Most people know by now that serial ADA lawsuit filer Scott Johnson was indicted by the United States Department of Justice for filing false tax returns back in May of 2019. The criminal case has wound its way through the federal court system for the last two years without any major action. As of today, the case has not gone to court for trial nor has Scott Johnson entered a plea. Scott Johnson’s criminal trial was previously scheduled to occur in August of 2021. However, Scott Johnson and the prosecutors jointly agreed to push out the trial date to April of 2022. By the time the trial is hear ..read more

Prolific filers of ADA lawsuits in California are always looking for something new to sue over. From faded parking lot paint, misplaced signs, and doors that require a few percent of extra effort to open, the alleged violations tend be highly technical in nature. But very recently a new tend has emerged. I am seeing dozens and dozens of ADA lawsuits over one thing: outdoor dining tables. Read on to learn more. All Public Areas of a Business Must be Accessible Let’s start with a brief recap. Any area of a business that is open to the public must be accessible to persons with disabilities. This ..read more

By now most business owners in California know that their businesses must comply with the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”). Most business owners also understand that they can be sued for not following the ADA rules. However, there is a new problem in California. Businesses are being sued because their website are not ADA compliant. Keep reading to learn more about this new problem. The ADA is a Great Law with Unintended Consequences The ADA is a very well intentioned law. It was designed to ensure that public places in America are fully accessible to people with disabilities. This is a go ..read more

Wage theft happens all of the time in California. For many reasons, wage theft is highly illegal. Employees and employers both need to be aware of all of the forms that wage theft can take. And how to stop it. Keep reading to learn more about this problem. Wage Theft Takes Many Forms Beyond the most obvious example — an employer simply not paying its employees — wage theft takes many forms. A small list of possible wage theft issues includes: Not being paid the minimum wage Failing to pay overtime Not calculating overtime appropriately Unauthorized deductions from paycheck Altering time cards ..read more

Calculating overtime pay in California can be tricky. Unlike Federal law, overtime in California is triggered when one of two conditions are met. For purposes of this article, we are only going to discuss time-and-a-half. Under certain circumstances, an employe may be entitled to double time. Read on to learn more about how to get these calculations right! Federal Overtime Law Compared to California law, calculating overtime under Federal law is relatively simple. In most circumstances, overtime is triggered after an employee works more than 40 hours in a workweek. Importantly, a workweek can ..read more

Jose Velez is a relatively new entrant to the world of frequent ADA litigation in California. A few years back, Jose Velez sued Il Fornaio in the Southern District of California for typical ADA violations. Il Fornaio, to their credit, moved to dismiss Jose Velez’s lawsuit. The District Court dismissed Jose’s lawsuit against Il Fornaio. The court ruled that Jose Velez did not have standing under the ADA to sue Il Fornaio. The Court specifically cited that Jose Velez did not sufficiently plead that his alleged disability subjected him to the protections under the ADA. Jose Velez appealed. On Jun ..read more

The entire planet is in the midst of a life-threatening pandemic. The economy is in shambles. Courts all over California are barely functioning. Businesses are closed. Families are sheltering in their homes under orders from their government. So are you surprised to hear that Scott Johnson is still filing ADA lawsuits? You should not be so surprised. Just yesterday Scott Johnson filed two new ADA lawsuits targeting small businesses in the Bay Area. Aren’t the courts closed? How is Scott Johnson able to do this? Here’s a tidbit of inside lawyer information: the federal courts in California all ..read more

ADA lawsuit abuse is a very big problem in California. As it turns out, there are a handful of professional ADA plaintiffs that file a majority of the lawsuits here. One common name that you see a lot is Jose Velez. Unlike other common ADA plaintiffs, Jose Velez represents himself. In other words, Jose Velez does not hire an attorney to file his cases. Filing a lawsuit without an attorney is acceptable in almost all courts in California. Jose Velez alleges that he is disabled. Specifically, Jose Velez claims that he is morbidly obese. He claims that his obesity creates mobility-related limitat ..read more

By now most business owners in California know that their businesses must comply with the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”). Most business owners also understand that they can be sued for not following the ADA rules. However, there is a new problem in California. Businesses are being sued because their website are not ADA compliant. Keep reading to learn more about this new problem. The ADA is a Great Law with Unintended Consequences The ADA is a very well intentioned law. It was designed to ensure that public places in America are fully accessible to people with disabilities. This is a go ..read more

Wage theft happens all of the time in California. For many reasons, wage theft is highly illegal. Employees and employers both need to be aware of all of the forms that wage theft can take. And how to stop it. Keep reading to learn more about this problem. Wage Theft Takes Many Forms Beyond the most obvious example — an employer simply not paying its employees — wage theft takes many forms. A small list of possible wage theft issues includes: Not being paid the minimum wage Failing to pay overtime Not calculating overtime appropriately Unauthorized deductions from paycheck Altering time cards ..read more