myvector © 123RF.com

A Primer on Defending Your Calif. Insurance License

For clients, there is little that can match the emotion of receiving an accusation from the California Department of Insurance seeking to revoke the license that justifies your business's existence. The reason is that licensees are conditioned to believe they have little to no rights when defending against the department. In this instance, it is good to be wrong. (Read more)

milla74 © 123RF.com

Insurance Clusters Not Immune from Trade Secret Liability

An insurance cluster — sometimes called an alliance, network or aggregator — is a group of agents and brokers combined under a common association for mutual support and the ability to market their individual books of business as part of a group. (Read more)

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Tweet Tweet:  Employment Law & Social Media

The NLRA inures to employees a right to discuss their wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment with their co-workers in many settings, including via social media. This is known as an employee’s Section 7 rights. (Read More)

David Crockett  © 123RF.com

Expedia-Orbitz Merger Likely to Survive Regulatory Scrutiny

To follow up on a recent post, according to Expedia and Orbitz, the Department of Justice  (DOJ) antitrust division has requested additional information regarding the review of its pending $1.6 billion merger.  (Read more)

Hans Geel  © 123RF.com

Arsenic in California Wines?

A class action was filed in California Superior Court on March 19, 2015, against a number of notoriously low-cost brands of wine sold in California. The lawsuit alleges that dozens of wineries in California are in violation of state law for knowingly producing, marketing and selling wine contaminated with arsenic, and failing to warn consumers about potential dangers. (Read more)

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How to Implement a Cyberattack Protection Plan

Hospitality has been on the receiving end of several major cyberattacks in recent years.

Hotel cyber criminals are increasingly getting smarter and constantly finding new ways of stealing customer data from hotel websites, systems and front desks.  (See more)

Vivian Seefeld © 123RF.com

Will Elimination Of Tipping Reduce Wage-And-Hour Risks?

With minimum wage increases already taking effect around the country, and the threat of tip credit-related lawsuits, many in the restaurant and hotel industries are rethinking the use of tipped based compensation models for their employees. (See more)

Jozef Polc © 123RF.com

Has Eden Roc Really Impacted Hotel Management Agreements?

Twenty years ago, nearly all full-service hotels were owned and operated by global brands. In the intervening years, virtually all those brands have moved toward an “asset-light” strategy, divesting themselves from the burdens of hotel ownership and focusing instead on hotel management and franchising. (Read more)

anyka © 123RF.com

Trade Secrets -- Protecting What Matters Most

California businesses invest significant resources to develop their customer lists and client data. However, most businesses fail to take steps to protect that information because of the mistaken belief that such information is automatically protected "trade secrets.” In California, a business is required to take certain basic but affirmative steps to ensure that their client information fits within the definition of a trade secret. Failing to take those steps can put the confidential client information at risk.  (Read more)

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Restrictive Covenants: Enforceable or Not Enforceable? That is the Question.

Whether you are an executive seeking a new job as a result of a voluntarily or involuntarily termination, or the HR professional assigned to manage the employee’s separation, there is a good chance that you will run into a restrictive covenant and be required to assess whether it would be enforceable under the circumstances. (Read More)