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EDD Audit & Labor Board Cases For Employers
As an employer, receiving an EDD audit or a complaint from the Labor Board can be a very daunting experience. However, it doesn’t have to be. We have dealt with a plethora of these, while for you, hopefully this is the first time you have been challenged by the EDD or the Labor Board.
Do not assume that you will lose your case. The EDD and the Labor Board are just trying to ascertain the facts of the case. Additionally, although they have a job to do, you will find them very reasonable, at least we do. They have a lot of latitude and discretion, and although the fines can sound massive, they do not always impose them. Part of what can affect them, we think, is your cooperation, malicious culpability, if any, and most importantly, your attitude towards them. Our Labor Lawyers have been able to save employers tens of thousands of dollars using our high-level negotiation skills, even when they were fully at fault.
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When you receive an EDD audit or a Labor Board challenge, the wisest thing to do first is to contact an employment lawyer who can help you analyze the situation from a strategic point of view. You, like many thousands of employers in California may have made a few mistakes. Some are correctable, some are not. However, all of them can be dealt with and our job is to deal with them in a way that minimizes your expenses. What you will often discover is that the cost of hiring an employment lawyer more often than not offsets the cost hiring a lawyer in the first place. Additionally, there is so much to know with respect to California employment law, and what you will learn in the journey will possibly save you tens of thousands of dollars in the future. We believe that California has the most complex and sophisticated employment and labor laws on the planet today. We, as employment lawyers are learning more and more every single day…you as an employer cannot possibly keep up, and we are here to help. Call now, (619) 793-4827, we often work late, so try us whenever you like, you may just find us in the offices.
We are conveniently located at 4225 Executive Square, Suite 600, La Jolla, CA; we are the tall silver tower just behind the La Jolla Marriott on La Jolla Village Drive. The neighborhood is more a UTC than La Jolla, but is named La Jolla. The cross streets are La Jolla Village Drive and Genesee.
Don’t go it alone, you have a highly strategic team to work with you, just a phone call away and very reasonably priced. Yes, we handle cases all over California.
If We Can Share Some of Our 30 Years of Experience With You:
- Please keep your books in order. Use software where possible. Hire a third-party firm to deal with payroll and other financial issues. You may think you are saving money by doing this yourself, but you are not. Stick to your core competence (i.e. what it is that you do best). You should be worth $500 per hour to your company. If you are conducting a task that someone else can do for $25 or $35 per hour, you are not saving money, you are burning time you could be using in marketing or advertising your firm and making more money.
- Please be careful with whom you consider a 1099. We are entrepreneurs just like you. We have to be careful as well. In fact, we are held to a higher standard. Even if we hire a person working one day a week, even if they work from home, we play it safe and make them an employee. If you require a payroll service, consider contacting Lexi Lardner at Coastal Payroll; llardner@coastalpayroll.com. If you require a CPA, you can call Joe Ventura at Ventura, Kuehn & Associates (619) 793-4827; if you require a tax advisor, you can contact Neil Leiman at Leiman & Associates (619) 584-1040.
- Pay overtime. Be careful with this one as it can get you in a lot of trouble with the penalties. Regrettably, many employers provide their staff with fancy titles and then use that title as a way of avoiding the payment of overtime. It is not a good idea. Simply pay your team overtime.
- Have your team clock in and out of the office for breaks and make certain they can enjoy uninterrupted time wherever they like. It would be handy if you had a break room. However, they cannot be multitasking while on lunch.
- Make certain your team knows about breaks and again, it has to be uninterrupted time. If your operation is very busy and does not allow for breaks, simply hire someone to cover.
- Just so you know, most cases start like this: an employee is listed as a 1099. He or she signs a contract stating he or she is a 1099 (i.e. independent contractor). The person loses the job. He or she files for unemployment and are told that it can only be received if the person is an employee. The person is then asked some questions and forwarded to the Labor Board. He or she has a hearing and it is determined that the person was an employee. This can trigger an EDD audit or worse. Be careful, be safe.