The Hedge | Brutal Honesty Over Hype Since 2008
The Hedge’s June coverage has touched most of the major compliance categories every California business owner should have current. This post consolidates them into a single actionable mid-year checklist. Run through it now — before any compliance gap turns into a regulatory problem.
Entity and Formation Compliance
Federal Corporate Transparency Act: have you filed your beneficial ownership information with FinCEN? Deadline for pre-2024 entities was January 1, 2025. If you haven’t filed, do it today. California Secretary of State: is your Statement of Information current? LLCs and corporations must file every 1-2 years. DFPI license: if you’re in financial services, collections, or a regulated industry, is your DFPI license current and in good standing?
Employment Compliance
Paid sick leave policy: does it reflect the January 2024 increase to 5 days (40 hours)? Minimum wage: are you paying at least $16/hour statewide, and the applicable industry minimum if you’re in fast food or healthcare? Wage statements: do your pay stubs include all required information including sick leave balances? Worker classification: have you reviewed all contractor relationships against AB5’s ABC test in the past 12 months? Non-compete provisions: have you removed void non-compete clauses from your employment agreements?
Tax and Financial Compliance
California franchise tax: is the current year’s payment current? Pass-through entity tax election: have you evaluated whether the PTET election is beneficial for your current year? Estimated taxes: are quarterly payments calibrated to current-year income rather than prior-year safe harbor if income has grown significantly? CCPA/CPRA: if you’re approaching any of the three coverage thresholds, have you begun compliance planning?
HOA-Specific Compliance (Property Owners)
Annual disclosure review: have you reviewed the HOA’s annual disclosure package, particularly the reserve fund percent funded? Assessment currency: are your assessments current? A delinquency notice is worth addressing immediately before it becomes a lien. CC&R review: are you in compliance with current CC&R requirements, including any amendments adopted in the past year? Record this review — it demonstrates good faith if an enforcement issue arises later.
The Hedge has been cutting through financial and business noise since 2008. Brutal honesty over hype — always.