 Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a ban on noncompete agreements for nearly all American jobs, a measure that may have a significant impact on the country’s workers.
Noncompetes prohibit workers from quitting to go work for a competitor in the same industry, sharing proprietary information with new employers, and using proprietary information, such as customer lists, to start their own businesses. Noncompete provisions often take the form of exploitative clauses in employment agreements, though companies do sometimes present their employees with agreements purely dedicated to noncompete provisions. An estimated 30 million American workers — ranging from hair stylists and security guards to scientists and doctors — are subject to noncompetes. The FTC is a federal agency created to protect the public from deceptive or unfair business practices and from unfair methods of competition. In the FTC’s announcement of the ban, the agency’s Chair, Biden-appointee Lina M. Khan, said that noncompetes “keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned.” For over a decade, California’s workers have benefitted from state laws prohibiting noncompete agreements. The FTC’s new ban is set to take effect in August 2024. Because it is a federal ban, all employees in the country will be subject to the ban’s provisions (except for senior executives who have already entered into noncompetes). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobbying group, has already challenged the FTC’s ban in federal court.
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 This week, Lauren Teukolsky received the Avvo Clients’ Choice Award. The award is given to attorneys who receive at least five reviews of four stars or greater on Avvo, a site that allows people to search for and review attorneys across the country. Ms. Teukolsky has received six five-star reviews in 2024 alone.
Ms. Teukolsky believes in a client-centered approach to lawyering, always putting the needs of her clients first. She accepts only a small number of cases for representation each year, and devotes a significant amount of time to each case. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to lawyering, and Ms. Teukolsky listens carefully to her clients before advising them about the best course of action. Ms. Teukolsky launched Teukolsky Law in 2017 after nearly two decades of work for some of California's most prestigious civil rights firms and organizations. Since opening Teukolsky Law, she has remained committed to the state’s workers, successfully representing employees in a variety of wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, and class action wage-and-hour matters, among other practice areas. In addition to the recent Avvo accolade, Ms. Teukolsky has been recognized for her work by Super Lawyers for 12 consecutive years. In 2022, Ms. Teukolsky was elected as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the premier peer-selected organization of labor and employment lawyers in the United States. To learn more about Ms. Teukolsky’s practice, click here. To view reviews of Ms. Teukolsky on Avvo, click here.  On April 2, Teukolsky Law filed a class action lawsuit against Hotel Figueroa, alleging the hotel and its operators violated Los Angeles’s Hotel Worker Retention Ordinance when they failed to protect workers’ jobs after the hotel’s food and beverage operator, Noble 33, abruptly laid off all of its employees in February 2024.
The Hotel Worker Retention Ordinance was enacted to protect hotel workers affected by mass layoffs, which frequently occur when corporate ownership or management of a hotel changes. When employees are laid off following such a change, the Ordinance requires hotels and their operators to retain employees for a brief transitional period to ensure employment stabilization and reduce demands on social services. In the case of Hotel Figueroa, more than 100 workers lost their jobs after Noble 33 decided to cease operations at the hotel days after the staff notified management of their intent to unionize. Noble 33 was quickly replaced by a new operator, The Botanical Group, but the lawsuit alleges that none of its former non-management staff were retained, including Maria Ibarra, a former cook for Noble 33. Hotel Figueroa operates out of one of downtown Los Angeles’s most famous buildings, a 14 floor Spanish Mediterranean property that also houses upscale restaurants such as Café Fig and La Casita. The dispute at the hotel may be indicative of a broader Southern California trend of food workers standing up to their employers and alleging labor and employment law violations. For UNITE HERE Local 11’s press release on Ms. Ibarra’s lawsuit, click here. For more on Ms. Teukolsky and her practice, click here.  AB 1228 took effect on April 1, 2024, meaning fast-food workers across California are now subject to a new $20 minimum wage. Many of the state’s more than half a million fast-food workers will see their wages raised as a result.
AB 1228 was signed into law last fall by Governor Gavin Newsom. Proponents of the bill believe the new play floor is necessary in light of changes to the fast-food industry’s workforce. Whereas in the past fast-food workers were often teenagers trying to earn spending money, nowadays fast-food workers are largely adults trying to support their families. Despite California’s $16 minimum wage, the second highest in the nation, many of these workers still find themselves in search of additional jobs to make ends meet. Critics of the bill, many of whom are franchise owners, have complained that the law will force them to lay off staff and pass on their increased costs to customers. However, researchers have found that, as California doubled its minimum wage over the past decade, wages increased without employment falling. The new minimum wage increase will apply to restaurants offering limited or no table service and which are part of a national chain with at least 60 establishments nationwide, with some exemptions. The law also figures to increase the wages of those outside of the fast-food industry, as employers compete for employees that may now be attracted to the industry’s higher minimum wage. |
AuthorLauren Teukolsky is the founder and owner of Teukolsky Law, A Professional Corporation. Archives
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Teukolsky Law, A Professional Corporation, represents clients throughout California. Ms. Teukolsky is admitted to practice in the State of California, as well as the United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Northern District of California and Central District of California. Disclaimer.
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Copyright © 2017