Commerford Legal

Self-employed, independent contractors, and business owners - Didn't qualify for unemployment benefits? Pandemic Unemployment Assistance may help!

California is implementing a new benefits program as a part of the Federal CARES Act Pandemic Additional Compensation program, which will be accepting applications starting APRIL 28.

You may be entitled to up to 39 weeks of benefits beginning February 2, 2020, through the week ending December 31, 2020, depending on when you became directly impacted by the pandemic. You may also be eligible for an additional $600 to each PUA weekly benefit amount.

More info here: https://www.edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019/pandemic-unemployment-assistance.htm

💪Your rights to paid sick leave during the pandemic:

If you work for an employer with 500 or fewer employees, you are entitled to two weeks [80 hours] of Emergency Paid Sick Leave. If taking emergency paid sick leave to care for yourself, you are paid 100% your full rate of pay, up to $511 per day [$5,110 total]. When leave is taken to care for others or for other qualifying reasons, you are paid two-thirds of your full rate of pay, up to $200 per day [$2,000 total].

This leave is in addition to any other paid leave to which you are already entitled to. Your employer cannot require that regular sick leave or paid time off be used before, or instead of, using this emergency sick leave.

[If your employer has 50 or less employees, they may be exempt from these requirements.]

🤷 Under what conditions are you legally protected from refusing to work? Know your rights! 👉https://www.osha.gov/right-to-refuse.html

Outside the scope of my practice, but a very thought-provoking legal/moral/ethical situation. Thoughts?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/09/376122022/are-teenagers-capable-of-making-life-or-death-decisions

Are Teenagers Capable Of Making Life-Or-Death Decisions? The case of Cassandra, a 17-year-old who says she doesn't want chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, has sparked fierce debate. A medical ethicist says teenagers should be able to determine their fates.