Category: Articles

Time to Stop the Abuse! Kindred Healthcare Inc. operates hospitals, nursing centers, and rehabilitation services nationwide. In 2010, it was sued by its employees in California, who alleged that Kindred violated labor laws by failing to pay the correct overtime rate, failing to provide meal periods, and failing...

Classifying workers as ‘independent contractors' may keep labor costs down. However, this practice may be unlawful and harms the true employee. True independent contractors (ICs) are not employees and do not have the same rights and protections that employees enjoy. ICs are not paid minimum wage, overtime, missed breaks, and other benefits...

CPS Security Solutions, Inc. (CPS) provides "trailer guards" for construction sites in California. The guards spend the night at their jobsites in residential-type trailers. They are instructed to investigate alarms and to prevent vandalism and theft. The guards were asked to sign an On-Call Agreement stating that the time...

When an employment relationship ends, do you know how to protect yourself so you preserve your rights? Knowing what to watch out for may help you weather the transition of being in between jobs. The following provides some helpful guidelines: First: Make sure that the employment relationship has ended and there is...

Pablo, a Filipino-American retiree, was persuaded by a crafty insurance agent to transfer his retirement money to a complicated annuity the agent was selling, and to transfer it again to a second insurance company. Pablo did not know that every time he transferred his money, this resulted in a surrender charge of...

Q: I am an hourly employee at a skilled nursing facility working 12-hour shifts, three days a week. I usually work more than 12 hours per shift finishing up paperwork but we are not paid for the extra time. There are times when I am asked to work a 4th day during...

Elder abuse is the neglect, exploitation or “painful or harmful” mistreatment of anyone who is 65 years or older or any disabled dependent adult aged 18 to 64. It may take the form of physical violence, psychological abuse, isolation or neglect by a caregiver. It may also involve financial abuse such as...

Can the employer legally fire a pregnant employee, who, after using up all her leave under California's Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (the pregnancy law), is still unable to return to work? The laws prohibit pregnancy discrimination of pregnant employees. Pregnancy discrimination is defined as discrimination on the basis of...

A disability insurance policy pays benefits when you are unable to work because of injury or illness. This allows you to meet your financial obligations, such as mortgage payments, or medical bills, while unable to work. Disability policies usually pay a fixed amount for a set period of time, such as five...

Q: I was bitten by a dog while I was invited to the home of a friend's friend during a social gathering. The dog owner told me that the dog was never aggressive and had never bitten anyone before. I was given first aid and assured that the dog's shots were current....

According to statistics, there are about 950 million active users on Facebook, 500 million on Tweeter, and 150 million on LinkedIn. Not to mention the active users on MySpace, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Flikr, to name just a few of the most popular social media sites that people frequent. The internet has...

Someone once observed: You know a driver is from Los Angeles when the driver has one hand on the steering wheel, another hand on a cappuccino, while talking on a cell phone, foot solidly on the accelerator, and turning to check their hair in the mirror. That would have been funny except...