CLEL joins the dark side!

Over at the California Wage and Hour Weblog, check out this commentary on the recent precedential opinion involving section 226.7 remedies:

We debated whether to mention this DLSE memo, since it has no precedential value in the Superior Court, and, although well-informed defense firms will be using this as an argument to persuade the trial courts to change their minds about Section 226.7 wages, not all defense firms are so informed. But we see now that the dark side blogs are talking about it, so we might as well weigh in.

(Emphasis, as usual, added). And where does that "dark side" link go? Right here to CLEL. First, I resent the value judgment; second, that inappropriately pigeonholes me and my work, my firm and its work into a category that it simply does not fit in.

Ironically, this blog is posted by a firm that "represent[s] employers, and both individuals and classes of employees in litigation concerning discrimination claims, wage and hour claims, and disputes over working conditions. The firm's goal is to bring the workplace of every employer and employee we represent into full compliance with California law." A description that also fits me and my firm.

Since its inception over a year ago, I have always striven to "do my best to give objective, neutral commentary on these issues. This means I won't be championing issues on the side of the plaintiff's bar or the industry side. That's not the point. There are thousands of blogs that amount to an un-edited, narrowly read op-ed page."

To the extent that I have deviated from that, I have been unabashedly critical of many ( for example here, here, here, and here) "pro-employer" decisions, and the "shock and awe" tactics used by big defense firms in their marketing. I have also provided free advice to employees, and been attacked for being too pro-employee in many of the comments above. The irony is killing me. I'm attacked by both sides. Must mean I'm doing something right.

Nevertheless Walsh Skywalker has accused me of joining the dark side.

Signed,
Darth Jonerikus.

Humanscale Is Not A Panacea.

Big firm blast-broadcasts have hailed the recent Jones v. Humanscale Corp. decision as a "major victory in the area of non-competition, choice of law, and arbitration."

It is none of the above. At most, it might provide for an interesting "cf" at the end of a string of citations in a law school textbook. It is most certainly not something that should form the basis of any advice to a client.

First of all, this is a very specific fact pattern. The employer was a New Jersey corporation, and the arbitration agreement required arbitration to occur in New Jersey. That fact alone limits the usefulness of this holding to many in-state only employers.

Second, it's clear that if a normal conflicts analysis was applied, the non-compete agreement could not stand. If the Supreme Court takes this case and affirms the ruling of the Court of Appeal, then we have new law that we can rely on. But I wouldn't bet on that. This ruling basically gives employers the ability to make an end run around California law. As nice as that may be, this just isn't the kind of ruling that stands up for long.

If you want to go out on a limb with this ruling, call another firm. If you want to be safe rather than sorry, and not end up in $600/hr. litigation because your lawyer talked you into being a guinea pig for appellate litigation, call us.