Though employers fail continually to learn, the courts once again pointed out that where an employer-employee contract violated the labor laws of the state, then the relevant part of the contract has no effect.
It all started in the international law firm of O'Melveny & Meyers, LLP. In August 2002, the firm created a new Dispute Resolution Program that aimed to prohibit all employees from going to court in case of any internal dispute, and the management, in a unilateral move, made it binding upon all employees.
Then Jacqueline Davis joined the firm as a paralegal in 1999 and worked there until 2003. And she did not stand up to the firm's oppressive culture. After leaving her job, Jacqueline filed a lawsuit against the firm under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Unfair Business Practices Act, and the California Labor Code. Her allegations against the firm were only too common:
· Failure to pay overtime for work done during lunch time and rest periods
· Failure to pay for work exceeding eight hours a day and forty hours a week
· Damages for denial of rest and meal periods
She also went for damages on behalf of not only herself, but also "all others similarly harmed."
The firm, started in 1885, is considered one of the largest law firms in the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it employs more than one thousand lawyers and has 13 offices around the world. Predictably, it also possessed a sufficient amount of influence.
It immediately went for dismissal of the action and forced Jacqueline to submit to arbitration. The district court readily agreed with the firm. Jacqueline appealed to the Ninth Circuit. On May 15, after a legal battle lasting almost three years, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the firm's arbitration agreement as unconscionable under California law. The Appeals court remitted the case back to the district court to be dealt in a manner applicable to all other citizens and considering the arbitration agreement void ab initio.
The employees in that firm would be saved tomorrow by the courage of this lone paralegal that refused to accept what others did. She refused to give up the rights granted to her under law. And her faith in our system stands rewarded.
It all started in the international law firm of O'Melveny & Meyers, LLP. In August 2002, the firm created a new Dispute Resolution Program that aimed to prohibit all employees from going to court in case of any internal dispute, and the management, in a unilateral move, made it binding upon all employees.
Then Jacqueline Davis joined the firm as a paralegal in 1999 and worked there until 2003. And she did not stand up to the firm's oppressive culture. After leaving her job, Jacqueline filed a lawsuit against the firm under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Unfair Business Practices Act, and the California Labor Code. Her allegations against the firm were only too common:
· Failure to pay overtime for work done during lunch time and rest periods
· Failure to pay for work exceeding eight hours a day and forty hours a week
· Damages for denial of rest and meal periods
She also went for damages on behalf of not only herself, but also "all others similarly harmed."
The firm, started in 1885, is considered one of the largest law firms in the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it employs more than one thousand lawyers and has 13 offices around the world. Predictably, it also possessed a sufficient amount of influence.
It immediately went for dismissal of the action and forced Jacqueline to submit to arbitration. The district court readily agreed with the firm. Jacqueline appealed to the Ninth Circuit. On May 15, after a legal battle lasting almost three years, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the firm's arbitration agreement as unconscionable under California law. The Appeals court remitted the case back to the district court to be dealt in a manner applicable to all other citizens and considering the arbitration agreement void ab initio.
The employees in that firm would be saved tomorrow by the courage of this lone paralegal that refused to accept what others did. She refused to give up the rights granted to her under law. And her faith in our system stands rewarded.
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