California, unlike most of the rest of the United States, generally prohibits noncompetition agreements except in very limited circumstances involving the sale of a business. (See Business & Professions Code § 16600 et seq.) But California also recognizes an employer’s right to protect its trade secrets. (See Civil Code § 3426 et seq.) As a result, in California, a former employee’s right to compete with his or her former employer frequently comes into conflict...

In one of the final judicial decisions of 2017, a California court of appeal has held that an employee who settled his individual wage and hour claims against his former employer could not continue to pursue his PAGA claims against that employer. The court therefore affirmed the trial court’s judgment dismissing the employee’s PAGA claims. Kim v. Reins International California, Inc., 2d Dist. Case No. B278642 (filed December 29, 2017). The Plaintiff, Justin Kim, sued...

Previously on our blog, we discussed the enforceability of non-compete clauses. It is important to be familiar with the concept not only for contracting purposes, but also from the standpoint of being either an employer or employee. Recently, this issue has been in California state news, as it appears that large companies are trying to enforce non-compete clauses that are found in employment agreements of low-wage workers. The case at issue involved Benny Almeida, a former employee...

The legal conflicts that businesses most often face are contract disputes, financial disputes, and employer-employee issues. If your business is facing such a conflict, it will be encouraging for you to know that most of these disputes can and are resolved without going to court. Alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") can save your business a lot of time and money if you utilize it as a means to resolving your legal issues. There are many...