January 2001

WIN AT WORK MONTHLY

A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
	Win At Work JOB LOSS BRINGS OPPORTUNITY “I was fired from my first three jobs, which in a funny way gave me the courage to go into business for myself,” said Alfred Fuller, founder of the Fuller Brush Company. A surprisingly large number of my clients who have lost their jobs have actually gone on to improve their title, compensation, benefits, upward mobility and job satisfaction. It’s unfortunate that long‑term opportunity sometimes appears only after the short‑term trauma of losing a job. We tend to stay in our workplace rut and its accompanying security until something knocks us out of it. Then we are forced to re‑evaluate needs, desires, abilities, and options by building on past success or even getting a fresh start in a new career. Henry Ford said that “failure [as some regard losing a job] is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.” In this sense, job loss may be a gain. It’s all up to you.		Employee Rights Update FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO REFUSE TO SIGN NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS VIOLATES PUBLIC POLICY Generally, provisions in employment contracts prohibiting employees from working for competitors after ending an employment relationship are unenforceable under California law (barring some narrow exceptions). Despite this general rule, more and more employers are requiring employees to sign non-compete provisions as a condition of employment. Historically, most employees signed them because they needed their jobs and hoped the court would later strike down the provision if they did work for a competitor. But now, employees have a choice. A California Court of Appeal recently held that because non-compete agreements can violate public policy, employers may not terminate employees who refuse to sign them -- even those who are “at-will,” meaning they can be terminated for a good reason, a bad or irrational reason, or for no reason at all. We expect the court may also protect employees who are denied employment for refusing to sign a non-compete. By Sharon J. Ormond, Attorney at Law
		Update on our attorneys - Don D. Sessions will be the featured guest on OCN (Cable T.V.’s) Prime Story from 7-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 4, 2001. He will discuss new employment laws that will affect employees and employers alike
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the "Shop Talk" column of the Times’ Sunday Business Section or the Register’s "Business Monday" Section. Click here to add (or here to delete) your E-mail address to or from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, mailto:attorneys@job-law.com. The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column appearing in Times/Mirror Publications (including Los Angeles Jobs and Orange County Jobs) and elsewhere. Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney. ©2001 by Don D. Sessions.