One important issue that you should pay a particularly close attention to when entering into an investor rights agreement with the people who are looking to invest into your start-up is the section in that agreement that talks about the degree of involvement that investors will have the right to in the day to day operations of your company. Ideally, you want your investors to have as little control as possible over your operations, and…

It’s important to be aware of the following three typical misconceptions that many wrongful termination claimants have, so that you don’t have the same incorrect ideas about the process of pursuing your case: 1.”This is not about money, but about justice”.  I hear this statement quite often. Clients really want to emphasize that they are not greedy and that they have a higher goal in pursuing their case. However, you must remember that whether you…

In the past, in many states, a restraint on the practice of a trade or occupation, even as applied to a former employee, was deemed to be valid if it was “reasonable”. However, California long ago rejected the so-called ‘rule of reasonableness’ when it enacted Civil Code sections 1673 through 1675, the predecessor sections to Business and Professions Code sections 16600 through 16602.  These legislative enactments ‘settled public policy in favor of open competition, and…

By now,  the California Dynamex decision (Dynamex Opertions West Inc. v. Superior Court) has been thoroughly discussed and analyzed in many publications and legal seminars.  decision. However, here is the big picture that both workers and employers (and especially employers) should keep in mind, as it will help them understand what’s behind this significant ruling. Through the Dynamex decision, California’s highest court sought to address common abuses of workers’ rights that became pretty much an epidemic in…

As of January 1, 2018, a new law in California adding Government Section 12952 to California Fair Employment and Housing Act went into effect. This new law states that it’s is unlawful for employers with five or more employees to include on any application for employment any question that seeks the disclosure of an applicant’s conviction history, inquire into or consider the conviction history of an applicant until that applicant has received a conditional offer.…

On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its unanimous ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc., v Superior Court, making it even harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors (rather than employees). The previous standard used for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors had been in place since 1989 and was based upon a multifactor test that considered, among other factors, the worker’s skill, the method of payment by the…