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Check out these tips for ways you can make your office more earth-friendly!

 

Education

  1. Foster employee awareness of your environmental initiatives by developing an environment section of your employee handbook and providing training on your environmental initiatives as part of your firm’s employee orientation.

     2. Send out monthly eco-tips to encourage participation in your firm or company’s environmental initiatives and provide incentives to recognize exceptional performance and creativity from employees.

     3. Set up and label a Conservation Center in a high-traffic area of your office to educate staff about environmentally friendly practices. The center can be a bulletin board, bookshelf or poster and can include one or more of the following:

• A copy of the SBCBA Eco-Tips;
• A list of tips for the office and home;
• A ride-share or carpool chart; and 
• Books and pamphlets about conservation and preservation.

 

Energy Conservation

     1. Make sustainability a true part of your business practices by adopting change from the inside out.

• Work with individual employees to determine how each can become more environmentally friendly in their current roles;
• Set-up internal goals for employees or departments, as well as rewards for meeting those goals. Issue regular reports on the progress of those goals; and
• Use the office’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint to create a positive image for your business in mission statements, marketing and advertising campaigns.

   1.2 Reduce the amount of electricity consumed by computers in your office. For example, computers left on after hours result in 14.4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

• Set computers on timers that shut them down after 30 minutes of being idle.
• Make sure all computers have and use screen savers.
• Instruct everyone in the office to shut down all parts of their computer – including the monitor – when they leave for the day.

     2. Reduce the amount of electricity used in your office by cutting down on light usage.

• Turn off lights in all rooms when not in use.
• Install motion detectors in areas such as hallways, conference rooms, bathrooms and kitchens.
• Replace older light bulbs with compact fluorescent light or light emitting diode bulbs.

   3. Stop using a screen saver.

• Screen savers do not save energy, they save the screen from being permanently imprinted with an image.
• Screen savers eat up lighting and processing energy.
• Set screen savers to none or blank screen.

     4. Consider laptops: Consider buying laptops instead of desktops, as they generally use less energy and are more efficiently made.

     5. Consider office sharing: If you have a number of employees that don’t use the office regularly, consider assigning offices based on a schedule. You’ll save on utilities, equipment, furniture and more.

     6. Keep air vents clear of paper, files and office supplies. It takes as much as 25 percent more energy to pump air into the workspace if the vents are blocked.

 

Environmentally Conscious Purchases

     1. Save trees and reduce your carbon footprint by switching to 100% post-consumer recycled content paper for photo-copying and professional print jobs. The myth that recycled content paper is of worse quality or will get stuck in copiers and printers is just that – recycled content paper performs just as well and comes with the added benefit of being able to promote your “green” choice to customers and clients.

     2. To cut down on trash and packaging, buy your kitchen supplies – like sugar, creamer, and coffee – in bulk rather than in single-serving containers.

     3. Consider energy-efficient equipment when replacing appliances and computers in your office and home.

• Visit Energy Star at http://www.energystar.gov/to find a wide array of energy saving products, including printers, copies, refrigerators and computers.
• When replacing computers consider those that are rated highly by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) by visiting http://www.epeat.net/. The website uses a set of criteria to help consumers compare the energy efficiency of various computers.

     4. Think about the impact of all the products you buy for the office, even those seemingly as innocent as hand soap. When purchasing dishwashing liquid, hand soap and automatic dishwashing detergent for use in office kitchens and bathrooms, choose those free of toxic substances including phosphates, triclosan, chlorine and/or other antibacterial ingredients.

     5. To help your office implement the many tips we've offered over the past several weeks, view a comprehensive list of Green Resources. The resources list where you can purchase green office products, includes:

• The Green Office – www.thegreenoffice.com/
• The Sustainable Group – www.sustainablegroup.net/
• Energy Star – http://www.energystar.gov/
• Atlas Water – http://www.atlaswatersystems.com/

     6. When considering what paper to purchase and use at the office, consider more than just if the paper is recycled.

• Choose paper that is processed chlorine free.
• Use unbleached and uncolored paper.

     7. When replacing office supplies that are broken or otherwise useless, consider choosing environmentally friendly options.

• Staple free stapler;
• Bulletin board made of recycled materials; and
• Dry erase calendar.

 

Sustainable Practices

     1. Recycle your old computers or donate them to a local non-profit organization. Most major computer manufacturers offer recycling programs that make it easy to recycle or donate your old computers.

     2. Buy reusable coffee mugs for your employees or yourself and use them when you get your caffeine fix for refills in your office or the local coffee shop.

     3. Reduce the use of toxic products in the workplace.

• Purchase unbleached paper towels and napkins for bathrooms and the kitchen/cafeteria.
• Buy cleaners for bathrooms and the kitchen/cafeteria with low toxicity and high biodegradability or clean with natural products such as baking soda, lemon juice, white vinegar and club soda.

     4. Cut down on waste and disposables in your office and work toward recycling items you are no longer using:

• Arrange for your ink cartridge supplier to pick up used cartridges for reuse and/or purchase remanufactured cartridges, rather than new ones, for laser printers.
• Provide pitchers with filtered water rather than bottled water, to employees and visitors.
• Donate old office equipment, computers and supplies. 

     5. Conserve water use in the office.

• Install low-flow toilets and aerators in all sink faucets.
• Post signs asking users to use as little water as possible.
• Establish regular maintenance of sinks, toilets and other areas that use water to catch and repair leaks.

6. Save ink by altering your printing habits:

• Avoid printing in color when you can and opt for black and white only; and
• Use draft mode to print items in a lighter shade using less ink.

 

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law the Homeowner Bill of Rights to help struggling Californians keep their homes. This law’s objective is to avoid foreclosure whenever possible and prevent other negative effects of foreclosures on families, communities and the economy. This law will generally come into effect on January 1, 2013 and only pertains to first trust deeds secured by owner-occupied properties with one-to-four residential units, unless otherwise indicated. Some of the requirements of this law do not apply to smaller banks that, during the preceding annual reporting period, foreclosed on 175 or fewer properties with one-to-four residential units (CC2924.18(b)).

 

The full text of this law, also known as Assembly Bill 278 and Senate Bill 900, is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.

 

In summary, the new law prohibits lenders from engaging in dual tracking, requires a single point of contact for borrowers seeking foreclosure prevention alternatives, and provides borrowers with the right to sue lenders for material violations of this law.  

 

A few highlights:

–          Cancelling a Pending Trustee’s Sale: A mortgage servicer must rescind or cancel any pending trustee’s sale if a short sale has been approved by all parties and proof of funds/financing  has been provided;

–          No Late Fees/Application Fees: A mortgage servicer cannot collect any late fees while a complete first lien loan modification application is under consideration, a denial is being appealed, the borrower is making timely modification payments, or a foreclosure prevention alternative is being evaluated or exercised;

–          Binding if Loan is Transferred: Any written approval for a foreclosure prevention alternative shall be honored by a subsequent mortgage servicer in the event the borrower’s loan is transferred or sold.

 

Please visit. www.leginfo.ca.gov to view the full text of the new law.

Q. What is workers’ compensation?

A. Workers’ compensation is benefits that your employer is required by law to pay for if you have a work-related injury or illness. There are two main types of injuries:

1. One accident/event at work. This could include hurting your back in a fall or burning yourself while on the job.

2. Repeated exposures at work. This could include losing hearing due to perpetual loud noise or hurting your elbow from repeated motions.

 

Q. What should I do if I hurt myself while on the job?

A. First, report the injury to your employer immediately. If this injury has occurred due to repeated exposure, report it to your employer as soon as you learn/suspect if was caused by your job. Prompt reporting helps avoid frustrating delays in receiving benefits.

NOTE: If your employee is not notified within 30 days of the injury, this hinders your employer’s ability to fully investigate the claim and could result in lost rights to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

 

Second, if emergency treatment is required, get it! Be sure to tell your health care provider that this is a work related injury or illness.

 

Third, fill out a claim form (DWC 1) and give it to your employer. Your employer is required to give you this form within one working day after being notified of the injury or illness. This form opens your workers’ compensation case and is used to request workers’ compensation benefits.

 

Q. What types of benefits am I entitled to?

A. There are five basic benefits that workers’ compensation provides:

1. Medical care: Paid for by employer to help your recover from job-related injury or illness

2. Temporary disability benefits: Payments for lost wages if you are unable to do your usual job while recovering

3. Permanent disability benefits: Payments in you are unable to recover completely

4. Supplemental job displacement benefits: Vouchers to assist in payment for skill enhancement or retraining if you are unable to recover completely and don’t return to work for your employer.

5. Death benefits: Payments given to spouse, children or other dependants if you die due to a work related injury or illness

 

Q. My employer is asking to take part of my check to pay for workers’ compensation insurance? Can they do this?

A. No! An employer cannot request that you help pay the insurance premium. All employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. It is a portion of the price of doing business.

 

Q. Can my employer fire me because of my injury?

A. It is illegal for an employer to fire your or punish you in any way for having a work related injury or illness. It is also illegal for an employer to penalize you for filing a workers’ compensation claim.

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The laws that govern the workers’ compensation system can be confusing. Retaining an experienced attorney who knows and works with the laws on a regular basis can result in a much less stressful experience.

 

If you have a work-related accident or illness and would like to discuss your case with a competent workers’ compensation attorney, please call the SBCBA Lawyer Referral Service at (805) 569-9400.

If a resident of California dies without a will or trust, this means that they die "intestate." Because the person did not leave instructions regarding how they wished their property to be divided, the laws of intestate succession determine who will inherit the estate.

 

The rules regarding intestacy laws are generally as follows:

1) If there is a surviving spouse and no children –> surviving spouse takes the entire estate

2) If there are children but no surviving spouse –> children take entire estate

3) If there are children and a surviving spouse –> surviving spouse takes one half of the estate, children split the second half of the estate

4) If there is no surviving spouse and no children –> parents take the estate

5) If there are no parents –> siblings and their children take the estate

6) If there are no siblings or their descendants –> grandparents and their children take the estate

7) If there are no grandparents or their descendants –> next of kin takes the estate

8) If there is no next of kin –> deceased spouses parents and their descendants take the estate

9) Lastly, if no heirs can be found, your estate will escheat. This means that the estate passes to the CA government!

 

The rules of intestacy are not perfect and many times they do not reflect the wishes of the deceased. These rules, among other things, ignore strained family relationships and prohibit long-term domestic partners from inheritance.

 

The only way to make sure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes, to the people you love, is to create a will or trust!

 

To be referred to an experienced estate planning attorney, and begin the process of making a will or trust, call the SBCBA Lawyer Referral Service! (805) 569-9400.