Despite California’s prohibition against non-compete agreements, a federal court in the Eastern District of California recently ruled that a California resident may be subject to the non-compete covenant in his employment agreement due to a provision in the agreement identifying Indiana as the parties’ choice of forum and that state’s law as the parties’ choice of law. The lawsuit, Scales v. Badger Daylighting Corp. (Case
choice-of-law
FAQ About California’s New Law on Venue and Choice of Law in Employment Agreements
We recently blogged about Governor Brown signing S.B. 1241, which is now codified as Section 925 of the California Labor Code. The law, which affects venue and choice of law provisions in agreements entered into as a condition of employment, will begin applying to agreements entered into, modified, or extended beginning on January 1, 2017. The text of the law (posted directly below) might appear relatively straight forward, but certain ambiguities and questions concerning the law’s implementation raise several issues, which are discussed in this blog post.
California Protects Employees’ Rights to Have Their Claims Heard in the State, Under California Law
In recent years, some employers doing business in the Golden State have required their employees to sign arbitration and employment agreements that require the employee to sue or arbitrate in – or under the law of – another state. After January 1, 2017, this practice will be illegal unless the employee was represented by legal counsel who assisted in negotiating the out-of-state venue, forum or…
California Law Should Have Been Applied To Determine If Drivers Were Employees Or Independent Contractors
Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp., 667 F.3d 1318 (9th Cir. 2012)
Fernando Ruiz and similarly situated drivers filed a class action against Affinity alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and California law for failure to pay overtime, failure to pay wages, improper charges for workers’ compensation insurance and unfair business practices. To work for Affinity, the drivers had to enter into an…
Freight Pick-Up Drivers May Have Been Employees And Not Independent Contractors
Narayan v. EGL, Inc., 616 F.3d 895 (2010)
Mohit Narayan and two other drivers for EGL (a global transportation, supply chain management and information services company headquartered in Texas) were California residents who provided services to EGL pursuant to independent contractor agreements that contained a Texas choice-of-law provision. Narayan and the other drivers filed a lawsuit against EGL in California alleging they were in fact employees of EGL who were deprived of overtime wages, reimbursement for business expenses, meal compensation, etc. EGL removed the case to federal court and obtained summary judgment after the district court applied Texas law and concluded plaintiffs were independent contractors and not employees. The district court also concluded the result would be the same under California law.
Former Employee Required To Litigate Breach Of Contract Claim In Germany
Intershop Communications AG v. Superior Court, 104 Cal. App. 4th 191 (2002)
Frank Martinez, a California resident, sued his former employer, Intershop Communications, Inc., and its German parent company for breach of a stock options exchange agreement. The exchange agreement contained a choice-of-law (German law) and forum-selection clause (Hamburg, Germany). The trial court denied Intershop’s motion to stay the proceedings pursuant to the doctrine…
California Court May Not Enjoin Employer From Seeking To Enforce Non-Competition Covenant In Minnesota
Advanced Bionics Corp. v. Medtronic, Inc., 29 Cal. 4th 697 (2002)
Mark Stultz was employed in Minnesota as a senior product specialist for Medtronic, a manufacturer of implantable neurostimulation devices, before resigning his employment and going to work for Advanced Bionics Corporation, one of Medtronic’s competitors located in Sylmar, California. Upon accepting employment with Medtronic, Stultz signed a non-competition agreement, which contained a choice-of-law…