Articles/News
Ninth Circuit Revives Off-the-Clock Claim Post-Troester v. Starbucks Corp.
Last year in Troester v. Starbucks Corp., the California Supreme Court held that the de minimis doctrine did not apply to claims brought under California law. In Troester, Starbucks employees were required to clock-out before conducting various closing activities. In reaching its decision, Troester rejected the 10-minute de minimis threshold as inconsistent with California law and […]
Business Succession Considerations Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
Estate and Gift Tax Considerations An important update under the Act is the adjustment made to the federal estate and gift tax exemption (the “Exemption”). The Act effectively doubled the unified federal estate and gift tax credit, with an individual’s Exemption previously set at $5 million now set at $10 million (both inflation adjusted). In […]
New California Supreme Court Decision Holds Business Owner Cannot be Held Personally Liable on a Common Law Theory of Conversion Due to Failure to Pay Wages
The Voris decision involved a co-founder of a group of real estate investment startups who was fired after he raised financial improprieties involving his business partners. Voris was successful in his wage claims against the business entities. However, he was unable to collect because the start-ups were insolvent. Voris instead attempted to obtain a recovery […]
Donahue Fitzgerald Attorneys Recognized in the Best Lawyers in America® 2020 Edition
OAKLAND (August 15, 2019) – Donahue Fitzgerald LLP is pleased to announce that three attorneys have been included in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers in America: Dawn Newton, Franchise Law Kristin A. Pace, Tax Law Merrill J. Schwartz, Corporate Law Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as […]
What is Happening With Minimum Wage in Emeryville?
As originally enacted in 2015, the ordinance set a lower minimum wage rate for small businesses, with all businesses beginning to pay the same CPI-indexed rate as of July 1, 2019. In response to concerns about the burden on local restaurants, earlier this year Emeryville adopted an exception for “small independent restaurants.” The exception would […]
Considerations for Businesses With Seasonal Hiring
Sexual Harassment Training This year California expanded sexual harassment training requirements to include all employers with 5 or more employees and to require training for both supervisory and non-supervisory employees. If seasonal hiring is typical for your business or industry, seasonal employees count toward the employee threshold. Seasonal employees must receive sexual harassment training within […]
Tips to Hiring and Managing Employees
Classifying Workers (Independent Contractor v. Employee) Before looking for the right candidate, it’s important to first ask, “Is the worker an independent contractor or an employee?” Due to the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903, it’s become much more difficult to classify an employee as […]
California Consumer Privacy Act
Compliance with the CCPA will require many companies to reevaluate certain practices relating to the collection and use of Personal Information. This short note provides information related to who needs to comply with the CCPA and what is required to begin the assessment of the impact of CCPA on your organization. Important Dates January 1, […]
Donahue Fitzgerald Attorneys Named 2019 Super Lawyers
Kristin A. Pace: Estate and Probate Mary M. Rudser: Estate and Probate Elizabeth M. Engh: Estate and Probate Jonathan McNeil Wong: Immigration Practice areas represented include estate and probate and immigration. All recognized attorneys have been honored for seven years or more. The Northern California Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service […]
Berkeley, Emeryville, SF, and San Leandro Employers: Don’t Forget Mid-Year Minimum Wage Increases
Of the four, Emeryville’s is the highest, at $16.30/hr, and the same rate will apply to all businesses, big and small. San Leandro’s minimum hourly pay jumps to $14.00 on July 1, as Berkeley and San Francisco’s new minimum rate of $15.59/hr takes effect. Note that in prior years, Berkeley’s minimum wage increases occurred in […]