USCIS Filing Fees Set To Increase On 12/23/2016 Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has recently announced an increase in the filing fees for almost all of its applications. In particular, applications concerning the “million dollar investment greencard” face filing fee increases in the thousands of dollars. Further,…
Continue reading ›President-elect Trump Will Likely Retroactively Cancel DACA! On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred…
Continue reading ›Get Ready for the new 2017 California Employment Laws! Governor Brown has just signed several important measures that bring new changes to California’s employment laws, most of which will take effect on January 1, 2017. Here are some of the highlights: 1) Increased Paid Family Leave and State Disability Benefits: Effective January 1, 2018, state…
Continue reading ›6 Sick Days For Employees In Los Angeles City Starting 7/1/2016 Starting July 1, 2016, most employees within Los Angeles city will be entitled to accrue six sick days (48 hours) of paid sick leave per year. California state law already provides that employer must provide three days (24 hours) of paid sick leave per…
Continue reading ›2016 is the Year of Two Minimum Wage Hikes in L.A. The first minimum wage hike that already hit Los Angeles was on January 1, 2016. The second will hit when Los Angeles’ own minimum wage law goes into effect July 1, 2016, pushing pay within city boundaries to $10.50, the first of a series…
Continue reading ›$16.3 Million Age Discrimination Award Against Staples Upheld by Court of Appeal On May 26, 2016, the Second District of the CA Court of Appeal upheld a $16.3 million judgment—comprised of $3.2 million in compensatory damages and slightly more than $13 million in punitive damages—in favor of a man found to have been fired because…
Continue reading ›The Court of Appeal in a recent age discrimination case entitled, Davis v. Farmers Insurance Exchange (Cal.App. 3/28/16), affirmed a trial court’s jury instruction that the Plaintiff must prove his age was a substantial motivating reason for his termination; that the employer could use the same decision or mixed motive defense; and that a same…
Continue reading ›STEM Extensions Increased From 17 Months To 24 Months! Effective May 10, 2016, the STEM Extension OPT program has been expanded to extend the length of the STEM Extension from 17 months to 24 months. STEM OPT Extensions are available to students who completed a degree in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields at…
Continue reading ›The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has issued an “FAQ for Employers” on transgender rights in the workplace. Among other things, the FAQ provides: Employers should not ask questions designed to detect a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or questions about an employee’s plans to have surgery. If an employer has…
Continue reading ›If you ever wanted to get back at your employer by reporting it to the Labor Department for their illegal employment practices, there is something better you can do and get paid for doing it! California adopted a novel approach to enforcing the Labor Code of California when it enacted the Private Attorney General Act…
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