Michelle L. DuCharme

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There are myriad special rules for employers operating in California, and even more were signed into law last term. 2018 was Jerry Brown’s last year of his second “two-term” round as governor. Both legislatively and judicially, 2018 was a busy year, with the legislature sending more than 1,000 bills to the governor. This GT Alert…

What does Winston Churchill have to do with California wage and hour requirements? Well, the “shot” at employers in Soto v. Motel 6 Operating L.P. at the California Court of Appeal was whether, because California vacation pay cannot be forfeited and must be paid out at termination, it therefore follows that the value of the…

Some important Supreme Court cases are hard to accurately capture in a sound bite, and this is one of them. In a narrow holding, the Supreme Court issued a 6-2 decision in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. ___ (2016), addressing class claims for overtime compensation certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure…

Greenberg Traurig recently published an InfoPAKSM on covenants not to compete through the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Covenants not to compete are important for employers to consider in order to protect proprietary information such as trade secrets, intellectual property, and highly confidential information. However, these post-employment restrictions vary state by state.  These…

Drafting an effective employment agreement or release has become a challenging endeavor for a new reason. In Golden v. California Emergency Physicians Medical Group, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit added another source of concern to those employers who deploy “no re-hire” provisions in releases. Following Golden, a fact-intensive inquiry may be required into the particular provision to determine if it constitutes “a restraint of a substantial character,” — here, whether or not there was a restraint of a substantial character of Dr. Golden’s medical practice. And, given the Ninth Circuit’s reading of California law, Golden may also have implications well beyond the employment context, possibly extending to certain commercial contracts as well, to the extent they can be said to restrain anyone from engaging in a lawful profession, trade or business.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Broadens California Rule Against Non-Competes