When they are not properly paid. A number of law firms and corporate employers consider paralegals to be exempt from overtime. At the federal level, the Department of Labor (DOL) has stated that most paralegals lack sufficient specialized education to qualify for the learned professional exemption and are therefore not exempt from overtime. In this regard, the State of California generally applies more strict standards and will likely follow the DOL.Nor is it likely that paralegals could qualify as exempt from overtime under the other most common exemptions. Specifically ...

The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service recently released final regulations for employer responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that will delay parts of the employer mandate that require businesses with more than 50 employees working 30 hours or more per week to provide affordable health insurance coverage to workers. The final regulations are designed to allow a gradual phase-in of certain responsibility provisions that will assist employers in complying with and providing coverage during the transitional year of 2015.Specifically ...

QUESTION: I have been a receiver for quite some time and know how the system works. I have a case without much money currently in it. Instead of hiring counsel, can I file pleadings in the bankruptcy court or the district court, on behalf of the receivership estate, or do I need to employ counsel to do so?

ANSWER: A new appellate decision calls into question the ability of a receiver, and, in fact a bankruptcy trustee, to file pleadings and represent the estate (receivership or bankruptcy) in federal court. The case holds that only attorneys can appear and sign pleadings on behalf of the ...

The Supreme Court has agreed to review the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in United States v. Quality Stores which held that severance payments to involuntarily terminated employees were supplemental unemployment compensation benefit payments, rather than wages, that were not subject to FICA tax. The Supreme Court is not expected to issue its decision on this matter until this summer.

Employers who paid FICA tax on severance pay on an employment tax return for 2010 or later should consider filing protective refund claims in order to ensure that they receive a refund of the ...

When it’s a service charge. On June 25, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2012-34 which provides guidance to employers and employees on the difference between tips and service charges as well as on certain reporting requirements. The ruling states, among other things, that service charges paid to employees are taxable as regular wages and not as tips. Although the IRS delayed enforcement of Revenue Ruling 2012-34 to allow businesses time to make adjustments to comport with the new guidelines, the IRS will begin enforcement of classifying service ...

QUESTION: I just received notice that the lender to one of my clients is seeking to have a receiver appointed over my client’s shopping center. I think the proposed receiver is in the lender’s pocket and will not be neutral. The lender has used her many times, and in negotiations to restructure my client’s debt, comments were made that if an agreement could not be reached the lender would have “its receiver” take over and run the property. Is there anything I can do to prevent the lender’s receiver from being appointed if I cannot defeat the receivership’s motion?

ANSWER:

QUESTION: When I am appointed receiver is there anyone in particular that I need to notify?

ANSWER: There are a number of statutes which require a receiver to notify certain agencies of the receiver’s appointment. In particular, California Revenue & Taxation Code §18650 requires the receiver to notify the Franchise Tax Board of his or her appointment. Similarly, Internal Revenue Code §§6036 and 6903 require a receiver to notify the Internal Revenue Service of his or her appointment; as does California Unemployment Insurance Code §1090. IRS Form 56 may be used to provide such ...

All California employers should by now be using the new minimum wage law poster released by the California Industrial Welfare Commission. The poster serves to notify all employees of the planned minimum wage increases that will apply to most employees. Specifically, the poster states that the current $8.00 minimum wage will increase to $9.00 on July 1, 2014, and again to $10.00 on January 1, 2016, a 25% increase over 18 months. The poster also provides information on increased meal and lodging credits against wages that are available when an employer and employee voluntarily ...

A few months ago I posted a blog article that outlined the basic rules on when a terminated or resigning employee must be paid his or her final wages in the State of California (“Payments Upon Termination of Employment: Is Anyone Still Confused?”).  However, while an employer may now understand when an employee must be paid, where and how should the payment take place? Should the payment be mailed to the employee who has abandoned his or her job or is it permissible for the employer to hold the final paycheck until it is contacted by the former employee? Can the final paycheck be delivered ...

QUESTION: My order of appointment states that I have the power to commence litigation. Do I need a separate order from the receivership court if I want to sue someone?

ANSWER: A receiver’s “order of appointment,” along with any applicable statutes, vests the receiver with his or her powers. The order of appointment can provide that a receiver has the power to file suit without the need for a specific court order which provides for the litigation to be filed. That permission can be relied upon. Harting v. Cebrain, 10 Cal. App. 2d. 10, 17 (1935) [“The order appointing the receiver ...