After five- and one-half years of litigation, a dispute between Berliner Cohen’s developer client and a school district over the validity of school fees assessed by the District on a residential housing project has come to an end. The result was a judgment ordering the District to refund in… Read More
Navigating the mire of regulations affecting employers is difficult and one often overlooked area is local ordinances. Employers need to be aware of their city and county’s minimum wage ordinances. On July 1, 2019, several local minimum wage rates will increase, and two new local minimum wage… Read More
Eleven Berliner Cohen attorneys have been recognized by Thomson Reuters’ 2019 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars programs. Super Lawyers rates and recognizes outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and… Read More
Every so often a seemingly mundane United States Supreme Court case comes along to provide valuable lessons for those of us who perform the normal day-to-day tasks of a civil law practice, like trying to write clear and unambiguous contracts. Case in point, Washington State v. Cougar Den, Inc,… Read More
Whatever Happened to Mel Cottons? Remember the Mel Cottons Sporting Goods Store? This 50+ year San Jose landmark on San Carlos Street closed a couple of years ago. The site was bought by our client, who obtained approvals from the City of San Jose to develop a Smart & Final Extra! Grocery Store… Read More
Transgender individuals are often subjected to stigma and discrimination in the workplace. Studies show that transgender people face double the rate of unemployment as the overall population, nearly half of transgender people who applied for a job were not hired, were fired, or were not… Read More
The Dos And Don’ts Of Interviewing And Hiring All too often, the restaurant industry suffers from “warm body syndrome.” Due to the pressures of this business, food service operators are often too quick to offer a job to a person who is unqualified. However, today, there is no… Read More
The IRS to end Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program – Taxpayers with undisclosed foreign financial assets urged to enter program before it closes in September 2018. What is happening? The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has announced that it will begin to ramp down the 2014… Read More
California employers should note that the state minimum wage is scheduled to increase in phases between 2017 and 2022. Under California law, exempt employees must earn a fixed monthly salary of at least double the minimum wage for full-time employment. The salary threshold will rise again January 1,… Read More
This is an updated version of this article, which was first published on October 19, 2017. At a ceremony held at San Francisco’s Hunters Point, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law all fifteen bills encompassing the California legislature’s package aimed at addressing the… Read More
BERLINER COHEN AND EPIC BROKERS HOSTED COMPLIMENTARY SEMINAR! The courts and legislature had a robust year in 2018, resulting in a host of new federal, California and local employment laws as well as new federal and state cases covering fair pay and wage requirements, mandatory harassment… Read More
A new case has changed pay rules; California employers must now pay workers for every task performed, even for trivial tasks performed before and after clocking into work. Join our Employment attorneys to learn how to properly pay hourly employees: including avoiding claims of “off the… Read More
BERLINER COHEN AND EPIC BROKERS INVITE YOU TO A COMPLIMENTARY SEMINAR!The courts and legislature had a robust year in 2017, resulting in a host of new federal, California and local employment laws as well as new federal and state cases covering fair pay and wage requirements, commission pay plans,… Read More
Associate, Mike Cheng, will participate in the panel discussion, "Get the Jury on Your Side — Tips for Effective Direct and Cross Examinations." For more information about the NAPABA or the conference, click here.Date:July 20-22, 2017Location:Silicon Valley U.S. Patent and Trademark Office26 S.… Read More
Make sure your investigation process doesn’t backfire: Attend this step-by-step seminarWhen a complaint is made, the clock starts ticking on potential litigation and liability. Therefore, it is imperative that a company handle any internal investigation timely and properly. An internal… Read More
Berliner Cohen is pleased to be a continuing sponsor of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Silicon Valley's Annual BBQ. This year the BBQ will be held on September 15, 2016 in Atherton, CA. The annual NAIOP Silicon Valley BBQ is an opportunity to support… Read More
Berliner Cohen is proud to support the San Jose Woman’s Club Bloomie Dropper Party on Thursday, September 15, at its historic Clubhouse located at 75 S. 11th St. in downtown San Jose. All donations benefit HomeFirst, an organization that provides housing and services for Santa Clara County's… Read More
Berliner Cohen is pleased to continue its support of the Pacific Autism Center for Education and sponsor PACE’s upcoming Lawn Party on Sunday, September 11, 2016 at The Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Avenue, Santa Clara, CA.For additional information on this PACE event, click here.PACE… Read More
Susan Bishop, Partner at Berliner Cohen, will be a panelist at the California Restaurant Association’s Legal Panel during this year's Western Foodservice and Hospitality Expo. The panel is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, August 30, 2016 from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.The panel… Read More
Michael Branson, Berliner Cohen associate, will be a panelist at the The Santa Clara University School of Law's Progressive Community Retreat, August 27, 2016 from 2:30 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. The panel discussion is located in Bannan Hall (check-in at Bannan 142), Santa Clara University, 500 El… Read More