What’s new for 2020? A lot. Here’s a run-down on some of the new laws going into effect that may affect you.

REAL ESTATE

  1. Home inspectors cannot provide their opinion concerning their valuation of a real estate property. Also, with certain exceptions, a real estate appraiser cannot perform a home inspection.
  2. A seller of real property must deliver a statutory disclosure form regarding point-of-sale compliance with wildfire defensible space and vegetation management laws in designated high fire areas. A seller of real property is also to list certain specified retrofits. It also appears that, under certain circumstances, the seller and buyer must enter into a written agreement whereby the buyer agrees to obtain documentation of compliance with defensible space or a local vegetation management or ordinance after the close of escrow. Certain parts of the Act will not go into effect until July, 2021.
  3. The legislature confirmed that real estate agents should be treated as independent contractors. The legislature also confirmed that the test to determine whether a real estate licensee is an independent contractor is to be determined by the long-established control test not the new ABC test for employment status articulated by the California Supreme Court in the recent Dynamex decision.
  4. Fire Insurance. The measure of a cash recovery by an insured for a structure or its contents lost due to fire will be the cost to repair, replace, or rebuild the structure or contents.
  5. Insurance Renewal. Insurance companies must provide at least 75 days’ notice of a nonrenewal of a homeowner’s policy. The new law also raises the limit on a homeowner’s insurance claim covered by California Insurance Guarantee Association to $1 million dollars.There are also new laws affecting landlord’s tenants, lenders, and borrowers. Contact Hacker Law Group at 661-259-6800 to find out more information about these new laws and how you may be affected.

BUSINESS

  1. Most of the new business laws for 2020 concern employers, employees, and also Arbitration Agreements.
  2. The statute of limitations to file a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing for employment and discrimination has been extended from one to three years.
  3. The legislative codified the Dynamex decision but created certain exceptions to the new test to determine if an employment relationship exists. Now, employers have to reclassify independent contractors as employees and be subject to the ABC test except – for exceptions in seven groups offering approximately fifty, industry-specific professions (realtors, physicians, architects, lawyers, insurance adjusters, etc.).
  4. Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in employment are now banned. Employers are prohibited from requiring any application for employment or any employee to waive any right, forum, or proceeding for any violation of FEHA or any other law governing employment.
  5. New penalties have been added to existing penalties for the failure to pay wages. The new penalties are $100 for each failure to pay each employee for the first violation. For every subsequent or willful violation, the employer is subject to $200 for each failure to pay each employee plus 25% of the amount unlawfully withheld. An employee may recover statutory penalties or may enforce civil penalties under the Private Attorney General Act of 2004.
    Settlement Agreements now prohibit “no-hire” clauses.

The employment field continues to be a mine-field. Do not let an explosion occur to you. Call Hacker Law Group at 661-259-6800 to protect yourself.

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Jeff Hacker of Hacker Law Group is an attorney in Santa Clarita who specializes in business and employment, real estate and catastrophic personal injury. The Santa Clarita attorney received Martindale-Hubbell’s esteemed AV Preeminent peer review rating, which demonstrates the highest level of professional excellence in a variety of areas. If you’re looking for an “attorney near me” or the best attorney in Santa Clarita, Hacker Law Group is committed to fight for their clients and provide outstanding results. To learn more, contact the attorneys in Santa Clarita today.

Jeff Hacker of Hacker Law Group

26650 The Old Rd. Suite 201

Valencia, CA 91381

661-259-6800