Bay Oak Law

Quick tip for those of you who are filling out your Payroll Protection Program applications: Payroll includes more than just what shows up on a person’s paycheck. Payroll is defined as including: 1. Salary... 2. Wages this includes both employees AND independent contractors 3. Group Health Insurance Payments 4. Retirement Benefit Payments 5. Dismissal or Separation Compensation 6. Payment for Regular Leaves of Absence (vacation and sick pay) 7. State or Local Payroll taxes. Group Health Insurance and Retirement Benefit Payments are large additions, so don’t sell your business short. This is no time to skimp. Your accountant or bookkeeper can also help you on this important task. Remember taxes have been delayed to July 15th, so don’t feel bad about contacting them in early April

Business in the Time of Covid-19 By: Andrew K Jacobson As of March 16, 2020, everyone has been urged to work from home, if possible, and it is likely to last several weeks, or even months. Here are some things a small business owner can or should do to maintain operations and protect the business during this time. The media is full of stories about how unprecedented this pandemic is, but that’s not really true. Humanity has suffered many pandemics, from the Black Plague of th...Continue reading

Hello Everyone! Bay Oak Law will be remaining open with normal business hours (10AM to 6PM) during the "Shelter-In-Place" Order that has taken affect across the Bay Area, covering the counties of Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, and Contra Costa. Legal Services are included in the category of exempted businesses that may remain open during this period of essential services only. We will be glad to remotely attend to your needs during this period of global health cr...isis. Sending to all well wishes and good health! Bay Oak Law

A-B-C EASY AS 1-2-3 California employers need to have their heads up: California is in the middle of a huge re-balancing of the rights between employers and workers. Guided by the idea that employees are most companies’ best asset, California is cracking down on tactics that abuse worker’s rights. That includes traditional practices like using independent contractors. California is also adding resources to enforce existing laws that have long been ignored. Independent cont...Continue reading

A Copyright Farewell to Justice John Paul Stevens The Forrest Gump of the Supreme Court, former Justice John Paul Stevens, died on July 16, 2019, at the age of 99. Entitling him as Forrest Gump is to honor him, as being around some of the most significant events of the 20th Century. He met Amelia Earhart. He received from Charles Lindbergh a caged dove that Lindbergh had been awarded. He may have been the last person alive who was at Wrigley Field when Babe Ruth called hi...s shot in 1932. The Justice’s verdict: Babe Ruth did indeed point at where his home run shot would go..... https://www.bayoaklaw.com//a-copyright-farewell-to-justic/

In the 2018 case Close v. Sotheby’s Inc., 894F.3d1061 (9th Cir.2018), the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit held that the California Resale Royalties Act (CRRA), first made effective January 1st, 1977, is preempted by the 1976 Federal Copyright Act. Learn how this ruling affects your rights as a CA artist now! https://www.bayoaklaw.com//close-v-sothebys-inc-a-major-c/

Protect Your Business. Do you know "boilerplate language?" Cause you should! https://www.bayoaklaw.com//boilerplate-protects-your-busi/

Good news for retailers in California -- soon you'll be able to (legally) pass on the surcharges you get when a customer uses a credit card. https://www.bayoaklaw.com//credit-card-surcharges-will-so/

Today, the State Bar asked lawyers whether it should lower the minimum passing score on the State Bar. Naturally, Bay Oak Law thinks it should be raised, not lowered. http://bayoaklaw.procurrox.com/blog/21st-century-law/

This just in -- Martindale-Hubbell has just given me the "AV Preeminent" Rating for Business Law, Intellectual Property, and Labor and Employment. That is the highest rating available for both legal ability and ethics, and it was chosen by peers who know me. I very much appreciate everyone who provided a rating.

At Bay Oak Law, we take pride in helping many of our clients incorporate their new business entities. Please view our video series, Starting Your Own Business: Corporations v. LLCs v. Something Else? to see how we can help you form a corporation for your business.