Atty. Conrado "Joe" Sayas

David Letterman’s confession: When is sex in the workplace unlawful?

Monday, 12 October 2009 19:34 Atty. Conrado Joe Sayas

POPULAR comedian and television personality David Letterman confessed to having sexual relationships with women who worked on his TV show. The important question is: Does Mr. Letterman’s conduct expose him (or his company) to a sexual harassment lawsuit from these women?

People talk of sexual harassment in the workplace but a misunderstanding may arise as to its true meaning. Is flirtation in the workplace sexual harassment? Does the telling of sexually-themed jokes with co-workers constitute sexual harassment? When a supervisor engages in sex with a subordinate, is this automatically sexual harassment?

Employees should not be discouraged from filing legitimate wage claims

Sunday, 04 October 2009 23:34 Atty. Conrado Joe Sayas

MANY employees who have valid claims for unpaid wages, overtime, and missed meal/rest breaks hesitate to assert their rights. One of the main reasons employees do not seek redress against Labor Code violations is "economic reality." The monetary recovery may be less than the costs of litigation and the attorneys’ fees. Wage claims are usually modest, ranging from the hundreds to a few thousand dollars. This is not enough incentive for employees to pursue their claims.

Another reason employees do not fight labor violations is that employees are afraid of employer retaliation. Retaliation may involve firing, demotion, suspension or assignment to less desirable work conditions. Employees find it difficult to retain their employment while bringing formal legal action against the employer. A current employee who individually sues his or her employer feels a greater risk of retaliation.

How about Canada?

Sunday, 04 October 2009 23:26 Atty. Darren Silver

ON September 18th Darren Silver & Associates in conjunction with CSI Professionals conducted a seminar on Canada immigration at CSI’s offices in Glendale, CA. The seminar received rave reviews and offered a very comprehensive "infomercial" on all things Canadian. On September 26th DSA will again be conducting the same seminar at CSI’s Glendale offices. In addition, in late October DSA will be travelling to the Philippines to conduct seminars on Canada immigration and will also be appearing on a live worldwide telecast to millions of Filipino viewers discussing various Canadian immigration options. Be sure to tell your relatives abroad to catch the show!

For many aspiring immigrants, the negative effects of the worldwide economic meltdown towards their ability to be able to work and or immigrate to greener pastures abroad has been devastating. For example, in the United States, there are scores of temporary H-1B workers that are in danger of running afoul of their status as more and more employers are facing a cash crunch and are forced to let them go. For these displaced workers the only options are either to quickly find another employer or go back home.

Can a loan modification really help you?

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 01:24 Atty. Raymond Bulaon

A RECENT article in USA Today revealed that tens of thousands who have modified their mortgage loans are actually winding up with higher monthly payments. Why is this so? Isn’t reducing your payments to make them more affordable the whole purpose behind doing a loan modification?

At this point, it is not clear whether the above is likely to continue under Obama’s $75 billion initiative to get lenders to reduce monthly payments for homeowners in trouble. The article goes on to say that currently, there are approximately 360,000 mortgage modifications in a 3-month trial period and of course, there is no telling how many of these mortgage modifications will ultimately be successful. If you have applied for loan modification and you are currently in this 3-month trial period, your modified payment will be more or less the same as the "trial period" amount. If you can’t even pay this amount, your mortgage modification may be a failure from the start because chances are that you will default again in the near future. In other words, the modification may have helped a bit but it hasn’t really solved your problem because you still can’t afford the modified payments.

Making time for the things that matter

Wednesday, 23 September 2009 01:23 Monette Adeva Maglaya

"Carpe diem! Seize the day!" —Horace

FOR a steadily increasing number of people who are intent on finding meaning in life – time has eclipsed money in importance. In America as in anywhere else on earth where time is equated with money, there is a tendency to trade each hour for the relentless pursuit of the trappings of an economically successful life. What we do has become what we are. And yet, the truth of the matter is that not all our hours are billable.

On employee pay stubs and payroll records

Sunday, 20 September 2009 22:55 Atty. Conrado Joe Sayas

QUESTION: During paydays, I only receive a check with a total amount on it. Even though I know what I make per hour and I can do the math, I still want to know about my deductions. Shouldn’t I get a pay stub? I also want to know my payments and deductions in the last year. Can I ask to see my payroll records from my employer?
Answer: According to California Labor Code, every time employees are paid their wages, whether by check, in cash, or some other method, the employees must be given an accurate and written itemized wage statement concerning the employee’s earnings. This itemized wage statement is commonly known as a pay stub.

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Employee whistleblowers caused employer to pay $2.3B for marketing fraud

Sunday, 13 September 2009 18:21 Atty. Conrado Joe Sayas

AMERICAN pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. will pay $2.3 billion to settle charges of criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products.
This settlement, which is reportedly the largest health care fraud settlement in history, would not have been possible if six company employees did not come forward to expose the company’s illegal activities. Their whistleblower lawsuits triggered the investigation which led to the involvement of the DOJ and other government agencies. As a part of the settlement, the six whistleblowers will receive payments totaling more than $102 million from the US government under the False Claims Act through which individuals can reap rewards for exposing corporate wrongdoing.
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A Magical Night With the Stars!

Sunday, 06 September 2009 01:24 Monet Lu

Yes, it was truly a magical night! ABS-CBN continues to thrill and glamorize the entertainment industry with their annual Star Magic ball.
I was invited last year by the event coordinator Keren Pascual. He wanted me to experience the glitz of this star-studded affair. Sadly, I couldn’t make it.
When my friend Ruffa Gutierrez sent me exclusive pictures, I was all the more wishing I could have been there.
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Are employees entitled to privacy at work?

Sunday, 06 September 2009 01:13 Atty. Conrado Joe Sayas

THE United States and California Constitutions guarantee the right to privacy. The right to privacy presumably imposes limitations on an employer’s right to install surveillance camera at work and monitor the phone calls, emails, and computer activities of its employees while in the workplace.
However, employers have argued that employees lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace and employers have legitimate objectives in the surveillance and monitoring of the work premises. Such objectives would include concerns about violence in the workplace, crime prevention, lost productivity, malicious software invasions, dissemination of proprietary information, and employer liability for inappropriate Internet and computer usage.
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