The Importance of Writing A Business Plan & Its History December is National Write a Business Plan month which is a fitting time for entrepreneurs to be inspired to put a business plan in motion to create the future they desire.  On average the 500+ million business owners around the world have at least two to three competitors, so writing or revisiting your business plan before the new year can put you at an advantage above your competitors, help you obtain funding, and have a strategy for reaching customers. Whether your business is new or old, having a plan to... READ MORE

Are you a woman-owned business? Getting certified can open the door to new opportunities. Having a women-owned business certification can help you build trust to set yourself apart from the competition and gain access to lucrative private and government contracts. There are several different types of certifications. Federal programs often look to do business with Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) and the private sector accepts the Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) certification. Build Credibility and Boost Visibility Certification places your business in a database of suppliers used by private and government agencies when they’re contracting... READ MORE

California employers are required to reimburse their employees for “all necessary business expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties.” (See California Labor Code section 2802.)  Employers failing to properly reimburse their employees for work-related expenses risk exposure for the unreimbursed expense, attorneys fees, and possibly a Private Attorney General (PAGA) claim or class action if the practice of not reimbursing employees is widespread.  Importantly, employers are obligated to proactively determine whether an employee is incurring expenses and cannot simply rely upon the argument that the employee never requested reimbursement.... READ MORE

This month we remind you of upcoming changes and deadlines coming at the end of this month related to California employment law and discuss a recent California decision impacting meal and rest period violation and premium pay reporting requirements. Increase in City of Los Angeles and Unincorporated County of Los Angeles Minimum Wage Requirements Effective July 1, 2022 Effective July 1, 2022, minimum wage for employees working within the City of Los Angeles will increase from $15.00 per hour to $16.04 per hour. The City of Los Angeles minimum wage rate applies to any employees who perform at least two... READ MORE

A common wage and hour issue targeted by savvy Plaintiff’s employment attorneys is whether employers correctly and accurately provide meal and rest periods to their non exempt employees.  Under California law, an employee is entitled to an hour of pay for any missed or interrupted meal or rest period that an employee is not provided each day (for a maximum limit of two hours of penalty per day) going back over four years.  Additionally, if the meal and rest period violations occur across the board to all or many employees, such violations can serve as a basis for a Private... READ MORE

As a small business owner, self-employed person or wage earner who may earn income not subject to tax withholding (i.e., your employer withholds tax from your paycheck), you may want to look into making quarterly estimated tax payments to help avoid unexpected tax bills or a penalty. Typically, if one expects to owe $1,000 or more when filing their 2021 tax return, they need to make estimated tax payments. In addition to business owners and self-employed persons, sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders are also expected to make tax payments. Corporations generally must make these payments if they expect... READ MORE

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a safe harbor allowing employers to exclude certain items from their gross receipts solely for determining eligibility for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The ERC is a refundable payroll tax credit available to eligible employers whose operations were fully or partially suspended due to a COVID-19 shutdown. Employers may be eligible for the ERC if its gross receipts for a calendar quarter decline by a certain percentage when compared to a prior calendar quarter. This safe harbor permits employers to exclude certain stimulus proceeds from gross receipts... READ MORE

Paid sick and family leave tax credits under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) are available to eligible employers for providing leave to employees to accompany a family member, household member or certain other individuals to obtain or recover from the COVID-19 immunization. Eligible employers can tax credits for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave for reasons related to COVID-19 including qualified leave wages and certain other wage-related expenses (such as health plan expenses and certain collectively bargained benefits). The ARP tax credits are available to eligible employers that pay sick and family leave for... READ MORE

As a business owner, it’s not enough to just have a contract, but truly “living” with your contract is the key to your best business protection. Living with your contract means knowing what your contract says, knowing what your contract means, and knowing how to enforce it when the time comes.  Here at Chase Law Group, we work with business owners on a daily basis and we find that oftentimes new clients come to us using a contract that they may have downloaded from the internet or they’ve borrowed it from someone else in their industry. Now they’re using that... READ MORE

In the face of the recent upswing of Covid-19 cases related to the Delta variant, many employers have elected to require all of their workers be vaccinated. But what is an employer to do if an employee refuses to be vaccinated? As a preliminary matter, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) has issued an opinion that California employers may mandate Covid-19 vaccinations for its employees. However, the employer must engage in an interactive dialogue with employees who have a disability-related or religious reason for refusing an FDA-approved vaccine. Note however, an employee who doesn't "trust that the... READ MORE