California strictly prohibits noncompete agreements with three very narrow exceptions involving partners, LLC members, and sale of a business (Business and Professions Code section 16600).  Any agreement that limits the ability of an employee or independent contractor from engaging in the work of his or her choosing is void under California law. Here are some [...]

On April 7, California DLSE released an opinion letter addressed to a program called Year Up.  Year Up places young people in internships in for-profit businesses as part of a year-long educational program.  The internships are unpaid, though the interns do receive a small stipend for living expenses. Even though the private for-profit businesses get [...]

When a group of people forms a cooperative to work together, they have to decide whether to treat themselves as employees of the co-op or as producers that contract with the co-op to provide products or services through the co-op. A prototypical producer co-op is made up of farmers that each work independently on their [...]

So, you have opened a business, and decided to hire employees – Now What?? A guest post by Susan Zeme, Esq., Law Office of Susan Zeme, 510.652.6895 or susan@swzeme.com 1.  Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Every employer must have Workers Compensation Insurance coverage.  Contact your general liability insurer or State Fund (www.scif.com) for details.  Things to [...]

Being an employer creates lots of legal obligations!  Here are some tips to make sure you are complying with the major ones and to reduce liability exposure (note that many of these are California-specific): Have an up-to-date job description for each employee Have each new employee complete the I-9 form and provide the required documentation [...]