Category: Uncategorized

Herald the corporate compliance officer. If you are of a certain age and a long-time corporate employee, you likely remember the days before office computers, company emails, sophisticated phone systems and other tech enhancements. Those improvements dramatically propelled us from the days of IBM Selectric typewriters and secretaries who hand delivered notes regarding the calls…

Larson & Gaston, LLP is pleased to announce that Yasmine Hussien was recognized in the 2016 Southern California Super Lawyers Magazine. “We are very proud of Yasmine. She’s a wonderful young attorney and sure to have an amazing career,” said Managing Partner, John Larson. “This recognition by her peers, her second in two years, is a tribute to…

When certain businesses become legal for the first time, there can be difficulties with legality and intellectual property. Take for instance the current aim to legalize marijuana sales within the United States. In some states, it’s only legal as medical marijuana, whereas it’s legal to use recreationally in others. The difficulty that has now arisen…

Senate Bill 588 (Labor Commissioner’s Enforcement of Judgments) SB 588 establishes new procedures for the Labor Commissioner to enforce judgments against employers who fail to satisfy a final judgment against them for nonpayment of wages and also in certain cases extends liability from companies to owners and officers. Under this law the Labor Commissioner has…

It is small wonder that construction law issues potentially and actually faced by property owners, developers, general contractors and other parties centrally involved in construction projects across Southern California are many and complex. After all, just consider what is involved in a large-scale building endeavor that proceeds from an initial planning stage to ultimate completion.…

Assembly Bill 1513 (Hourly Pay for Rest and Recovery Periods for Piece-Rate Workers) Over the last few years several courts have found that California’s minimum wage law applies to the “non-productive” time spent by employees who are paid on a piece rate basis. For employee truck drivers, this “non-productive” time might be pre- and post-inspections…

Larson & Gaston, LLP is proud to announce that Pasadena Magazine has recognized four of its lawyers at Top Attorneys for 2015. This year John Larson was recognized in the categories of Insurance Law and Civil Litigation. Daniel Gaston and Victor Cosentino were recognized in the category of Business Law. Gloria Medel was recognized for her work in Civil Litigation Pasadena Magazine annually reaches polls thousands of…

There is a vast chasm separating the considerations that underlie execution of a residential versus commercial lease, respectively. Negotiations regarding the former lease product — if any — are typically conducted in rather perfunctory fashion and in a take-it-or-leave-it vein. Although variations do occur in lease terms in select cases, of course, it is certainly…

A new decision came out today from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that will definitely affect the use of temporary workers and may also affect the use of independent contractors by opening the door to their unionization. You can read the NLRB press release here (https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/board-issues-decision-browning-ferris-industries). That release has a link to the actual…

Intellectual property is very important to businesses and entrepreneurs. The property itself can be the basis for a company or an idea that spurs great gains in employment. Intellectual property can be stolen, though, and it’s something you have to beware of as a business owner. When it’s taken, you’re losing money and profits. You…

When you create your company, you focus on your goods, services, and assets. Your brand is designed to incorporate these items, and the intellectual assets you gather become very important to keeping up your business’s appearance. You focus your time and energy on developing your branding through hours of research, graphic design planing and engineering.…

We’ve written twice recently, here and here about per diem disputes between motor carriers and equipment providers. This issue heated up over the fall and winter of 2014-2015 when many disputes were submitted to arbitration by the motor carriers. According to a report from the Journal of Commerce this past May 2015, as of May 11, 2015, the Intermodal Association…

When you were younger, did people ever ask you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Your answer probably changed as you grew because you started to recognize your talents and how they could play a part in the world. Like most people, you probably tailored your career to both your skills…

Every couple of years, the topic of minimum wage is bound to come up in conversations, pitting workers against political figures who may disagree on whether raising the minimum wage is a good idea or not. 2014 was one such year, which also resulted in a public address from the president who urged Congress to…

The conduct of an employee while they are with a business and after they leave the business can have some rather significant effects on the business as a whole. This is one of the reasons why business owners often put a great deal of time and energy into the content of their contractual agreements with…

As Lenora Lapidus, director of Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, said it best, “pregnant women should never have to choose between their job and their pregnancy.” As you may know, this was one of the very things that the addition of pregnancy discrimination to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act…

Whether you’re a privately owned business or a large corporation, chances are you have probably taken steps to make sure that you are in compliance with all facets of the law. You have probably taken these steps because you know how costly and damaging civil litigation can be for a company, which isn’t something you…

Whether you’re an inventor or a writer, an entrepreneur or an actor, protecting your creativity and innovation are probably incredibly important to you. This is especially true if you rely on your talent for your livelihood. But because of complexities within the law, it can be difficult for the everyday person to know if their…

Unless you’ve gone to law school or study the law in your spare time, you’re like a lot of people across the nation — you probably are quite unfamiliar with the state and federal laws that are at work every day. One such law is the Fair Labor Standards Act. You’ve probably heard this law…