Finally! Some interesting news… (in my narrow band here, anyway–the world is full of interesting news right now)

The Fresno Bee reports that the new workers’ comp law is putting the squeeze on chiropractors:

Statewide, chiropractors say new limits on visits and much-stricter guidelines for treatment have resulted in as much as a 70% cut in chiropractic treatment.

A class action suit against Dennys restaurants can proceed, the Supreme Court ruled, according to California law, where vacation is earned wage. The Chronicle reports.

Denny’s allows employees to start earning vacation time from their first day of work, but doesn’t pay them for accrued time if they leave in less than a year for an hourly employee, or less than six months for a salaried employee. Gard said the policy violates California law, which considers an employer’s vacation benefits to be the equivalent of wages that can’t be forfeited.

Yikes! CLEL would never have counseled them to do that. Dennys argued that their vacation plan was covered by ERISA.

Jesse Jackson spoke to striking hotel workers in San Francisco yesterday, the Chronicle reports. Mayor Newsom asked for a cooling off period, where workers would return to work during negotiations. A federal mediator will be in later this week. The strike is about a rise in health care premiums to be paid by the workers.

The Court of Appeal (6th Dist.) handed down a decision today affirming a trial court’s finding that an arbitration clause between employer and employee was unconscionable when the agreement required only the employee to arbitrate all claims against the employer, required the employee to have discussions with his supervisors before filing for arbitration and a 180-day time limit.

Order denying defendant’s motion to compel arbitration AFFIRMED.

Nyulassy v. Lockheed Martin Corp., Cal. App. 6th Dist. No. H026704

• George’s Employment Blawg has this great entry on NLRA issues for companies without unions.
• The bounty-hunter law is still in the budget mix, according to the SF Chronicle.

Otherwise, another slow news day.

On the legislative front:

• a number of workers’ compensation bills are in the conference comittee. SB 1071, AB 1215, AB 1578, AB 1579, SB 191, SB 223, SB 229, SB 354, SB 451, and SB 757.
• SB 1687, an act pertaining to advance-fee talent services, which would amend LC 1701 to expand the definition of a”advance-fee talent services,” received its third reading in the assembly on Saturday.
• SB 534, requiring long-handewd tools for agricultural workers was sent to the inactive file on Saturday.

Also,

The SF Chronicle reports that the “bounty hunter” law is still in the mix on the budget deal; and public employee unions take the offensive against Republicans on the budget.

Legislative update: While I’m still a novice at reading the legislative information, there doesn’t appear to much of interest going on right now. I’m keeping my eyes on a few bills that were vetoed that are up for override, but they don’t have the votes. We’ll see.

* Here’s a novel legal theory: “Protester Tells Court: Wages Aren’t Taxable.” The LA Times has this report.

* Morgan Stanley settles a sexual discrimination suit minutes before trial. They agreed, in the consent decree, to outside monitors on gender bias, and increased training against discrimination. The WSJ has this report (sub req’d);

* The Contra Costa times reports Bay Area wages are growing more slowly.

* The LA Daily news reports has an interesting, two-sided report on UCL reform. (See this piece, via The UCL Practiioner, from the San Jose Mercury News rounding out the donations.)

[Ed: Industry seems to support turning UCL into class-action like lawsuits. There doesn't seem to be much focus on the issue of whether or not private attorneys-general are democratically accountable.]

* Not much legislative action lately because of the budget impasse.

* The aforementioned potential port strike was averted. The LA Times has this report.