On March 21, 2013, I spoke on the topic of new employment laws for the Government Affairs Committee (GAC) of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.  Also speaking to the GAC that morning was Head Deputy District Attorney John Morris of the Healthcare Fraud Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.  Deputy District Attorney Morris discussed the subject of combating workers’ compensation fraud, a topic near and dear to the heart of every employer.  In addition to a great presentation, he was kind enough to share with me the a list of things to do before you allow a contractor to work on your home or business property to make sure that the contractor has workers’ compensation insurance.  This list is available here.  Taking these steps before an injury occurs means that the contractor’s workers’ compensation insurance company will have the responsibility for an injured worker.  Which, I am sure you will agree, is much better than you being liable for the injury.

This blog is presented under protest by the law firm of Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP.  It is essentially the random thoughts and opinions of someone who lives in the trenches of the war that often is employment law–he/she may well be a little shell-shocked.  So if you are thinking “woohoo, I just landed some free legal advice that will fix all my problems!”, think again.  This is commentary people, a sketchy overview of some current legal issue with a dose of humor, but commentary nonetheless; as if Dennis Miller were a lawyer…and still mildly amusing.  No legal advice here; you would have to pay real US currency for that (unless you are my mom, and even then there are limits).  But feel free to contact us with your questions and comments—who knows, we might even answer you.  And if you want to spread this stuff around, feel free to do so, but please keep it in its present form (‘cause you can’t mess with this kind of poetry).  Big news: Copyright 2013.  All rights reserved; yep, all of them.