Chapter 12: Family, Medical, and Military Leave: Recent Developments Under the FMLA and USERRA April 2024 Co-Authored By: Michelle Brookfield The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted by Congress in 1993 and has now developed over thirty years of regulations and extensive caselaw. As the Department of Labor (DOL) summarizes, the FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave...
Buchalter
Overview
Buchalter is a full-service business law firm that has been teaming with clients for eight decades, providing legal counsel at all stages of their growth and evolution, and helping them meet the many legal challenges and decisions they face. Our clients are engaged in a diverse global economy governed by complex laws and regulations, and they trust us as advisers and business partners because we are involved in their world. They rely on our forward-thinking to help them resolve problems before they arise.
At Buchalter, we practice in that spirit.
Our founding principle-providing our clients with the best business solutions-continues to lead us. We value each client relationship, recognizing that their success is our success. Our overarching goal-getting the best results for the client in a timely manner with sensitivity to cost-has engendered client loyalty, and the firm has grown from that loyalty.
Our lawyers are accessible, resourceful, skillful and adept at responding to change. Our technological capabilities keep case law and rule changes at our fingertips and client communications current, enabling us to create efficient, superior outcomes.
We strongly believe that technology is a tool that furthers the practice of law and have used that belief to develop a cutting edge platform for our firm. We use a meshed (NVPN) network to facilitate work among offices, Cisco VoIP telephony and Video-over-IP conferencing. Sharing documents is seamless through FileSite, which is also utilized to create our Client Extranets. To support our litigation matters, we use Concordance and Opticon, as well as LiveNote and Sanction. Unlike many firms, we have the capacity to process e-Discovery in-house, reducing client costs.
Buchalter lawyers are also active members of the communities in which they live and work. Leadership is a value the founding partners practiced and passed on to the current generation of attorneys. Our lawyers sit on the boards of prominent organizations, teach and lecture frequently. We actively participate in many associations and groups including the Public Law Center, San Francisco Legal Aid Society, Practicing Law Institute, California State Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the LACBA Domestic Violence Project, the Sojourner Center, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Phoenix and many others.
Buchalter is consistently ranked among the leading law firms by Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers, The Daily Journal and the Los Angeles Business Journal. It is also ranked among the leading firms nationally by American Legal Media and the National Law Journal.
Buchalter's commitment to reflecting and enhancing the rich diversity of the clients and communities in which we practice is more than eight decades strong. The firm's diversity of attorneys and staff provides clients with a greater array of creative talent and alternative thinking, benefiting all.
Areas of Practice
Professionals
Partners
![Brent Baker](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/82000/a82439.jpg)
Brent Baker
Shareholder![Jed Burton](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/71000/a71721.jpg)
Jed Burton
Shareholder![Jed Burton](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/71000/a71721.jpg)
Jed Burton
Shareholder![A. Blake Cooper](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/72000/a72227.jpg)
A. Blake Cooper
Shareholder![Jason Croft](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/73000/a73372.jpg)
Jason Croft
Shareholder![Douglas P. Farr](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/72000/a72083.jpg)
Douglas P. Farr
Shareholder![Lance Lehnhof](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/72000/a72225.jpg)
Lance Lehnhof
Shareholder![Tony Mejia](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/82000/a82435.jpg)
Tony Mejia
Shareholder![R. Chad Pugh](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/73000/a73375.jpg)
R. Chad Pugh
Shareholder![Keven Rowe](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/71000/a71716.jpg)
Keven Rowe
Shareholder![Blake Terry](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/71000/a71718.jpg)
Blake Terry
Shareholder![Marcus J. Williams](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/68000/a68290.jpg)
Marcus J. Williams
ShareholderAssociates
![Alexander Baker](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/82000/a82405.jpg)
Alexander Baker
Attorney![Jack Darrington](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/75000/a75930.jpg)
Jack Darrington
Attorney![Wesley Felice](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/75000/a75743.jpg)
Wesley Felice
Attorney![Tucker Levis](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/82000/a82434.jpg)
Tucker Levis
Attorney![Grey R. Lund](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/72000/a72086.jpg)
Grey R. Lund
Attorney![William Morris](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/82000/a82449.jpg)
William Morris
Attorney![Taylor Park](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/75000/a75179.jpg)
Taylor Park
Attorney![Paul Roberts](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/77000/a77180.jpg)
Paul Roberts
Attorney![Michael Tait](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/79000/a79002.jpg)
Michael Tait
AttorneyOf Counsel
![Jared Aizad](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/75000/a75980.jpg)
Jared Aizad
Special Counsel![Landon Hardcastle](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/71000/a71717.jpg)
Landon Hardcastle
Senior Counsel![Karl Israelsen](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/72000/a72224.jpg)
Karl Israelsen
Of Counsel![Catherine Maness](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/78000/a78917.jpg)
Catherine Maness
Special Counsel![Melanie T. Marcheschi](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/73000/a73425.jpg)
Melanie T. Marcheschi
Senior Counsel![Russell Nevers](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/82000/a82429.jpg)
Russell Nevers
Senior Counsel![George Pratt](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/75000/a75384.jpg)
George Pratt
Of Counsel![Dallis Nordstrom Rohde](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/72000/a72223.jpg)
Dallis Nordstrom Rohde
Of Counsel![David R. Rudd](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/79000/a79673.jpg)
David R. Rudd
Of Counsel![Zaven Sargsian](https://www.worldservicesgroup.com/cdn-cgi/image/w=110,h=110,fit=cover,gravity=0.1x0.1/files/pic/79000/a79600.jpg)
Zaven Sargsian
Senior CounselArticles
Pivot, Don’t Panic: How Employers Should Respond to the FTC’s Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
May 10, 2024 By: Dylan W. Wiseman and Sarah Andrzejczak On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission approved and issued its final rule effectively banning employers’ use of non-compete agreements (subject to very few exceptions). The rule becomes effective 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, heralding yet another stride towards enhanced employee mobility. Despite the unfavorable reception from many employers, it’s important to understand that all is not lost. Notably, since the Gold Rush era, California employers have successfully operated without non-compete agreements...
Press
Buchalter Welcomes Shareholder to Portland Office
17 June 2024 – Buchalter is excited to announce the addition of Shareholder Amy Cross to its Portland office. Cross joins the firm as a member of the Tax, Benefits, and Estate Planning Practice group. “We are thrilled to welcome Amy to the Firm in Portland,” said Adam Bass, Buchalter President and Chief Executive Officer. “Her unique estate planning and wealth transfer experience further enhances our highly regarded tax and estate planning practice...
Buchalter Obtains Dismissal and Attorney Fees in Fraud Case Against the SEC
On May 28, 2024, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pay $1.8 million in attorney and receivership fees after dismissing its case against Digital Licensing Inc., also known as DEBT Box. The SEC accused the crypto firm of running a fraudulent $49 million scheme. However, the judge found that the SEC acted in bad faith by presenting misleading information to obtain a temporary restraining order to freeze DEBT Box's assets. This ruling comes amid broader criticism of the SEC's handling of enforcement actions in the crypto space?. Following this ruling, the SEC Office in Salt Lake City announced it's closure...
Blogs
Chemical Law & Prop 65 Blog
Chemical Law & Prop 65