Los Angeles Legal Issues Blog

California residents may be surprised to hear that breastfeeding discrimination cases have increased by 800 percent in the last decade. Even though protections being afforded to nursing mothers have gone up, there is still a long way to go before things become equal. Especially after a report shockingly reveals that millions of breastfeeding mothers who believed they were entitled to protection under the Break Time for Nursing Mothers provision added to the Fair Labor Standards Act are actually not entitled to it.

Nine million females of the 27 million who lack basic provisions to breastfeed are excluded from the federal provision because the law has been attached to the older FLSA of 1938-though the older law is broader it does not extend protection to all professions. As a result, teachers and nurses, fields dominated by women, are not covered. Other fields such as transportation workers, retail employees and managers and farmworkers, are also excluded from the law.

Ex-State Assemblyman Terrence Patrick Goggin served as CEO of Metropolitan Coffee & Concessions (MC2), which ran a chain of Peet's Coffee & Tea shops located in BART stations in the bay area. Now he faces a grand jury indictment for fraud charges, including wire fraud and money-laundering.

A former CFO for Snow Park Capital Partners accused the CEO of sexual harassment, but withdrew her suit after the hedge fund countersued alleging she had embezzled money. Kate Merli, former CFO, had accused CEO Jeffrey Pierce of multiple instances of sexual harassment.

Financial exploitation of the elderly is a common - and well-known - problem. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association estimates that one out of five individuals over the age of 65 has suffered financial exploitation. Only a small percentage of the cases are ever reported. Some victims are not aware of the abuse. In some situations, spouses of seniors, adult children of elderly individuals or close friends may have suspicions of financial exploitation. However, professionals, such as accountants or other advisors may detect financial mistreatment.

In February, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued two new rules in an effort to protect seniors from financial abuse in securities transactions. Brokers, financial advisors and brokerage firms are expected to make reasonable efforts to acquire the name and contact information of an individual that the senior trusts. The regulation aimed at seeking a trusted contact applies to situations when professionals are opening a new account for a senior, or when financial professionals are updating an existing account with a senior client.