
Classification Complications
How to navigate the maze of California’s new rules on overtime and independent contractors
Employee classification is already murky territory for many business owners, and recent changes have further tightened requirements. Yet, with huge penalties attached to mistakes, the laws are critical to understand.

Dilemma of the Month: Managing Seasonal Labor
Dilemma of the Month: My business is quite seasonal. We have work year round, but in the off-season we don’t need the same number of employees. It’s just not profitable to keep everyone on the payroll 12 months out of the year. Can I drop hours? Can I lay people off and rehire? Are there things that make one option better than the other?

California’s Push To Make People Healthy—and Save Taxpayers Money
Diana Dooley may have led the largest agency in California’s government as secretary of health and human services for the past eight years, a job that led to her current post as Gov. Jerry Brown’s chief of staff—but she’s also a country gal from Hanford, in the Central Valley.

After Public Outcry, Lawmakers Revive California’s Gutted Net Neutrality Bill
Democratic legislators say they’ve settled their differences on net neutrality in California, advancing bills that, if passed, would create the most far-reaching internet regulation in the country.

DNA Detectives are Searching for Killers in Your Family Tree
In April, investigators arrested a suspect in the decades-old case of the Golden State Killer after sifting through online genetic data. The arrest has set off one of the most vigorous recent debates about privacy in the digital age.

Tax Filing Time: What (Not) to Do and Why
This year’s tax-filing deadline of April 17 will arrive whether or not your business is ready. What’s at stake? Comstock’s spoke with experts in the Capital Region to learn how your business can avoid tax audit triggers and abide by the rules.

Unions Prepare to Lose in the Courthouse and Strike Back in the Statehouse
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on a high-profile case that could slash the power of public-employee unions. But California labor leaders are already planning to push for new state laws to blunt the impact of an unfavorable ruling.

Dilemma of the Month: Speaking Freely on Social Media
A client recently threatened to quit working with us after seeing politically-charged posts she deemed offensive on one of my account manager’s social media accounts. I’ve asked the employee not to let this happen again, but he countered that we have no policy in place (which is true), and furthermore, these are his personal accounts and he is entitled to free speech. How can I deal with this situation?

California Pot Users Turn Out in Droves to Ring in Legal Sales
California rang in the new year with a newly legal product: cannabis.

Intel, Microsoft Deal With Widespread Computer-Chip Weakness
The world’s biggest chipmakers and software companies, including Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., are coming to grips with a vulnerability that leaves vast numbers of computers and smartphones susceptible to hacking and performance slowdowns.