We are pleased to announce that
Steven M. Berki
has been named a partner at
Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle LLP
. Mr.
Berki represents individuals and corporate entities in litigation and class action matters in state and federal courts throughout California. Mr. Berki’s practice involves litigating all aspects of employer rights, consumer rights, and civil rights for both plaintiffs and defendants. He has also authored briefs and argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on a variety of legal issues including federal civil procedure, immunities, and attorney fee provisions.
Mr. Berki focuses his practice on complex litigation, including the representation of litigants in mass tort and catastrophic personal injury cases, employment discrimination and harassment, wage-and-hour violations, employee misclassification, civil rights violations, false claims act litigation, complex business disputes, and appellate matters. Mr. Berki also works closely with corporate clients, providing strategic advice on employment law investigations, litigation matters, subpoena requirements, partnership disputes, and contractual rights.
Mr. Berki represents plaintiffs in wildfire cases in Northern and Southern California, and was appointed by the Los Angeles Superior Court to serve on the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee in the Southern California Fire Cases against Southern California Edison, which injured thousands of families in the Santa Barbara and Montecito communities.
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On-Call Shift Pay Requirements
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Do you assign your employees “on-call shifts” and require them to call in to find out if they must report for work? If so, contact us to confirm that your practice complies with current employment laws.
In a recent case, an employer was required to pay its employees for on-call shifts even when those employees did not ultimately have to report for a shift. The employer assigned on-call shifts but did not tell the employee whether they had to report to work until two hours before the scheduled shift time. The employee was required to call in to work, physically show up to work, or otherwise establish contact with the employer two hours before the scheduled on-call shift to find out if they had to report to work. If the employee had to report to work, they were paid for the shift. If they did not, they received no compensation. The court found that the on-call shifts impose a tremendous burden on the employee because they cannot accept other jobs or schedule other activities, and they have to make child-care arrangements that may not necessarily need. Therefore, the court determined that the employee was “reporting for work” at the call-in time regardless of whether they were called in for the shift and were entitled to compensation.
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Our employer and business clients often ask us when they are required to pay their employees overtime. First, California law is more favorable to the employee than Federal law, so make sure to follow California law on this issue. California law requires that employees be paid overtime, at 1.5 times their regular hourly rate of pay, for any hours worked more than 40 hours per week and for any hours worked more than eight hours in one workday. Therefore, California employees may be entitled to overtime pay if they work less than 40 hours per week. Employees are also entitled to overtime pay, at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate, for the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in a row in any one work week. For hours worked more than 12 hours in a workday or more than eight hours on the seventh workday in a given work week, the employee must be paid at twice their regular rate. The penalties for failing to property pay overtime are stiff, so contact us to confirm you are meeting your obligations.
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Common Mistakes in Estate Planning
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What is the most common estate planning mistake? Not having an estate plan! The best way to ensure that your wishes about what should happen to your assets after your death are honored or what end-of-life decisions should be made for you, is to put together an estate plan that lays out these details. For parents of minor children, choosing a guardian for them in the event of the parents’ death is one of the most important decisions parents can make. The second biggest mistake that we see in our estate planning practice is not updating an existing estate plan when major life changes occur. New children, new grandchildren, new assets or properties are all good reasons to update your estate plan.
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Congratulations to our partner
Amanda L. Riddle
who proudly received the SMCBA Elinor Falvey Award at SMCBA Women Lawyers Section Judges’ May Luncheon. The Falvey Award is presented each year to a member of the San Mateo County community for their outstanding service to Women Lawyers and The San Mateo Legal Community. The Award is named for Elinor Falvey who was the first female president of the SMCBA in 1950.
Attorneys
Stevan N. Luzaich
,
Dario de Ghetaldi
,
Amanda L. Riddle
and
Levon Sagatelyan
were again named to the Northern California Super Lawyers list. The list represents the top 5% of lawyers in Northern California. Selection is made based on nominations, independent research on candidates and peer evaluation. In addition,
Amanda L. Riddle
was named one of the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Northern California and one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Northern California by Super Lawyers
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Community Partner Spotlight
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Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle LLP
is proud to be a long-term supporter of many non-profit organizations in the Bay Area. One of the excellent organizations that we support is
Samaritan House
, which has served our community since 1974.
Samaritan House
provides resources and tools for families and individuals to
guide them to self-reliance and success.
It is also
the largest food distribution agency in San Mateo County and provides clothing, shelter, health care, worker resources and counseling services free of charge to their clients. For the last several years
Clare Capaccioli Velasquez
, who serves on the board of the San Mateo County Trial Lawyers’ Association, has coordinated a charity event hosting Samaritan House clients and attended by local law firms their attorneys, staff and families to bowl for a good cause, with all proceeds from the event benefiting
Samaritan House
. This fun event has been put on by the San Mateo County Trial Lawyers’ Association for the past 16 years and has raised over $153,000 dollars for
Samaritan House
.
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Probate and Trust Litigation
We have extensive experience litigating matters resulting from estate disputes involving trust and will contests, challenges regarding mental capacity .......
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Real Estate Litigation
Our firm litigates cases on behalf of homeowners who have incurred property damage resulting from earth movement and landslides, as well as ........
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Appeals and Writs
We handle civil appeals and writs for our clients. Our appellate team is headed by
Dario de Ghetaldi
, whose first job in the legal profession was as ...........
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Millbrae Office
700 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
Phone: (650) 871-5666
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Half Moon Bay Office
625 Miramontes Street, Suite 106
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Phone: (650) 726-7578
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