California Legal Blog – A Deep Dive Into Issues That Affect Your Life - Page 3

In California, “use it or lose it” vacation policies are prohibited. However, employers are only prohibited from taking back vacation time that has already accrued. They can take other measures to limit how much vacation time you can accumulate, such as capping the number of vacation days you can build up. California prohibits “use it …

TL;DR Drivers who hit pedestrians in a crosswalk can face tickets, license penalties, lawsuits, and criminal charges. Liability depends on fault, and drivers may avoid consequences if the pedestrian caused the accident. At-fault drivers can be sued for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Serious injuries, DUI, or hit-and-run can lead to severe …

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that a normal work shift is no more than 8 consecutive hours in a day, with each shift split by at least 8 hours of rest. A normal workweek is 5 such work days.1 However, this is not binding. OSHA does not penalize employers who demand more. …

You commit the criminal offense of contributing to the delinquency of a minor when you: commit some act or fail to act in a certain way, and the action or inaction makes a child more prone to engage in illegal activities. Common examples include: allowing your 13-year-old son to stay out after curfew and he …

There is a subtle difference between the meaning of attorney and lawyer. You are a “lawyer” if you graduate from law school. You then become an “attorney” if you pass the bar exam and enter the State Bar Association for the state in which you practice law. If a lawyer does not go on to …

Prank calling can be illegal in some situations. While each state is different, most states prohibit making prank calls to annoy or harass someone. All states make it illegal to prank call 911. Recording a prank call can constitute illegal wiretapping in many states, including in California. Annoying or harassing someone because of a protected …

In California criminal trials, a hung jury is when the jurors cannot reach a unanimous agreement as to the verdict. All jurors have to agree on guilt or innocence to render a trial complete. (Hung juries can also occur in civil trials such as for personal injury, though only three-fourths of jurors in a civil …

An arraignment is typically the first court hearing, or a defendant’s first appearance in court, in a criminal case and it marks one of the initial stages in the pretrial process. During the hearing, the judge will inform the defendant of the charges filed against him or her and will ask how the accused pleads …

Some examples of misdemeanors include assault, shoplifting, and petty theft. These are all criminal offenses that are more severe than an infraction, but less severe than a felony. Misdemeanors carry up to 1 year in county jail and $1,000 in fines. What are some examples of misdemeanor crimes? Some common examples of misdemeanor crimes in …

Taking back (“recanting”) your domestic violence statement will not automatically cause the criminal case to be dropped – especially if prosecutors have other evidence that abuse occurred. Plus, the police may then arrest you for giving false statements, obstructing justice, perjury, or even contempt if you fail to show up to trial. To reduce the …

Attempted murder is a serious felony that, depending on the facts of your case and the state in which your crime took place, could result in a sentence of life in prison. Like it sounds, an attempted murder is trying – and failing – to kill a human being. Note that if the victim dies …

An arraignment is the first formal court proceeding in a criminal case. For felony charges, an arraignment must generally occur within 48 hours of your arrest if you are held in custody. If you are not kept in custody, then the proceeding must typically take place “without unnecessary delay.” In terms of a trial date, …

Registered sex offenders are generally free to obtain a passport and travel internationally. That said, there may be restrictions as to where they can go. While U.S. law does not forbid them from traveling out of the country, other countries may restrict registered sex offenders from entering once customs agents see the “sex offender” identifier …

You are under no lawful obligation to sign a severance (also called a separation) agreement. Five examples of when you may not want to do so are when: you intend to sue your employer after your termination, the severance package is not sufficient, you do not have legal representation, it would unduly restrict your professional …

After a violation of felony probation in California, there are three things that can happen. The judge can: reinstate probation under the original terms, modify the terms of probation to make them stricter, or revoke probation and send you to prison to serve the rest of your sentence. California judges at the probation violation …