Category Archives: Leaving a Job

This category examines company trade secrets and claims the company may have when an employee takes or steals company information. It also examines when/if an employer may contractually restrict the right of an employee to work for a competitor (non-compete clauses). It also looks at real world examples and cases where employers have dealt with employee theft and intellectual property protection.

Lisa Kudrow & Scott Howard to the California Supreme Court? Phoebe Wants to Fight.

In 2008, Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from ‘Friends’) was dragged into court by her former manager, Scott Howard, who filed a lawsuit because she refused to pay him more than $50,000.

In the early 1990’s, Howard and Kudrow entered into an oral agreement for Howard to act as Kudrow’s personal manager. Kudrow agreed to pay Howard 10% of whatever she earned. In 1994, Kudrow landed the role of “Phoebe” on the television show “Friends.” Amazingly, for the last 18 episodes in 2004, Kudrow made $1 million an episode, plus 1 1/4 % of the show’s “backend” earnings.

So, what is the dispute about? Well, after Kudrow terminated Howard as her personal manager, she stopped paying him. Which seems completely fine except that the custom and practice in the entertainment industry at the time was for a personal manager to be paid post-termination commissions on the services that their clients rendered when the personal manager was representing them.

Currently, the two parties are bickering over when an expert should have been admitted. A Los Angeles County Superior Court barred Howard from admitting an experts testimony, and granted Kudrow summary judgment. The appeals court reversed Wednesday, saying Bauer should be allowed to testify on remand. Now, Kudrow may appeal it to the California Supreme Court.

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Branigan Robertson is a California employment lawyer who exclusively represents employees in workplace disputes. He focuses his practice on sexual harassment, wage & hour, wrongful termination, and retaliation. Visit his website at BRobertsonLaw.com or call his office at 949.667.3025.

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Filed under Discharge & Layoffs, Lawsuits & Lawyers, Leaving a Job

Pregnancy Series #3 – Maternity Leave – What You Should Know About California Law

Maternity Leave, California, FMLA, CFRAIf you just found out that you are pregnant let me be the first person in the Internet world to say, “Congrats!” There is nothing more exciting that expecting a child. I know this from experience. My wife and I just had our first daughter and I want to jump for joy. I couldn’t be happier.

But if you’re a working woman this might be daunting. What does your pregnancy mean for your job? It obviously means you must take time off for doctor visits, pregnancy classes, labor, and recovery. But how much time can you take off? What protections does California law afford?

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) are the laws at issue. The FMLA, in combination with the CFRA, provides California working mothers with the best maternity leave rights in the nation.

Read more after the jump…. Continue reading

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Filed under CFRA - California Family Rights Act, Employee Benefits, Family & Medical Leave, FMLA - Family & Medical Leave Act, Health Benefits, Health Care, Leaving a Job, Maternity Leave, Pregnancy, Sex Discrimination

Firing Horror Stories

If you own a small business, then you’ve fired someone before. I’m not talking about laying someone off. I’m talking about firing someone because they are incompetent. Its never fun. Its uncomfortable (because of the confrontation), annoying (because you have to hire someone else), and a lot of work.  You have to take the necessary steps to make sure the fired employee doesn’t become disgruntled. I generally believe that ‘disgruntled’ means disaster.  Here are a few disaster stories from CNN.

The stories range from hacking into the company’s servers all the way to physical fights.  They will entertain you.

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Branigan Robertson is a California employment lawyer who exclusively represents employees in workplace disputes. He focuses his practice on sexual harassment, wage & hour, wrongful termination, and retaliation. Visit his website at BRobertsonLaw.com or call his office at 949.667.3025.

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Filed under Discharge & Layoffs, Human Resources, Leaving a Job

Employee Non-Compete Agreements Invalid in California

Orange County, CA – Are you an employee?  Go find your employment agreement (the contract you signed when you started work at the company) and open it up.  I would bet that 75% of the employment agreements in California have some sort of provision that reads like this:

The undersigned Employee hereby agrees not to directly or indirectly compete with the business of the Company and its successors and assigns during the period of employment and for a period of X years following termination of employment and notwithstanding the cause or reason for termination.

If you’re an employee, you’re in luck.  These “non-compete” clauses (also called “covenants not to compete” or “restrictive covenants”) are almost entirely invalid in California.  If you’re an employer, can you ever restrict your current and former employees from competing?  Find out after the jump…

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Filed under Discharge & Layoffs, Duty of Loyalty, Leaving a Job, Non-Compete Agreements, Restrictive Covenants, Retaliation

Employee Duty of Loyalty

Orange County, CA – What is the duty of loyalty?  Does it apply to a employee?  Employer?  What is California’s rule regarding the duty of loyalty?

These are all extremely valuable questions for both the employer and the employee to have answers to.  First, the employee duty of loyalty basically means this: An employer has the right to the undivided loyalty of its employees. The duty of loyalty is breached and may give rise to a tort cause of action on behalf of the employer when the employee takes action hostile to the employer’s best interests.  Stokes v. Dole Nut Co. (1995) 41 CA4th 285, 295.

What on earth does that mean?  It means that an employee isn’t supposed to compete with his or her employer while he or she is employed.

Well, what does “compete” mean?  Easy answers after the jump….

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Filed under Duty of Loyalty, Leaving a Job, Non-Compete Agreements, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair Competition