Hungry for Change: An Overview of California Waste and Donation Legislation  Read More

On November 7, 2018, Severson & Werson co-sponsored the Women, Diversity & Change Summit in San Francisco, California. Members Kristin Walker-Probst and Mary Kate Sullivan attended and moderated a panel on Unconscious Bias and Discrimination and Succeeding in Male-Dominant Environments respectively.   For more information, click here. Read More

The Basics: Mortgage Servicing Compliance 101 – 2 Credits Everything starts with the fundamentals. Fitting for the professionals new to the industry or seasoned servicers for the reinforcement of basics learned long ago, this course offers the participants the chance to lay down a foundation of knowledge surrounding servicing and loan ownership transfers, account maintenance, escrow accounts, force-placed insurance, and… Read More

Any person who “causes” an employee to be paid” less than the minimum wage set by state or local law is liable for a civil penalty as is any person who “causes to be violated” laws governing overtime pay.  The civil penalties can be serious:  for first time intention violations:  $50 or $100 per underpaid employee per pay period; for… Read More

The California Legislature enacted the Homeowner Bill of Rights (“HBOR”) in 2012 to provide protection for homeowners facing non-judicial foreclosure and to modify certain aspects of the foreclosure process. Many (but not all) HBOR statutes were scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2018. Of the statutes that were scheduled to sunset, many (but not all) were replaced by parallel statutes… Read More

On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court clarified the landscape for California employment law. The Court announced a new three-pronged “ABC” test which must be used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. The impact of this new legal framework is immediately clear for the gig economy but its reverberations will be felt throughout… Read More

View the SW Summer 2018 Newsletter Since its founding over 70 years ago, Severson & Werson has gained a reputation for providing specialized advice, legal services, and expertise to financial institution clients. The services we provide run the gamut from litigation to regulatory matters to client counseling, legislative affairs, and formulating and implementing nationwide strategies for consumer class action defense.… Read More

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers may invoke the so-called de minimus rule to avoid paying employees for up to 10 minutes of “off the clock” work per day.  Not so under California law, the California Supreme Court held in Troester v. Starbucks Corp., a decision issued on July 26, 2018. Troester holds that at least when an employer requires its… Read More

In Saunders v. Dyck O’Neal, Inc., No. 1:17-CV-335, 2018 WL 3453967 (W.D. Mich. July 16, 2018), defendant argued that its “direct drop” voicemails are not covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The court disagreed and denied Dyck O’Neal’s motion for summary judgment. Id. at *1. Continue Reading: Direct Drop Voicemails Covered by the TCPA Read More

While businesses have been largely focused on the European Union’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) of late, California took its own first steps into the new frontier of consumer privacy and data protection as Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 375, dubbed the “California Data Privacy Protection Act” on June 28, 2018.1 The Act is scheduled to… Read More