May 2003
WIN AT WORK MONTHLY
A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
Win at Work	Employee Rights Update
HELP! Help! We all need it sometimes, especially in understanding or pursuing employee rights. But where do you turn? Your own employee handbook at work should explain at least some of your rights. Bookstores and public libraries have books on general employee rights in the Legal or Business sections. County Bar Associations often provide free pre-recorded telephone advice on legal subjects. The Federal Department of Labor and the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement enforce laws on minimum wage, overtime, and whistle-blower protection, and provide information pamphlets without charge. The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing enforce discrimination laws, and provide information pamphlets without charge. Attorneys who specialize in employee rights can give both general and specific advice on your rights and assistance in enforcing them. They often do not charge you anything unless they receive a recovery. So look for help if you need it . . . because it’s there.	NON-COMPETITION A recent case, Advanced Bionics Corp. v. Medtronic, Inc., has confirmed that California state courts cannot stop other states from trying to enforce non-compete agreements. California Business & Professions Code Sec. 16600 provides the basic public policy against restraint of trade and for employee mobility. Many other states do not have such a public policy and instead uphold restrictive non-compete agreements. In the Medtronic case, a Minnesota court upheld the non-compete agreement and sought to prevent the employee from working for a competitor in California. Out-of-state employers will frequently include non-compete agreements as a condition of employment. This situation may result in a race to either federal court or another state’s jurisdiction for enforcement of the agreement. On the other side, the California employee will quickly seek a determination from a California state court that the agreement is void as contrary to public policy. The bottom line is that the validity of non-competition agreements is now even more uncertain. Peter W. Taylor, Attorney
Update on our attorneys: Patrick Turner, with the former California Labor Commissioner, prevailed in an historic court ruling limiting the scope of arbitration agreements. Patrick Mortimer spoke on recent developments in employment law at a recent seminar for attorneys. Stephen Kimball ran the Boston Marathon.
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine. E-mail us at dds@job-law.com to have your address added or removed from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, 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:info@job-law.com. The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column which appears in the Los Angeles Times’ “Career Builder Magazine” 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. ©2003 by Don D. Sessions.