California protects working conditions for employees in the state through a broad set of laws, rules and regulations. For example, California employers must pay their employees a minimum hourly wage (now at $9.00 per hour) and, generally speaking, one-and-a-half times the minimum wage for overtime work of more than 8 hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a workweek. There are exceptions for professional, managerial or technical employees who are exempt from the minimum wage laws. Employers in … [Read more...]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Takes Stand Against Arbitration Agreements That Ban Class Actions
After unprecedented levels of fraud by banks put the U.S. into the Great Recession in 2008, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rein the abuse practices of consumer financial companies. This includes banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, payday lenders, private education lenders, debt collectors, and credit reporting companies. Congress authorized the CFPB to enforce existing consumer financial protection laws and propose new regulations to protect consumers from … [Read more...]
Inspector General Report Provides Strong Clues on Trends in Healthcare Fraud
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal agency that runs the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Within the Department, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is charged with preventing fraud on the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and identifying and holding accountable those that have abused their role as healthcare providers. OIG conducts audits, investigations, and evaluations of Medicare and Medicaid, and works closely with attorneys within HHS and at the U.S. … [Read more...]
New California Law Aims to Close the Wage Gap for Women
In 1949, California enacted a law to ensure that women were paid the same as men for the same work. Sixty-six years later, the California Legislature amended that law in a way that might actually close the persistent wage gap women workers face. The Fair Pay Act of 2015, signed by California Governor Jerry Brown in early October, mandates that California employers pay men and women the same wages for “substantially similar work” as measured by skill, effort, level of responsibility, and working … [Read more...]
The Gross Inequities in Arbitration Clauses That Control Virtually All Our Consumer Agreements
If you own a cell phone, use a credit card, or subscribe to cable or satellite TV, odds are very high that your contract with those companies contains an arbitration clause. Your employment contract very well may contain an arbitration clause. Your car loan agreement. The vacation you just booked with an online travel site. All are likely to have an arbitration clause buried somewhere in the fine print. And that’s bad news for you if you ever have a dispute with any of those companies. In a … [Read more...]
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