Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
NICODEMUS Plumbing, a company in Cypress, California was ordered to pay its 44 employees $858,840.20 in wages and $230,050 in fines for violations of California’s laws concerning overtime pay and…
ANY individual who has worked and contributed to the FICA/Social Security System for 10 years (40 quarters) can start receiving Social Security Retirement benefits at age 67. You may elect…
“ The only reason why the Real Estate Market is better is because banks have kept interest rates low but he claims that those rates are bound to move up and…
IMAGINE that you are a Chapter 13 debtor. You owe $100,000 of credit card debt. You receive a pension of $1,000, $1,500 from a part time job, and $1,500 from…
IMAGINE how frustrating this could be. You anxiously waited for months and months for your lender’s response after submitting your loan modification request. After countless hours of frustration on the…
TRAVELING technicians obtain over $8 million settlement for unpaid work time Lojack Corporation manufactures vehicle-tracking systems. Its technicians install and repair alarm and tracking systems for its clients. These installations…
ONE of Hawaii’s most distinguished business leaders is a Filipina. Joni B. Redick-Yundt has received awards and honors, not only from respected organizations, but from the highest strata of the…
YOU have worked for about 10 years and have paid to the Social Security (SS) administration through FICA deductions from your paycheck. Do you ever wonder if you are indeed…
WHY would a debtor want to compel bank to foreclose on his house? Recently, the LA times ran a story about a man who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in…
IF you are facing the prospect of filing bankruptcy for the first time in your life, it could be a frightening process. I bet you have a thousand questions going…
“THE family company is an inheritance to be protected and handed in the outcome of the last geeration and each generation’s commitment to the next” – Gianni Agnelli Late President…
IN an effort to keep labor costs down, some companies take shortcuts and break the law. One of these shortcuts is to classify workers as “independent contractors” so that they…
HERE’S a bit of good news for a change, for homeowners in California. More than 22,000 homes sold in Southern California in August, showing a 14 percent increase from a…
SUPPOSE that you lost your finger in a work related accident. You filed a worker’s compensation claim for that, then you filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A day after you…
FOR about 150,000 homeowners with a second mortgage held by Bank of America, it seemed too good to be true. In the last couple of months, a lot of my…
EMPLOYEES who are “on the clock” know that the employer must pay for work performed during this time. However, there are situations where it is not quite clear whether a…
IF CONGRESS does not extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 by the end of the year, homeowners will have to start paying income taxes on the portion…
HOW long should you retain records? I have some clients who throw away everything instantly. Can’t stand records. I also have clients who keep records forever. Rat packs. There must…
SOME people are content being average. There are also those who want to make a difference in the world they live in; who want to make their lives count — …
LET’S assume that you lost your job and are no longer able to make the mortgage payments on your house, so you quitclaim the house to your son who takes…
“HOW can I pay my creditors when my income is not even enough to cover my basic living expenses?’. This is a question that I hear everyday from people in…
Q: I WORK as a “caregiver” for a disabled senior at a private residence. In addition to caring for the senior, I also cook, clean the house, and do the…
MANY homeowners are still left with a mortgage balance that worth more than the value of the property. With the economy still being badly affected by the possibility of a…
WHY would single or separated taxpayers file as Heads of Household? Let us count the ways: 1. You have a lower tax rate than a single or married person filing…
A LONG-time and well-respected Filipino diplomat continues to rise through international ranks. Esteban Conejos Jr., the former Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, has recently been…
THE bankruptcy petition must be as accurate as possible, otherwise, debtor may have to go to jail for bankruptcy fraud. I cannot overemphasize the fact that the bankruptcy petition must…
Strategy development is a question-based process: Where are we now? Where would we like to go? How do we get there? Strategic planning—for both business and family—can help to strengthen…
Could the secret to perpetual youth be found in your smile (wink, wink)? Well, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration! But as you know, here at our practice, we…
ARE you struggling with debt problems? Are you doing your best to pay but simply can’t? Have you thought of filing bankruptcy but are afraid that this might not be…
ACCORDING to recent statistics, there are about 950 million active users on Facebook, 500 million on Twitter, and 150 million on LinkedIn. Not to mention the active users on MySpace,…
