Farmworkers Now Entitled to Additional Overtime Pay

On September 12, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation granting farmworkers the right to overtime pay on par with other California workers.  Assembly Bill 1066 provides for incremental overtime pay hour increases for farmworkers over a 4-year period beginning in 2019. Currently, farmworkers are paid overtime rates if they work more than 10 hours per day or 60 hours per … Read More

Marijuana Tax on Local Ballots This November

Earlier this week, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of placing a proposed marijuana tax measure on local ballots this November. The measure, if approved, would add ordinances to the Humboldt County Code effectuating a tax on commercial marijuana cultivation operations. The proposed tax due for each cultivation operation depends on the size of the grow … Read More

New California Vessel Operator Card Requirements

As we head into Memorial Day weekend and kick off the summer season, many Californians head to local lakes, bays, and other waterways for fun, fishing, and relaxation. Beginning in 2018, however, Californians heading out on the water will need to meet new education requirements in order to lawfully operate an engine powered vessel. California Senate Bill 941(link is external) was signed … Read More

BPA Added to California Prop 65 List

Beginning this spring, Californians can expect to be flooded with even more Prop 65 warnings on the goods they purchase, thanks to the addition of bisphenol-A (BPA) to the Proposition 65 list. Proposition 65 (formally known as “The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986”) aims to protect California consumers by reducing exposures to chemicals that may cause … Read More

California Rolls out Traffic and Infraction Ticket Amnesty Program

Certain Californians who have unpaid traffic or non-traffic infraction tickets may be eligible to participate in a new, one-time amnesty program to significantly reduce the amount of fees owed. Signed into law in June by Governor Brown, the amnesty program began on October 1 and will continue through March of 2017. This program was created to assist individuals who have … Read More

Smartphone Kill Switch Law in Effect as of July 1

As of July 1, all new smartphones sold or shipped to consumers in California must include a “kill switch” device, pursuant to California Business and Professions Code section 22761. The new law, which was signed by Governor Jerry Brown in August of 2014, is aimed at deterring smart phone theft. Phones sold on or after July 1, 2015 must include a … Read More

Incontestable Trademarks

Federal trademark registration provides certain protections to businesses and other registrants who use and own trademarks and service marks to promote their goods and services. These protections are strengthened when a trademark becomes “incontestable” five years after its registration. Once a mark becomes incontestable, its validity cannot be challenged on a variety of grounds which often haunt other marks not … Read More

Medical Marijuana Use and Employment

While California law allows individuals to possess and use medical marijuana as prescribed by their physicians, its use and possession is still illegal under federal law and under California law without a valid prescription.  For California medical marijuana users and their employers, this legal framework complicates questions concerning employees’ rights to use prescribed medical marijuana and employers’ rights to discipline … Read More

Oregon Jail Death Case Settlement

Janssen Malloy attorneys Michael Crowley and Megan Yarnall recently negotiated a $450,000 settlement with the City of Cottage Grove, Oregon in a civil rights lawsuit filed following the May 2012 death of twenty four year old Nathan Cooper in the Cottage Grove Municipal Jail. Mr. Cooper was in custody serving a ten day sentence for possession of a single Xanax … Read More

Transferring a Salmon Permit from a Lost Vessel

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulates and facilitates the issuance, maintenance, and transfers of California commercial salmon permits. In general, permits can be transferred between vessels in certain circumstances, including upon the loss, theft, or destruction of the permitted vessel. Transfers following one of these events, however, are subject to strict restrictions and time limits. Applications to transfer … Read More