Over 200 arrests resulted from the Los Angeles Police Department’s removal of Occupy LA protesters from the City Hall Park on November 30, 2011. Some members of Occupy LA claim that their First Amendment rights have been violated and on November 28, 2011, a small group Occupy LA members filed a federal injunction against the City of Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and police Chief Charlie Beck, to prevent their eviction from the camp.
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New California Law Raises Employer Liability for Misclassifying Workers as Independent Contractors
By PAUL MATA, ESQ.

California law will soon impose more severe penalties on employers who willfully misclassify workers as independent contractors. Senate Bill 459 (“SB 459”), which Governor Brown signed into law and which goes into effect January 1, 2012, adds sections 226.8 and 2753 to the California Labor Code. In addition to prohibiting the willful misclassification of workers as independent contractors, SB 459 provides for civil penalties and other disciplinary action against persons or employers violating the law’s prohibitions. The new law will be a wake-up call to employers trying to avoid payroll taxes and/or wage and hour law requirements through the intentional misclassification of workers.
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In such difficult economic times, budget cuts, layoffs, and fiscal restraint have all become accepted as a part of the current economic climate. Unfortunately in such tough times, slight pruning of the judicial branch would not likely surprise anyone. Nonetheless, the record setting budget hacking of the California states judicial branch has left court system struggling to provide a source of justice.
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