The Importance of Businesses Having an Employee Handbook

If you are a new company just starting out, or an established business, one essential item your business must have is an employee handbook. This essential business tool provides uniformity regarding expectations, job performance, and benefits for all employees. An employee handbook helps employees understand what to expect from their employer, as well as establishes boundaries and regulations regarding employee requirements. Ultimately, an employee handbook protects business owners who find themselves in challenging employee disputes and protects employees who feel that employers are not following their own guidelines. Common Policies to Include in an Employee Handbook Although every employee handbook [...]

2021-10-12T20:23:20+00:00March 20th, 2020|

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Primer for Property Owners in California

If you are an owner, landlord, or tenant of a property classified as a “public accommodation,” you have an obligation to understand and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — a federal law designed to prohibit the discrimination of people with disabilities. How does the ADA apply to property owners? Title III of the ADA requires all private places of public accommodation be accessible for the disabled. Examples of public accommodations include privately owned, leased or operated facilities such as: Hotels Restaurants Retail merchants Doctors’ offices The California Disabled Persons Act makes non-compliance with the ADA a violation [...]

2021-11-11T17:38:57+00:00August 7th, 2019|

Is Your Website ADA-Compliant?

Many of us see the Internet as a tool for making life easier, allowing us to perform necessary life functions from wherever we have Internet access. We can apply for jobs online, manage our bank accounts online, order groceries online, and even decide what we want to eat before we get to a restaurant by looking at their menu online. As more and more businesses advertise and offer goods and services online, their websites have gained almost the same level of importance as their brick-and-mortar stores, and the ability to access business websites unencumbered has become integral to being able [...]

Is Your Independent Contractor Really an Employee?

There have been disruptions in California barbershops, salons, tattoo shops, yoga studios, dance studios, and the like, after the recent California Supreme Court case, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, reclassified who can work as an independent contractor. The court imposed a new test, known as the ABC test, which determines whether an individual is an independent contractor, and includes the following: whether the worker is free of the control and direction of the hiring entity in the performance of the work (under contract and in fact), whether the worker performs work that is outside the [...]

The Ashley Madison Hack: What Other Online Businesses Need to Be Aware Of

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Business on Wednesday, September 9, 2015. The recent leak of the names and other identifying information of 30 million users of the Ashley Madison website has intensified the discussion about privacy on the Internet. The Ashley Madison hack is the latest in a series of notable online data and privacy breaches. The nonprofit Identity Theft Center recently counted 519 data breaches so far this year, which have targeted businesses, government agencies, and other institutions. The result is that nearly 140 million records have been exposed. Some records are more sensitive than others. Ashley Madison is [...]

Trump’s Breach of Contract Issues

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Business on Wednesday, September 2, 2015. Donald Trump's comments about immigrants may have negative legal consequences, but not if he can help it. Trump has sued the organization of celebrity chef Jose Andrés, seeking $10 million in damages for breach of contract after Andrés backed out of a deal to open the flagship restaurant in Trump's redevelopment of the historic Old Post Office Pavilion. Andrés, like other business owners, severed his connection with Trump upon hearing Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants. Andrés explained that working with Trump is "impossible" because Trump's comments and behavior made [...]

Do I Really Need a Contract?

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Business on Tuesday, September 1, 2015. When you form an agreement with another person, you may wonder if, or why, you need a contract. After all, you know the other guy (or girl), and contracts seem so formal, like something lawyers made up. Perhaps you were recently asked to sign an agreement and wondered "Why doesn't this person just trust me?" Many couples choose not to have a pre-nuptial agreement for this very reason - it may be seen as reflecting a lack of trust in one's partner and it seems less romantic to plan [...]

Louis Vuitton’s Checkerboard Pattern Is Not a Valid Trademark

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis Vuitton's Damier checkerboard pattern continues to lack trademark protection. According to the European Union's General Court on April 21, 2015, the design is considered to be too commonplace to be owned by one brand. The EU's decision affirmed a 2011 ruling by the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). According to that decision, the checkerboard pattern was composed of very simple elements and had been commonly used in relation to various goods. Without any features to distinguish it from other [...]

2021-10-13T16:56:43+00:00June 4th, 2015|
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