and acclimatization, training, and plans for heat illness prevention. Pursuant to HIP, employers must Provide free water that is "fresh, pure, suitably cool" so that each employee may drink at least one (1) quart per hour.... READ MORE