Category: Family Law

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Family Law Personal Law

New Maryland Law Ensures Women and Men Birth Control At No Cost

Parenthood

Groundbreaking legislation, included in the leadership package by Michael Busch, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, provides the most comprehensive insurance coverage for contraception in the country.

Planned Parenthood of Maryland applauds Governor Larry Hogan today as he signs the Maryland Contraceptive Equity Act (HB 1005/SB 848) sponsored by Delegate Ariana Kelly (D-Montgomery Co.) and Senator Delores Kelley (D-Baltimore Co.).

“While it may seem as if most of the country is trying to take away women’s rights, the State of Maryland and Planned Parenthood of Maryland worked together to push reproductive rights forward,” said Karen Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland (PPM).

The New Law

The new law which takes effect on January 1, 2018, passed with significant and nationally unprecedented bipartisan support, and provides all Maryland women and men expanded access to birth control, at little to no cost.

“I commend the Maryland General Assembly for its leadership in passing the Maryland Contraceptive Equity Act, especially its lead sponsors Senator Delores Kelley and Delegate Ariana Kelly, as well as Planned Parenthood of Maryland for their strong advocacy,” said Congressman Admintopher Van Hollen.

The law solidifies Maryland’s role as a trailblazer in women’s health care. Maryland was the first state to mandate contraceptive coverage in 1998, and now in 2016, Maryland is the first state to legislate the most comprehensive insurance coverage of birth control in the country

“It is now the nation’s most comprehensive expansion of private insurance coverage of contraception, improving access to preventive health services and to the contraception that best fits the individual needs of each Marylander. Public health and the economic security of Maryland families will be greatly improved by this law, and I was pleased to testify in Annapolis in support of it,” Van Hollen added.

The legislation ensures that cost will no longer be a barrier to men or women getting the type of birth control they need. Key components include:

  • Eliminate most co-payments for birth control.
  • Lift pre-authorization requirements for women obtaining IUDs and implants.
  • Make Maryland the first state in the nation to provide equity in contraception access for men by broadening coverage of vasectomies without co-payments.
  • Make Maryland the first state in nation to provide insurance coverage for over-the-counter contraceptive medications, like emergency contraception or Plan B.
  • Allow a woman to receive six months of birth control at one time so that she no longer has to return to her doctor or to the pharmacy each month to pick up her birth control.

As a result of this legislation, it is expected that women will significantly lower their chances of risking an unintended pregnancy.

The legislation was also supported by Congresswoman Donna Edwards, and Congressman Elijah Cummings who said: “I am proud that Maryland has built on the success of the Affordable Care Act to expand access to contraception by requiring all insurers to cover at least one form of contraception to all Marylanders without a copay. This important guarantee will allow Marylanders to take charge of their health and family planning.”

About Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood of Maryland is a not-for-profit family planning agency that provides high-quality, affordable reproductive healthcare for women, men and teens. Many of PPM’s patients have no other health care available to them.

Planned Parenthood of Maryland works to expand access to contraception and ensure high-quality reproductive health care for more than 30,000 women and men under its care each year.

Our mission is to enable all Marylanders to have access to a wide range of high quality, affordable reproductive health care services. By providing medical services, education, training, and advocacy, PPM seeks to help individuals make informed decisions about their reproductive health, family planning options, and sexuality.

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Business Law Family Law Labor Law

AA Automotive Sued in Class Action Filed By The Los Angeles Labor Law Lawyers

Auto-and-Officer

The Los Angeles employment law lawyers at Blumenthal, Nordrhaug & Bhowmik filed a pending class action lawsuit against AA Automotive Personnel Services, Inc (“AA Automotive”). The primary allegations in the complaint allege that AA Automotive failed to compensate their employees the correct amount of for all overtime hours worked. The pending class action lawsuit against AA Automotive, Case No. BC612489, is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court for the State of California. To read a copy of the complaint, click here.

Specifically, the complaint claims that AA Automotive allegedly did not have in place a timekeeping system that could accurately record and pay their employees for the actual amount of time these employees worked, including overtime.

The pending class action lawsuit against AA Automotive claims that the company’s actions amounted to a violation of the California Labor Code. California Labor Code Section 558 mandates employers who violate the regulation of hours and days worked by an employee shall be subject to a civil penalty.

The complaint also alleges that AA Automotive did not have in place policies and procedures to consistently provide their employees with meal breaks. California labor laws provide that any employee scheduled to work more than five (5) hours shall receive, at a minimum, a thirty (30) minute uninterrupted off duty meal break. Allegedly, even though these employees forfeited meal breaks, they received no additional compensation.

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Business Law Family Law Personal Law

2016 Tillman Scholars Announced and Honors Granted

vets

Marie Tillman, President and Co-Founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation, announced the names of the 60 U.S. service members, veterans and military spouses chosen as 2016 Tillman Scholars. In recognition of their military service, leadership and academic excellence, the newly selected class will receive over $1.8 million in scholarships to pursue their higher education and continue their service in the fields of medicine, law, business, policy, technology, education and the arts. For the full list of 2016 Tillman Scholars, with the service branches, institutions and fields of study from which they were selected, please visit: http://pattillmanfoundation.org/2016class

“Each Tillman Scholar named has demonstrated a unique perseverance and dedication to empower others around them,” said Marie Tillman, President and Co-Founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation. “

As a community of emerging leaders – now over 460 strong – they are joining forces to tackle some of the toughest challenges that our communities face in education, healthcare, civil rights, and foreign policy. In Pat’s spirit of service, we are proud to unite and support them as leaders for our country both at home and abroad.”

To date, the Pat Tillman Foundation has invested nearly $14 million in academic support since 2004, and named over 460 Tillman Scholars at over 100 academic institutions nationwide. From July 21st-24th, the foundation will convene the 2016 Pat Tillman Leadership Summit, bringing together new, current and alumni Tillman Scholars at Roosevelt University and VenueSIX10 in Chicago to collaborate and address some of the toughest challenges impacting the country and our communities.

The Tillman Scholars Program

Founded in 2008, the Tillman Scholars program supports our nation’s active-duty service members, veterans and military spouses by investing in their higher education. The scholarship program covers direct study-related expenses, including tuition and fees, books and living expenses, for scholars who are pursuing undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate degrees as a full-time student at a public or private, U.S.-based accredited institution. The selection process for the Tillman Scholars program is highly competitive with up to 60 Tillman Scholars chosen annually.

2016-2017 University Partners

During the 2016 selection process, the foundation was proud to collaborate with 17 University Partners, who offer innovative, veteran-specific services and a strong culture of support for military veterans and spouses while providing rigorous academic experiences, to identify and select qualified candidates on their campuses for the Tillman Scholar screening process. The 2016-2017 University Partners included Arizona State University; Columbia University; Georgetown University; George Washington University; Indiana University; Texas A&M University; The Ohio State University; The University of Alabama; University of Arizona; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Minnesota; University of Missouri System; University of Oklahoma; University of Oregon; University of South Florida; and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Family Law

Los Angeles Attorney Wins Pivotal Child Custody Ruling in California

Family

In one of the first rulings analyzing the amended (California) Family Code §7612 which allows a child to have more than two parents, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the firm’s client who is the biological father, against the mother’s former live in boyfriend, who claimed to be the child’s third parent.

Following a family law hearing which lasted seven days, the court ruled a child parent relationship did not exist between the minor child and the mother’s former live in boyfriend, thus establishing that it was not detrimental to the child to fail to recognize the former boyfriend.as her parent.

Los Angeles divorce attorney, Charles M. Green who represented the biological father, stated: “We are pleased that the judge rejected the ex-boyfriend’s parentage claim. A contrary ruling would invite every boyfriend, fiancé or housemate to bring suit for custody. Every single mother who has a boyfriend or is involved with a man who is not the biological father of her child would be at risk of being sued with a paternity action. This would open the floodgates of litigation and put the rights of biological parents at risk.”

During the course of the child custody proceedings which began in 2015, the California appeals court issued three decisions discussing the new law enacted in January 2014: In re Donovan L 244 Cal.App.4th 1075 (02/11/2016), Martinez v. Vaziri, 246 Cal.App.4th 373 (04/08/2016) In re SZ (04/14/2016).

These cases stand for the proposition that the most important factor is whether there is an existing parent-child relationship between the child and the putative third parent, such that “recognizing only two parents would be detrimental to the child.” (Family Code § 7612, (c)

It is anticipated that there will be much more three parent litigation as the public becomes familiar with Family Code §7612 and how it can potentially be used to establish a legal relationship with children who have two parents.

Divorce attorney Charles M. Green has a BBA in Management from Hofstra University and MBA in Accountancy from the City University of New York. He is an inactive licensed CPA in both the States of California and New York.

Following his graduation from Southwestern School of Law in Los Angeles, California, he was admitted to practice law in 1999. In 2008, Mr. Green became a Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. He is also a member for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Wilshire Bar Association and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.