California Employer Blog

Unfortunately, . . . gateway requirements . . . intended to protect the integrity and public trust in our civil justice system . . . seem rarely invoked by trial judges to hold dishonest claimants and their attorneys to account.?

By Steven M. Chanley Every employer should be aware that it need not have the equivalent of the secret formula for Coca Cola, or commercially valuable source code, in order to have a trade secret that is protected under the law from unauthorized use or disclosure by competitors. For example, customer lists that have taken…

Steven M. Chanley In a lawsuit alleging COVID-related religious discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a former employee of MGM Grand Detroit was just awarded $133,000 by a jury in federal District Court in Michigan. As the prevailing party, the plaintiff will also be awarded attorneys’ fees, in…

By Steven M. Chanley A very recent California Court of appeal case hammered home the point that the state’s wage and hour laws, and how they are applied, are intentionally skewed in favor of employees—so much so that even provisions of the California Code of Civil Procedure are bent to achieve that end. In Chavez…

By Steven M. Chanley While many trade secret disputes can often be nipped in the bud with a stern and timely cease-and-desist letter coupled with diligent monitoring, a very recent federal district court case in Massachusetts illustrates the reality that companies can and will, nonetheless, misappropriate a competitor’s trade secrets when they believe the information…