Covering the week’s most noteworthy business news impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
IN continuing efforts to protect workers and their families from COVID-19, California recently enacted the following legislation: Notice to employees of potential exposure and report of outbreaks Assembly Bill 685 requires employers who were notified of potential exposure to COVID-19 to notify all employees who were on the premises at the same worksite as the…
Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III has stepped down from his post as ABS-CBN Corporation’s chairman emeritus and director, the broadcast giant announced Thursday, September 24. “Mr. Eugenio ‘Gabby’ Lopez III, today, tendered his resignation for personal reasons as Chairman Emeritus and Director of ABS-CBN Corporation,” the network said in a statement on Thursday. Lopez, 68, also…
Q: My coworkers and I have had to work from home due to COVID-19. We are slowly returning to the office and I am concerned. I am an older worker with well-controlled diabetes and I have family members at home who are immuno-compromised. I don’t want to be infected and I certainly do not want…
THE Philippines’ richest experienced a drop in their fortunes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the country’s economy. The collective wealth of the country’s 50 Richest dropped to $60.6 billion (P2.9 trillion) from $78 billion (P3.8 trillion) a year earlier, according to Forbes Asia. “Despite having one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, the Philippines…
THE Philippines was recently recognized as the top “digital riser” in East Asia and the Pacific by the Berlin-based European Center for Digital Competitiveness (ECDC). In ECDC’s Digital Riser Report, the Philippines was named as one of the world’s top digital risers along with France and Saudi Arabia. The report analyzed each country’s digital competitiveness…
Growing up, Vanessa Lee would sneak off with her mother’s copies of Glamour and Cosmopolitan to read about the latest beauty trends and do-it-yourself tutorials. Channeling her lola’s background as a beautician back in Abulug, Philippines, Lee would then take what she learned — from applying cut crease eyeliner to using available ingredients in her…
MOST people don’t talk about their credit card debt because they find it embarrassing. They can talk to their friends and family about everything else but when it comes to the subject of how much debt they are carrying, most people would not divulge any information. It makes them very uncomfortable. So, what happens is…
PHILIPPINE Senator Manny Pacquiao, the eight-division boxing world champion, is launching PacPay, a digital payment platform for global influencers, brands and fans. The boxer-senator’s technology startup, Pac Technologies, on Friday, September 11, announced that it has forged a “strategic partnership” with fintech remittance firm Remsea to further both companies’ initiatives in the fintech space in…
Q: I read about severe cases of COVID-19 infections requiring several weeks of recovery. Can the employer fire me while being on leave due to this illness? Do I have remedies? A: The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) protects employees’ rights to take a leave of absence due to the serious health condition of the…
IS there a constitutional right to file for bankruptcy? Yes, there is. The United States Constitution adopted 250 years ago provides for the creation of bankruptcy courts and the power to administer them. Our founding fathers believed that people should be given a chance to have a fresh start in life to become productive again…
1. Do not boast about how you got away with undeclared income. Ever heard of whistleblowers? They earn rewards of 15% to 30% of your assessments. 2. Do not hide interest and dividend income from the IRS. Remember Murphy’s Law: IRS sends a notice of unreported income of some savings and stock brokerage accounts that…
For illegal robocallers, the goal isn’t always getting you to answer. Sometimes, it’s getting you to call back. Every so often, your phone may ring once and then stop. If that happens to you, and you do not recognize the number, do not return the call. You may be the target of a “one-ring” phone…
THIS is one thing I hear from people all the time: “If you ask me, I really hate doing this, but I feel I have no choice.” Of course, no one ever wakes up one morning and decide to just file bankruptcy without seriously thinking it over. Usually, people spend a lot of time going…
Strong and successful business legacies, particularly those that attract consistent and robust growth throughout generations, are firmly founded on united, resilient families that employ effective family governance structures. This was the overarching theme of the discussions in the Family Business Governance conference organized by Icon Executive Asia and W+B Advisory Group entitled “The Power of…
THIS week, Los Angeles County began allowing certain hair salons and barber shops to operate indoors. Effective Wednesday, Sept. 2, hair salons and barber shops may resume indoor services as long as they don’t exceed 25% occupancy and the business owners fully comply with safety protocols: 6 feet of physical distancing and face coverings for…
With the coronavirus pandemic hitting the Philippines hard, Filipinos have started flocking to Facebook groups to trade their possessions for food, a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) found. “Online bartering groups have provided a lifeline to…Filipinos hit hard by the country’s months-long virus restrictions that started in March and have sent the economy plunging into…
THE U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced the settlement of an age discrimination lawsuit against Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a NASA field center located in Pasadena, CA. JPL is NASA’s primary planetary spacecraft center. It designs and makes planetary robotic spacecraft and operates NASA’s Deep Space Network. In the lawsuit, the EEOC accused…
WHO would have thought that we would have to go through a pandemic of these proportions in our beloved America during our lifetime? It’s not even mildly implied in the Nostradamus quatrains. Certainly, there was a reference to the September 11 attack by a man in a turban. But nothing mentioned by Nostradamus about 200,000…
YOU have just received an invitation to the offices of the Internal Revenue Service. They want to examine your return. Don’t panic. All these years, you have stashed funds for a rainy day. This is a rainy day. Here are tips to cover you from the rain: 1. Prepare. This is the best line of…
The project is expected to be completed by early 2022 A new chapter for a long-standing organization in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown is underway. Nonprofit organization Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) on Thursday, Aug. 27 announced it began rebuilding its new headquarters in the neighborhood that will incorporate affordable housing units. The project, named…
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has been named among the world’s top 10 safest airlines during the current coronavirus pandemic, according to a newly released database that looks at COVID-19 traveler health and safety protocols. Of the over 150 airlines evaluated by Safe Travel Barometer, PAL was listed as the ninth safest for both travelers as of…
By Martin Santiago PENDING home sales, which measure signed contracts to purchase existing homes, increased 5.9% in August compared with July, according to the National Association of Realtors. The usual summer slowdown in the housing market is not happening this year. Buyers continue to show strong demand, spurred by the new stay-at-home world of the coronavirus and…
WHEN the virus makes your income disappear overnight, it can be very frightening to realize that you can’t go very long without it because your bills don’t stop just because your income did. No one ever wants to file bankruptcy. But if you are one of the millions laid off and don’t even know whether…
DR. Jan Weber worked for 5 years as a psychiatrist for the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a public hospital in Santa Clara County. He was assigned at the hospital’s child and adolescent psychiatry department. During his employment, Dr. Weber complained to his supervisors about substandard patient care and unsafe work conditions, including the following:…
YES, I know, audits are serious stuff. But they do funny stuff to people like you when you are under audit, under stress. I have seen clients pretend to be cool when they are actually scared. My advice is for you to act naturally; otherwise, the auditor may think that the return is also a…
THE Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that was enacted in 1978 by the United States Congress to protect consumers from abusive debt collectors. Note, however, that the FDCPA applies only to third party collectors who collect debt for original creditors. It does not apply to the original creditor itself who…
Hair salons and barbershops allowed to reopen indoors starting Monday California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday, August 28 that California would be modifying how the state determines which counties can reopen. Moving away from the previous “watchlist” system, Newsom revealed California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy,” which he described as “more stringent” and “steady.”…
Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and every other country has seen the varying degrees of decimation to its tourism sector. Whether it is Italy, where tourism accounts for 6% of the country’s GDP or Palau where it generates almost 90% of all exports, countries are struggling…
Protecting consumers against sellers ANGELA Bolger bought a replacement laptop computer battery on Amazon.com, which was being sold by “E-Life,” a fictitious name used on Amazon by Lenoge Technology (HK) Ltd., a foreign corporation. Amazon charged Bolger for the purchase, retrieved the laptop battery from its location in an Amazon warehouse, prepared the battery for…
MANY people find themselves in the position of facing overwhelming debt, with constant calls from creditors and no obvious way out. For some, job loss sent them into a downward spiral, and they are now unable to pay their bills and meet their responsibilities. For others, a recent divorce or costly medical emergency drained their…
