Recent Blog Posts
Revenge Performance Reviews: Spotting Retaliation After You Complain in a California Workplace
Your company told you they value “feedback,” so they rolled out an anonymous survey, held a town hall, or HR said, “If you see something, say something.” So you did. You spoke up about unpaid overtime, racist or sexist comments, a manager who crosses lines, or safety issues no one wanted to fix. And… Read More »
You Didn’t Feel Hurt at the Scene. Can You Still Have a Serious Injury?
The crash was loud. The airbags went off. Your heart was pounding. The officer asked, “Are you hurt?” You said the thing almost everyone says when they’re stressed: “I’m okay. Just shaken up.” You went home. You posted on X or Instagram that you were “fine.” And then, a day or two later, your… Read More »
Google Docs, Drive, and Personal Devices: How California Employees Secretly Save Evidence of Wrongdoing
You’re watching something wrong happen at work. Maybe it’s unpaid overtime, quiet discrimination, “fix the numbers” emails, or a manager who only bullies certain people. HR smiles, takes notes, and does nothing. So you do what a lot of California employees do: You open Google Docs and forward emails to your personal account. You… Read More »
Teaching Managers to Intervene: Moving from Compliance to Prevention
Let’s be real: most corporate training programs are effectively useless. Year after year, California employers dutifully check the box on SB 1343, herding supervisors into a conference room or onto a Zoom call for two hours of “compliance” training. They watch the same stale videos, answer the same obvious multiple-choice questions about what constitutes… Read More »
Gym Injuries: From Broken Machines to Over‑Eager Trainers, When Can You Sue?
You signed up for health. But got hurt instead. A cable snapped mid‑rep. A treadmill jolted you off the belt. A trainer pushed you into “one more” until your shoulder gave out. The front desk hands you an ice pack and an incident form. They might say: “Remember, you signed a waiver.” Essentially, they’re… Read More »
The California Minimum Wage: Navigating the 2026 Standards
As of January 1, 2026, California’s statewide minimum wage has climbed to $16.90 per hour for all employers, regardless of headcount. But if you’re operating in the City of San Diego, that state baseline is irrelevant. You’re already looking at a local requirement of $17.75 per hour. At In Motion Law, we see the… Read More »
Interview Pitfalls: 5 Questions You Should Never Ask a Candidate
You think you’re just making polite small talk or gauging a candidate’s “fit,” but in the eyes of California law, you’re handing a plaintiff’s attorney the keys to your corporate bank account. In California, the “intent” behind a question is irrelevant. If the inquiry probes into a protected characteristic, you have already created a… Read More »
The Independent Contractor Test: Are You Misclassifying Your Freelancers?
Most businesses in 2026 are still playing a dangerous game of “guess and check” with their workforce. They hire a graphic designer, a software dev, or a marketing consultant, slap an “Independent Contractor” label on the contract, and assume they’ve successfully dodged the overhead of payroll taxes, workers’ comp, and health insurance. They’re wrong…. Read More »
The Virtual Workspace: Is Your Zoom/Slack Culture Creating a Hostile Environment Claim?
Many executives and HR teams think that because their teams are staring at screens in San Diego or working from home offices across the state, the risk of a “hostile work environment” has evaporated. They are wrong. In 2026, the digital workplace is the new frontier for high-stakes litigation. Harassment hasn’t disappeared. It has… Read More »
Terminating the “Protected” Employee: Firing for Cause Without Fearing a Lawsuit
Many managers in California operate in a state of paralysis when it comes to high-risk terminations. They have an employee who is consistently underperforming, toxic to the culture, or blatantly violating policy, but they are terrified to pull the trigger. Why? Because the employee recently took FMLA leave, filed a workers’ comp claim, or… Read More »
