Episode 27 - Changes in CA and Federal Law for Employers 2023

In Sound Business Insights Episode 42 - Employer Updates for 2024 Part 2 Dan Watkins continues to explain changes in California employment laws that will affect employers in the coming year.  Part 2 of the conversation picks up where part 1 left off.  If you have not listend to part 1 you may wish to go back and review it after you complete this podcast.  SB 553 implements additional workplace violence protections for those who work in-office (versus those who work remotely). Small employers with less than 10 employees that are not open to the public are excluded.  There are initial steps to be taken this year in preparation for an expected roll out in 2025. 2025 will also see the expansion of TRO coverage to include harassment by another employee, client, vendor, etc.

Sound Business Insights Episode 42 - Employer Updates for 2024 Part 2 goes on to cover several new laws which will impact most employers.  Off duty cannabis use is now permitted in the State of California.  Protections are prvided for off-duty hours and drug tests can no longer include nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites.  New tests should screen for active THC (the employee is high at the moment of the test) and that is what will be required to take action.  You cannot ask applicants if they use marijuana.

Criminal background check policies have undergone substantial change as well.  If you are going to perform a background check on a potential employee the timing of that check will have to wait until the decision to hire has been made. Sound Business Insights Episode 42 - Employer Updates for 2024 part 2 continues with changes relating to healthcare workers and a new minimum wage for those workers.  These changes cover not only professionals but most employees in facilities with more than 25 physicians, even those in non-medical roles.  

It is important for all California employers to stay up-to-date with changes in the law and required updates to public notices, as well as the policies and procedures and employee handbook.  This lively discussion serves to inform employers of changes coming in the new year and how to prepare while avoiding risk, litigation, disputes and other adverse outcomes.

In Sound Business Insights Episode 41 - Employment Law Updates for 2024 (Part 1) our founder, Dan Watkins, discusses all of the important changes a San Diego or California employer must know going into 2024 and beyond.  The only constant in the life of a California employer is change.  How can you keep up with all the changes in California law as it relates to an employer?  How do you protect yourself from the increasing risks of disputes, lawsuits and class actions facing those who provide employment throughout California?

Sound Business Insights Episode 41 - Employment Law Updates for 2024 (Part 1) begins with an increase in minimum wage for California to $16.00 per hour and an exempt salary minimum of $66,560.  There have been significant changes to sick leave (we used to call this PTO) and how quickly employees must accumulate sick leave (40 hours or 5 days by the 200th calendar day of employment).  What is the new minimum accrual cap for sick leave?  What are the frontloading requirements for a San Diego or California employer and how do you make sure your sick leave policies fulfill the requirements of California law?

Sound Business Insights Episode 41 - Employment Law Updates for 2024 (Part 1) continues to discuss the requirement to notify all employees (past and present) of changes to the law regarding Non-Compete Agreements (NCAs) and how California has made NCAs not only void but illegal (exposing the employer to civil and even criminal action).  The new fast food restaurant minimum wage of $20 per hour begins April 2024.  Who does this apply to and will it affect your company?  Part 1 concludes with new requirements regarding compensation for training courses and whether or not these can be a condition of employment as well as a blockbuster development regarding retaliation: The legal presumption / burden of proof now lies against the employer in retaliation cases.  In other words, the employer is now required to prove they did NOT retaliate within 90 days of an employee engaging within a protected activity.  How does this single substantial and game-changing change affect the legal and financial risks you face as an employer?

In Episode 40 - Stock Purchase Agreements Dan Watkins discusses one of the most complex legal and financial transactions a business can undertake: a stock purchase.  What makes the stock purchase such a risk and how can the 40+ years of experience at the Watkins Firm in literally thousands of these transactions increase the likelihood of success in your acquisition or sale?

The Harvard Business Review recently cited multiple long-term collegiate studies which concluded the probability of success in a business merger or stock purchase acquisition was 30% or less.  In those transactions which were unsuccessful the target of the acquisition is either resold (at a loss) or outright closed within five years.  The Watkins Firm's track record of success is 85% to 90% in the words of Dan Watkins.  What makes the difference?

In Episode 40 - Stock Purchase Agreements we discuss the goals of the buyer and the seller and how to bring the two interests together to create a successful transaction.  What are the goals of the buyer?  The primary goal is usually to acquire the company while protecting existing relationships, revenue and goodwill through the transaction and into the future.  Taxes are a consideration for both the buyer and the seller.  The seller is obviously interested in achieving top dollar for their company and has an interest in making sure the buyer achieves their goals while the seller is either immediately or eventually free to take their earnings and move forward with their own goals and objectives.

Episode 40 - Stock purchase agreements is an insiders look at these complex business and financial transactions.  Why is due diligence the key to a stock purchase acquisition? How can the experience, proprietary due diligence checklists and contracts (such as the Letter of Intent or LOI) of the Watkins Firm increase the likelihood of success in your transaction?  How does the covenant of good faith and fair dealing apply to these transactions?  Access the insight of a business attorney with more than 40 years of experience and thousands of successful stock purchase transactions.

In Sound Business Insights Episode 39: What Keeps Employers Up at Night, Dan Watkins discusses many of the challenges a California employer faces and what our firm can do to help not only manage what is happening in real time, but to establish the right policies, processes, employee handbook and other aspects of daily documentation and work to prevent issues, disputes and lawsuits from ever arising, while making it much easier to keep small isues from expanding into large exposures.

Episode 39: What Keeps Employers Up at Night discusses the extensive challenges California employers face and perhaps the most important piece of advice we can provide to an employer: if you feel like there's something "off" or "strange" about an employee or how they're acting, you're probably right.  The best strategy is to pick up the phone and call the Watkins Firm for a free consultation to find out if there is anything that you need to be concerned about and how to handle it.

Episode 39: What Keeps Employers Up at Night discusses the types of disputes and lawsuits that an employer is likely to face, including PAGA lawsuits and class actions, and that it is often possible to substantially reduce the legal and financial risks, if not mitigate them altogether, just by having a brief conversation with the Watkins Firm.  Learn about the "secret clock" and the steps you can take as an employer to reduce your exposure to employee-related disputes and lawsuits and to keep legal and financial exposures at an absolute minimum.

In Episode 38 - What is a General Counsel Dan Watkins helps to explain why every business  should have access to an experienced business attorney - a general counsel.  If you're a company owner and you are trying to do everything right in the best way you can for your company, you're going to have general counsel, and that attorney or couple of attorneys or law firm will advise you on things that have to do with your business, your field specifically, and in general,  You'll also have a banking relationship because opportunities come along and if you wait to go get your banking relationship started, you're behind the eight ball. And also expenses happen. You need to have some kind of a flexibility there, some backup. And finally, and maybe most importantly, you'll have some type of accountant who's a professional. I'm not talking about if you're still just using a CPA or your tax person. I'm talking about how do you define what is profit? How do you define it to match what you are doing to match tax deductions, to match zoning, to match licensing, to match future sales, your exit strategy, to match all those things. How do you get your accounting? What is actually important to you? What is a real profit to you that's your professional accountant who you talk to on a monthly or quarterly basis? 

In Episode 38 - What is a General Counsel we discuss the concept of a business "coach."  Olympic athletes and professional athletes, they're the top of their game. They're rich, they're making money, they're performing at the highest level, and yet they all have a coach.  Your corporate general counsel knows you and your business.  In the case of the Watkins Firm, we've been in business for more than 40 years and have worked with literally thousands and thousands of companies of all sizes.  Odds are, we've worked with a company a lot like yours and know not only your industry but the things to watch out for, and, more importantly, the opportunities to grow and dominate.  It's the ability to pick up the phone and get a quick answer without a quick bill!  

Episode 38 - What is a General Counsel discuses every aspect of what your corporate general counsel should provide, from contracts to mergers and acquisitions to business disputes.  Employers in California face unbelievable challenges and need a lot of advice and counsel along the way.  And, if you are successful, it's not a matter of IF a dispute or lawsuit will arise, it's WHEN.  Your general counsel from the Watkins Firm is able to reesolve the vast majority of business disputes through effective leveraged negotiation.  70% or more of the remaining cases we are able to resolve by representing our clients in mediation.  We also represent clients in arbitration and at trial.

Having the Watkins Firm at your side as your general counsel gives you access to insights, counsel and proven strategies developed here in San Diego and Southern California across more than 40 years.  Learn more about why you need Dan Watkins and the Watkins Firm as your company's general counsel.

In Sound Business Insights Episode 37 - Healthcare Governance and Compliance Dan Watkins provides insight into the complicated world of corporate governance and compliance in the setting of a medical practice or healthcare-related business.  There are so many Federal and State agencies and entities that regulate, oversee or control a medical practice or healthcare business.  What are the issues any healthcare-related company will face when working on corporate governance and compliance in California?

Episode 37 - Healthcare Governance and Compliance provides an over of many of the agencies and the issues they address, and how this is different in a healthcare setting when compared to any other "normal" corporate environment.  Doctors and medical practices are told where they can get their patients from, what to do and not do (i.e. Stark Law anti-kick back regulations) and the substantial risks of penalties, fines and even licensing issues.

Episode 37 - Healthcare Governance and Compliance shares the types of compliance work required and how the Watkins Firm can contribute more than 40 years of experience to make that job simpler and to ensure governance and compliance requirements are met.  Dan Watkins even discusses the topic of "dead wood," independent contractor agreements and the role and benefits of an MSO not only to the practice but in terms of governance and compliance.

In Episode 36 – Best of Sound Business Insights Volume 1 we revisit some of the most important, insightful and entertaining moments of the podcast so far.  The episode begins with a few clips about why it is so important to have an experienced, proven business attorney.  This includes Dan’s genuine insight that any business should have 3 crucial advisors: an experienced business attorney, a CPA/Tax expert and a banker or source of funding.  These are the 3 advisors you can turn to and reply upon for a quick phone call to answer a question as well as insights into the challenges and opportunities you will face along the way.

Episode 36 – Best of Sound Business Insights Volume 1 is full of actual stories and the insights they provide as the conversation turns to one of the largest groups of clients we serve at the Watkins Firm: employers.  Dan shares his genuine belief that California is far and away the most challenging and toughest state in which to be an employer.  Dan shares the many types of challenges and regulations one faces as an employer, as well as the genuine and extensive risks of employee-related litigation and plaintiff’s lawsuits.  What are the important issues you need to address as an employer?  What are the best strategies for important documents such as the employee handbook, employment agreement and policies and procedures?  What important changes have occurred most recently in federal and state courts and how has this completely and positively changed the game for California employers (hint: big news in arbitration)?

Toward the conclusion of Episode 36 – Best of Sound Business Insights Volume 1 we speak with Katya Adams who is the Office Administrator and HR consultant for the Watkins Firm.  Katya provides insightful answers to some of the most often asked questions from clients who are employers including how to classify workers and the structure of payment.  Katya provides a few surprises including the steps required to implement a 4 day, 10 hour a day work environment.  Listen to Dan Watkins as he shares stories of real employers and learn the secret of the most important thing you can do the moment you learn about any employee-related dispute or lawsuit.  We hope you enjoy the first installment of our “Best of” series.

In Episode 35 - Crazy Things You Didn't Know Were Covered by Insurance Dan provides insight into commercial and residential insurance policies and the types of things most people wouldn't know about the denial of claims which, perhaps, should be covered.  Dan Watkins begins the episode with a bit of a lesson about a Supreme Court Justice, Learned Hand, who decided that insurance was part of the fabric of society and everyone needed to have access to insurance to prevent financial devastation.  "It is a fine art between what is possible (to be covered) and what the insurance companies will tell you."  Knowing that it "might be" covered is the advantage an attorney brings to the table.

In Episode 35 - Crazy Things You Didn't Know Were Covered by Insurance Dan provides some real world examples such as when you come home from vacation and water is running through your house.  If you submit the claim as a "plumbing leak" you will probably be denied.  Historically, a leak is maintenance item which is the responsibility of the homeowner to fix.  However, as Dan points out, if there is water everywhere the pipe must have BURST.  Because a BURSTING pipe is covered, when a leaking pipe is not.  Subtle differences between what "might be" covered and what is often denied.

Episode 35 - Crazy Things You Didn't Know Were Covered by Insurance covers a variety of terms, examples of when to call an attorney and ask for help and how the legal strategy pre-trial and during trial may actually affect whether legal fees or "Cumis Counsel" (Counsel who represents you but is paid for by the insurance company) is available.  The episode completes with a great story about a real client with a blown engine in a Jeep Cherokee just as it was coming out of warranty.  The dealer denied the warranty claim and wanted to charge $16,000 to replace the engine.  After questioning our client, Dan realized the client had seen the engine light and called to schedule an appointment but was put off for a few weeks by the dealer.  "Do you think that little computer in the Jeep might have recorded WHEN the check engine light came on and what the mileage was at that point?"  The warranty paid for the new engine.

In Sound Business Insights Episode 34 - Business Formation Dan Watkins shares from more than 40 years of experience the reason it is so important to work with an attorney during business formation if you are serious about your business.  If you don't intend to make money, you can download forms and go on the cheap.  If you intend to conduct serious business, especially if there is going to be more than one owner, the advice and counsel of an experienced business formation attorney will be extremely valuable from the outset, and during the life of your company.

In Episode 34 - Business Formation Dan discusses the reason you have a business entity in the first place: the corporate veil.  What is the corporate veil and why is this protection - the separation of the owners as individuals from the entity of the company - one of the most important issues to get right at the outset of starting your company?

Episode 34 - Business Formation covers everything from the types of business and corporate entities available in California to the differences between each type of entity and when you should consider it.  Dan discusses corporate entities for healthcare and medical practices such as the California Professional Corporation as well as the Management Service Organization or MSO.  In addition to a review of entities, Dan Watkins shares why it is so important to get the corporate documents right from the outset.  What are the Articles, the Bylaws, the Operating Agreement or Shareholders' Agreement (not to mention corporate minutes) and why are the clauses and options within these documents crucial to short and long term success?  Are you serious about business?  Disputes arise when companies make money.  If you intend to make money you should spend a few moments with one of the most experienced business attorneys in all of Southern California.

In Sound Business Insights Episode 33 - Misclassification of Independent Contractors, Dan discusses changes in California law based upon the Dynamex decision and the impact this is going to have on employers in California with independent contractors.  In this lively and candid conversation, Dan covers all of the draconian penalties which an employer will face if they misclassify a worker.