(Sacramento) – This week, Assemblymember Sandré Swanson, Chairman of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, applauded the Senate’s passage of his bill AB 1043, which will protect California’s workers from employers trying to evade California’s strong labor laws. Now headed to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk, this measure will protect California workers from employers attempting to settle employment disputes in out-of-state forums and under out-of-state laws in a state where that employee had never worked. It passed out of the Senate with a 21 -14 vote and Assembly concurrence with a 47 – 30 vote.

“California is justifiably proud to have among the strongest worker protections of any State.  Therefore it is surprising that employers can require California workers, as a condition of employment, to give up the protection of California law and accept the less protective laws of other States and can force California workers to travel to other States to resolve employment disputes that arose in California,” Mr. Swanson noted. “I urge the Governor to stand by California’s workers in supporting this critical measure that requires employers to observe California’s just laws.”

Mr. Swanson was motivated to introduce this measure when he learned about the toll this loophole in employment law was having on California families. For example, in a recent decision by the California Court of Appeals, the court upheld a choice of law and choice of venue provision in an employment contract between a New York employer and a California employee.  As a result of the choice of venue provision, the California employee was forced to travel to New York, where he had never worked or resided, to litigate his age discrimination claim in the New York forum specified by his employer.  Additionally, the choice of law provision forced the California employee to pursue his claim under New York law, thus exempting him from the protection of California's age discrimination laws. This radically disrupted his ability to adequately pursue a rightful claim under California law.

Assemblymember Swanson concluded: "The Governor should join the California State Legislature in supporting California workers by making sure they benefit from California’s laws. It doesn’t make sense to pride ourselves on leading the nation in worker’s rights only to allow a loophole that let’s employers evade those same laws.”

AB 1043 is sponsored by the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), a statewide organization of attorneys representing employees in termination, discrimination and other employment cases. For more information about choice of forum, choice of law, or choice of venue issues contact David Lowe at (415) 434-9800.