The Family First Coronavirus Response Act

The current pandemic has caused a flurry of legislation. For most business owners, the most important, immediate law to pass is The Families First Coronavirus Response Act.  Below is information on FFCRA and links to a few useful websites, including an SBA website for small business grants and website by the California Realtors Association.

Exemptions for Small Businesses
We have received inquiries about one provision of that law.  Small businesses can be exempt for hardship by the Federal Department of Labor for certain provisions of the law.  How to apply for an exemption has not been published yet.  The latest guidance from the DOL is:

If providing child care-related paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave at my business with fewer than 50 employees would jeopardize the viability of my business as a going concern, how do I take advantage of the small business exemption?
To elect this small business exemption, you should document why your business with fewer than 50 employees meets the criteria set forth by the Department, which will be addressed in more detail in forthcoming regulations.
You should not send any materials to the Department of Labor when seeking a small business exemption for paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave.

If you believe you could qualify for this exemption, document in detail now. Further regulations will be made detailing how to apply.

Below is information on FFCRA and below are links to a few useful websites, including an SBA website for small business grants and website by the California Realtors Association.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) includes provisions for free testing, paid sick leave and family leave, unemployment aid, and nutrition assistance. It will be in effect April 2 through December 31, 2020.  FFCRA amends several laws, especially those relating to employees and the tax code.  Some major provisions are summarized below.

Family Leave
FFCRA expands upon the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Employees employed for at least 30 calendar days can take up to 12 weeks of protected leave to care for a child under the age of 18 when the child’s school or daycare is closed due to a public health emergency related to COVID-19. Additional stipulations include the following:

The first 10 days may be unpaid, but employees can use accrued paid leave (vacation or sick days, for example)

After the initial 10 days, pay for each workday is based on the employee’s normal   

Read More

Trademarks: What to Know and How to Look at Them by Eric D. Morton

This is a recent presentation I gave for the Attorney Action Club of San Francisco (via Zoom). The emphasis of the presentation is on how to think about trademarks, how to look at them and what is really important about them - Use!

Where is your data?  Our latest article on the data or information that businesses have. Today, businesses have a need to know what data they have and where it is located. 

Details Matter

Corporate and contract formalities are important, and often overlooked or minimized.  If you don’t memorialize the terms AND ensure that all the parties have validly executed a partnership agreement, you can expect to have headaches, at a minimum, and you could put significant rights or investments at risk.   Failing to sign documents or properly prepare them can lead to disaster. From time to time, I handle disputes in which agreements or entity documents were unsigned, or badly written. Just this year, I had several matters where the parties involved simply did not the execute agreements that were designed to prevent their disputes or resolve them if they did arise.

Unfortunately, clients sometimes gloss over formalities without thinking through the consequences. If you fail to properly execute and maintain your corporate governance documents, for example, the shareholders of the corporation could be held personally liable for business debts. You might be precluded from resolving a dispute among the LLC members if you haven’t executed the operating agreement.

The same can be said for other documents like estate plans.  Yes, you need to get that amendment to your trust signed and notarized.  

Why is this important?

Attorneys assume that every contract must be proven in a court of law.  read more

I will be discussing the dangers of mis-classifying workers on August 15, 2019 in Oakland.  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/misclassifying-workers-can-be-a-crime-tickets-66615166757

Non-solicitation agreements may not be enforceable in California.  Read our article here

Enforcing Non-solicitation Agreements

Attorney Eric Morton, of Clear Sky Law Group, will answer questions about non-solicitation agreements. Recent court cases have significantly restricted the enforceability of non-solicitation contracts (or such terms in employment contracts). Many businesses have non-solicitation agreements or terms that are invalid. When such an agreement is invalid, then an entire employment contract can be found invalid. Business owners need to understand the limits of the law in the area.
April 17, 2019 at 8 a.m. at Peets Coffee 1615 Broadway, Oakland, California.