Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, the groundbreaking California Supreme Court decision that makes it harder for companies to claim workers, including certain REALTORS®, are not employees, can be applied retroactively, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month. The decision has implications for the many gig-economy companies that categorize workers as […]
Are You an Independent Contractor?
A sweeping new California Supreme Court ruling restricting who is an independent contractor is shaking up an exceptionally diverse range of industries, including real estate. The ruling, issued in April, affects an estimated 2 million independent contractors working in healthcare, beauty salons, gig economy jobs like Uber and Lyft, journalism, music, education, financial planning, agriculture, […]
Paint Companies Use Scare Tactics to Trick Consumers
Paint manufacturers that lost a recent court ruling are using scare tactics to convince homeowners they will be held criminally liable if their homes contain lead-based paint, according to C.A.R. “Paint companies are attempting to qualify an initiative on the November ballot to absolve themselves of liability by shifting the burden of the expensive […]
CA Housing Issues to Watch in 2018
Rising rents and home prices forced California’s housing crisis to the front of Gov. Jerry Brown’s and lawmakers’ agenda in 2017. Legislators passed the most comprehensive package of housing bills in recent memory designed to increase spending on low-income development and encourage more construction in general. But the bills, according to independent analyses, won’t do much to make […]