From the mid-1960s through the 1980s, the United States Congress enacted several laws that protect designated classes against discrimination. The groundbreaking civil rights legislation covers race, gender, religious, and age discrimination protections. Every President since Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act has signed at least one anti-discrimination bill into law. However, it was not until 1990 that American with disabilities received the same discrimination protections that other American demographics enjoyed. George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act ..read more

With a population approaching 40 million residents, it is not surprising that California is a leader in many categories. One of the categories the state leads in is the number of dog bite injuries suffered annually throughout the state. In 2019, California recorded more than 2,300 dog bite injuries that included nine fatalities. With beaches returning to full capacity and neighborhood sidewalks bustling with activity, dog bite injuries should maintain a robust pace as we move through 2021. The frequency of dog bite injuries in California should motivate residents to ask one question: How do ..read more

Litigating a medical malpractice case against one party presents several challenges. Your attorney has to prove negligence and the healthcare provider involved with your claim committed at least one act of proven negligence. Many healthcare providers have the financial resources to hire the best lawyers in the medical malpractice field. Then, we have judges and juries that tend to be partial to doctors, nurses, and surgeons. The one factor that makes litigating a medical malpractice case easier in some instances is only one defendant is legally liable for committing medical negligence. Howev ..read more

Federal and California statutes provide workers with several ways to take time off from work. Although many of the laws offer unpaid time off, the time away from work allows workers to tend to family matters, take care of a medical issue, or enjoy time away from work for maternity leave. Laws at both the state and federal level label the time away from work as protected time off, which means employers must grant the request from workers to leave the workplace temporarily. Unfortunately, some employers do not grant the request for protected time off or they never explain the protected time of ..read more

Both federal and California employment wage and hour laws protect workers against employer abuses such as not paying the minimum wage and failing to compensate properly for overtime work. Although the wage and hour laws grant California workers several protections, the laws do not enforce the protections until a worker files a wage claim. As a type of complaint workers file against their employers, a wage claim represents a relatively simple process that allows workers to demonstrate their employers violated one or more provisions of state and/or federal law. California workers have three op ..read more

If you face discrimination in the workplace, you might wonder what you can do about it. The first thing to do is understand that federal and California laws prohibit discrimination of any kind in the workplace. California employment discrimination statutes are part of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). At the federal level, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides the protections employees need to fight back against employment discrimination. Understanding employment discrimination laws gives you the foundation for fighting back against discrimination in the workplace. Let ..read more

Michael Duggan has a harrowing tale to tell that does not involve ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. “I was walking on a sidewalk next to a downtown skyscraper. All of a sudden, a fairly large chunk of cement crashed about 20 feet away from me. Some pieces of the cement hit me in the legs and stomach and I had to seek treatment for the injuries. The sad part of it was I had no idea who was legally responsible for the structural issue.” Michael is not alone in trying to understand the law as it pertains to the legal liability assigned for construction defects. Overview of the Law Most constructi ..read more

California has the distinction of having more dog bite cases than any other state in the country. In 2017, State Farm reported the company paid more than $132 million while processing around 3,600 dog bite claims. That is just one insurance company. Before 1931, California was considered a one bite state, but as more people flocked to the Golden State, lawmakers enacted a bill that made California a strict liability state when it comes to dog bites. What is strict liability for dog bite cases and how does it differ from the one bite rule that many states follow? Strict Liability: California ..read more

It is not the type of answer that most contestants on Jeopardy would get right. “The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US” might prompt contestants to ask questions such as “What is diabetes” or “What is a stroke.” Many of us know the first two leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease and cancer. The question that triggers the soothing bell to ring on Jeopardy might surprise you. “What is medical error.” According to a study conducted by John Hopkins, medical errors represent the third leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 250,000 death ..read more

Wrongful termination laws passed at the state and federal levels primarily address illegal firings in the private sector. For example, California has enacted several laws that prohibit private employers from firing employees because of race and gender, as well as for retaliation because a worker reported an illegal act. If private employers must follow several wrongful termination statutes, what happens to a federal worker whose employer committed an act of wrongful termination? One federal law that is highly effective at addressing wrongful termination cases in the public sector is called t ..read more