In response to some e-mail I received on the matter: I will have no comment on this site regarding Farrow v. Jorgensen For Congress.  You may contact my office for the official statement.

This weekend over much caffeine, I actually did some programming on my long promised live-data legislative tracking app.  Instead of making it a desktop application for the Mac, I’ve made it a web-based application.  The primary interface will probably use features that are currently only supported on the Safari browser.  

However, the widgets on the left will be changed to interface with the software as well.  They will work on any modern browser.  They’re going to get a nice makeover, and will do more than just link to the posts on this blog related to the bill.

Right now, the software is capable of retrieving a bill, guessing its status, giving its procedural posture, and displaying some basic data.  It will ultimately be adapted to scan the appellate courts’ dockets as well, but that’s a whole other story.

If nothing else, this will provide an up-to-date interface for the Legislature’s current 1995-style website.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Six months after the decision was made, Darrell Steinberg – a former labor lawyer and unabashed liberal – was formally elected Senate president pro tem Thursday in a unanimous voice vote by his colleagues.

Steinberg is not on the Senate’s Labor and Industrial Relations Committee and none of his Legislation this session is primarily related to labor and employment.  So, it’s hard to say, what, if any effect this will have on the labor law pipeline.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Steinberg goes to the mat on more employment bills than Perata did, but we still won’t see major changes until after 2010.

I have August 21, 2008 as the date the Brinker opinion goes final, and, therefore I have September 1, 2008 as the deadline to file a Petition for Review (unless an extension is granted).  My calendaring skills are—well, let’s just say it’s better I’m not a secretary, so if those are wrong, please let me know.

The docket is here.  I’m not sure if the Supreme Court will assign a new case number of not, but the old docket for the original Supreme Court case is here.

AB 2134 (conforming federal and state FMLA) has been sent to the “suspense” file.

The Supreme Court has just denied review and depublication of Arteaga.

Sent from the road….

Carleton DiSante: AB 2716 dies in State Senate

Just an anecdote.  I was at a mediation yesterday.  Both my client and the mediator asked me about the Brinker case, and both were under the impression it was solid good law.  

Does the DLSE, who is apparently trying to help employers, really want to be responsible for the large number of small businesses that will rely on bad information and get stung here?

Clarity first, leniency second (and where appropriate).

Here’s my very brief editorial on this case:  any reduction in the ability of parties to settle cases works against the supposed public policy in favor of settlement, clogs the courts, and makes us lawyers richer and everyone else poorer.  Sure, you can’t waive “indemnity” rights

The Court disapproved a line of oft-cited Ninth Circuit cases upholding the so-called “narrow restraint” rule relative to B&P 16600.  This provides clarity if not leniency.  You just can’t do anything to stop someone from being able to do their job after they leave, more or less.

Part II essentially says that there’s nothing wrong with waiving “any and all” rights, as that is not meant to include unwaivable rights.  The Concurring opinion disagreed on that point and suggests that it was an independent wrongful act for an employer to sign employees to language that might make them think they were waving something they couldn’t waive.

What does this mean? The concurrence only had two votes, but there is a line of cases that supports that basic thinking, if not in the case of a business tort for wrongful interference.  It will be picked up.  It also (you’d think) wouldn’t apply to contracts reviewed by attorneys.

So, employers need to once again review the kinds of contracts they are having people sign.  Plaintiffs lawyers should get their clients’ employment contracts out of the file too. Time to amend?

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly have released a policy statement today about its new “Hekhsher Tzedek” (”Justice Certification”) guidelines for kosher foods.  Hekhsher Tzedek goes above and beyond the traditional ritual slaughter and cleanliness provisions.

Of interest to employment lawyers—especially if you represent a company that seeks to get this certification—is their “Working Guidelines.”

Companies must offer fair wages and benefits to all employees.  Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they pay their workers the industry average or above; offer comprehensive health insurance and retirement benefits; and provide workers with paid time off for vacation, sick, and maternity leave.  Companies may be disqualified from receiving the Hekhsher if they perform poorly in the aforementioned areas or if they have been involved in serious or widespread controversies relating to employee compensation and benefits.  Compliance with these criteria will be assessed using the following indicators.  

▪ Worker Pay.  The focus of this indicator is on how well factory-level workers are paid compared to regional and industry averages. 

▪ Health Insurance. Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they offer affordable health insurance to all full-time employees and a meaningful percentage of employees take advantage of the program  

▪ Retirement Benefits.  Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they offer all full-time employees an adequately funded defined benefit pension plan or a 401(k) plan through which they match employee contributions. The level at which the company matches employee contributions will also be assessed. 

▪ Vacation. Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they offer paid vacation time to all full-time employees and a meaningful percentage of employees take advantage of the program. 

▪ Sick Leave. Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they offer paid sick leave to all full-time employees. 

▪ Maternity Leave.  Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they offer maternity leave that exceeds the 12 unpaid weeks mandated by the federal government.  

▪ Controversies.  This indicator considers the company’s record with regard to controversies associated with worker pay and benefits, e.g. non-compliance with minimum wage or overtime laws, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) wage discrimination lawsuits, or violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act

Now, next time you go to the store, see how many of the items you buy have some kind of kosher certification.  The organizations that do these certifications are almost all Orthodox.  Recent studies suggest that approximately 10% of Jews are Orthodox, and 2-3% of Americans are Jews.  Conservative Jews—approximately one third of American Jews—also adhere to kosher rules, but studies suggest that observance is much lower among Conservatives.

But this new certification may have cross-over appeal, not just to Jews of different stripes, but to anyone who’s looking for ethical purchasing decisions—something like “organic” or “fair trade” certifications.  

If you represent a client that depends on this certification, the stakes are even higher, aren’t they? Discuss amongst yourselves—I’m all farklempt.

When I started this blog over 4 years ago, blogging was still a relatively new thing.  Most of the legal blogs at the time were like lawyers’ diaries, notes from the “inside” at certain places, or simply marketing tools.  Blogging as a rapid-delivery information consolidation tool only started becoming prominent recently, and, unfortunately hasn’t won over everyone.

So, I’ve come to the realization that there are other sites out there that are taking apart every appellate opinion faster and in greater detail than I am.  Other sites are getting the “inside scoop” on a number of issues quicker and with better connections that I am.  And every major employment law blog now tracks bills in the legislature.

So, it’s time for me to reinvent this blog and its purpose. Stay tuned.