Nyulassy v. Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Court of Appeal (6th Dist.) handed down a decision today affirming a trial court's finding that an arbitration clause between employer and employee was unconscionable when the agreement required only the employee to arbitrate all claims against the employer, required the employee to have discussions with his supervisors before filing for arbitration and a 180-day time limit.

Order denying defendant's motion to compel arbitration AFFIRMED.

Nyulassy v. Lockheed Martin Corp., Cal. App. 6th Dist. No. H026704

Bounty Hunter Law Compromise in Budget Deal

The LA Times reports this morning that there are changes coming to the bounty hunter law in the budget deal.

After weeks of resistance, Democrats finally agreed to weaken what the GOP has dubbed the "sue your boss law." That law allows workers to file multimillion-dollar lawsuits against their employers for a variety of offensives — some of them as small as using the wrong size type on posters that inform employees of their rights.The compromise would allow employees to sue for major violations, but only if the Labor and Workforce Development Agency refuses to act. And Democrats agreed to prohibit any suits for such minor violations as failure to post labor rules.

The deal hasn't been voted on yet, and may face opposition by fiscal conservatives and some liberals, with the center suppporting it, but chances are this deal goes through. The law's original author agreed with the changes.

Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove (Orange County), said he was always open to changing the law to prevent frivolous lawsuits. "This law was never about lining the pockets of trial lawyers, it was about enforcing the labor code," said Dunn, who wrote the original law.

This change will bring Labor Code enforcement suits more in line with other kinds of employment related disputes by apparently requiring administrative review first. I haven't seen the text of the proposed amendments yet.

More to come...