Q: I recently applied for a job and I was asked to sign an arbitration agreement as a requirement to being hired. I heard arbitration agreements are not fair to employees. Is this true? A: Yes. Arbitration can be unfair to employees as well as consumers. Arbitration is a procedure to resolve disputes without…
OTHER rules for real property depreciation: If placed in service after 2017, qualified improvement property, in addition to no longer qualifying for bonus depreciation and being newly eligible as section 179 property, has a 15-year depreciation period (rather than the usual 39 year period for non-residential buildings). Apartment buildings and other residential rental buildings placed…
For about 12 years, Blanca Ramirez worked at the Jack in the Box in San Fernando, CA as a team leader. She reported to the employer’s anonymous hotline that another manager may be romantically involved with a 17-year old cashier at the restaurant. Ramirez claimed that she was harassed and retaliated against for doing this….
Businessman considers BK for $400K lawsuit Client is 68 and married. He just received a notice of bank levy on his accounts for a judgment against his wife. He asks if they can levy his bank accounts since the judgment is only against his wife. Yes, they can because there is a legal presumption in…
Part 1 of 2 The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act TCJA (“New Law”) effectively lowered the cost of acquiring capital assets by making substantial changes to the income tax rules for bonus depreciation and other “cost recovery” provisions. Bonus depreciation: Under Old Law, taxpayers were allowed to deduct 50% of the cost of most new…
ARE you in debt and in a constant state of worrying about your financial situation? Perhaps like most people, you live paycheck to paycheck and are barely surviving but you’ve made the mistake of borrowing more money than you can pay back. You’re not alone. This happens to a lot of people. But worrying and…
Look-through rule on sale of partnership interest: Under the Act, gain or loss on the sale of a partnership interest is effectively connected with a U.S. business to the extent the selling partner would have had effectively connected gain or loss had the partnership sold all of its assets on the date of sale. Such…
IF you’ve accumulated more credit card debt than you can handle, you may get this sick feeling in your stomach not knowing what to do about it. As a bankruptcy attorney, I find that this type of debt is the number one cause of financial problems that could lead to bankruptcy. Not because you’re making…
“The FBI investigates the scam and tells the client they can get their money back if the money is still in the account.” THE first clients are business partners who happen to be married to each other. They run a business that has been very profitable before President Donald Trump instigated his trade wars. From…
DR. Sheila Hudson worked as a Senior Associate Athletics Director and Title IX Coordinator for California State University, Los Angeles. She filed a lawsuit against her employer, alleging retaliation after complaining about the sexual harassment of young female employees by the athletic director. Dr. Hudson alleged that the director used “degrading, sexist names such as,…
(Part 1 of 2) THE Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) makes major changes to the taxation of partnerships, S corporations, and pass-through income. Most of these changes are effective starting in 2018 (for this 2019 tax filing season). 1. Partnership loss limitation rule: Old law mandated that a partner can only deduct his…
ARE you seriously in debt and don’t know what to do? Individuals who have accumulated excessive debt are often left to ponder whether bankruptcy is their only realistic way to get out of debt. However, they hesitate to do so because of all the negative things they’ve heard about bankruptcy. Sometimes, these people feel that…
THE creation of technology-driven industries has given rise to new business models that may not follow the traditional employer-employee relationship. Companies, for example, may practice “outsourcing” or “crowdsourcing” where they obtain the services from the general public, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. This has led to the rise of the “on-demand economy” or…
THE first client is 34. She is recently married and now has a one-year-old son. She used to be employed making a gross of $50,000 yearly. At the same time, she was doing a home-based business using credit cards to finance the purchase of goods for people who had no credit. She would use her…
I WAS in line at the grocery store the other day and noticed the man in front of me smiling and looking at me as if he wanted to say something. I only had a couple of items in my hands so he proceeded and asked: “Do you want to go ahead of me?” I…
THE client is 48, married and has a good job paying him $100,000 gross a year. A family emergency has caused him some financial hardship because money meant to pay for the house and credit cards were used instead for the medical expenses of his brother abroad. His brother is only 35 and single and…
Off-the-clock and “Unapproved” Work Hours are Still Compensable Q: I work as a nurse at a hospital that has a strict policy of no unapproved overtime. We don’t ask for approval since we risk being written up for “too much overtime.” We just clock out and go back to work to finish our charts. We…
THE Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) makes changes to the general business credit by adding a new Paid Family And Medical Leave Credit and changing the Rehabilitation Credit and the Orphan Drug Credit. 1. Paid Family And Medical Leave Credit: The Act introduces a new component credit for paid family and medical leave which…
THE first client is 48, married, and has a good job that pays $80,000 a year. His wife makes another $40,000 a year. Together, they make $120,000 gross a year. They have 3 children aged 5 to 12. The wife has no credit card debt, but the client has about $30,000 of credit cards left…
ERIC Hazard worked for 17 years for Raley’s as a pharmacy manager. Eric’s son, Andrew, is 32 years old and disabled with hydrocephalus, a buildup of water on the brain, and scoliosis that has left him permanently paralyzed. Due to his son’s health, Eric requested leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the…
Estate and gift tax exemption: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) increased exemptions (nice) for estates and gifts to $11.2 million ($22.4 million for married couples). Before tax reform, few estates were subject to the estate tax, which applies to the transfer of property after someone dies. Now, even fewer people have to deal…
“So now I say to you, if you have accumulated debt, take it easy, we can get rid of those burdensome debts that weigh you down every day of your life with Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Don’t even think of killing yourself, it’s not worth it.” A HIGH-income earner only pays $400 per month…
WHILE nearly all articles relate to change, let’s depart from that norm and discuss a few deductions that won’t change. 1. Student Loan Interest Deduction: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) allows student loan borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 on the interest paid for student loans every year. Student loan interest is interest you pay…
ROSARIO Contreras-Velazquez worked for Family Health in its medical records department when she suffered a work-related repetitive strain injury to her right upper extremity. After surgery, she developed complex regional pain syndrome. She also suffered from a frozen shoulder, as well as inflammation in her right hand, which prevented her from being able to fully…
CLIENT is 72. He still works his normal job and makes about $3K a month. He also receives social security of $1K. So, his total income right now is $4K. He tells me that he is tired of working. His wife doesn’t want him to work anymore. His wife retired ahead of him at age…
DONOVAN Sebastian worked in sales for Sprint/United Management Co. Sprint provided him and other employees with vehicles for them to travel between stores. Sebastian, on behalf of himself and other employees, sued Sprint for withholding wages purportedly because the employees drove the company vehicles for personal use. The employees also claimed that they were improperly…
THE first client is 48 and got married in the last four years. Her husband was a foreigner who professed his love for her in so many ways. Unfortunately, his love for her was actually for her U.S. citizenship. The client, who had never been married before, fell head over heels for her newfound…
GENE3RALLY, you may deduct casualty and theft losses relating to your home, household items, and vehicles on your federal income tax return. What used to be deductible under old law has been suspended (meaning not deductible for the current year) with the exception of federally declared disasters. Old law: Under old rules, you were able…
ARE you debts growing faster than your income every month? Trying to pay what you can but feel like you’re running on a treadmill and not getting anywhere? Do you have that sick feeling in your stomach after realizing that you have gotten yourself in more debt than you can actually pay back? If it’s…
Q: I was diagnosed with herniated disc and severe anxiety. I want to request leave but want to keep my privacy at work. Do I need to tell my employer about my medical or psychological condition? A: No. The employee is not required to disclose the nature of the employee’s medical condition or disability (i.e.,…
