Employment Contracts

April 26, 2013

Fashion Models Sue Former Employer for Likeness Rights, Unjust Enrichment

A former fashion model has filed suit against a major designer for alleged misappropriation of his likeness, claiming that it reused photographs taken of him more than a decade ago without his consent. Hamideh v. Dolce & Gabbana S.r.L., et al, No. BC502164, complaint (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Co., Mar. 4, 2013). In addition to the intellectual property claims, the plaintiff is asserting a claim related to breach of contract, seeking restitution for commercial benefits the defendant allegedly received from the use of his pictures. The case resembles situations faced by employees who contribute intellectual property to an employer, and who may continue to have rights to that intellectual property even after their employment ends.

According to the plaintiff’s complaint, Dolce & Gabbana (D&G), an Italian company known for high-end fashion, hired the plaintiff in 2002 for an advertising campaign. He was the featured male model of the campaign, appearing alongside world-famous female model Giselle Bundchen. D&G’s rights to the plaintiff’s likeness allegedly expired at the end of 2003. The plaintiff alleges that, in May 2012, D&G published photos of him taken for the campaign in 2002 without his permission. He claims that D&G did so “for the purpose of advertising [its] products and promoting [its] brand.” Hamideh, complaint at 4.
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April 5, 2013

Non-Solicitation Agreement Not Violated by Former Employee’s Facebook Posts, Court Rules

by Resnick Law Group, P.C.

A federal court ruled in favor of a former employee in a key portion of the former employer’s request for a preliminary injunction. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. v. Cahill, No. 12-cv-346, order affirming magistrate’s report (D. Okla., Feb. 12, 2013). The decision is one of the first to address employees’ use of social media versus their contractual obligations to a former employer. The employer alleged that social media activity by the former employee, such as posts to his Facebook page, breached a non-solicitation agreement. The court disagreed, finding that his activities on Facebook and Twitter were not expressly targeted to employees of the former employer, and as such did not violate the specific terms of his non-solicitation agreement.

The defendant, Todd Cahill, worked for Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (PPLSI) in San Diego from 2004 until August 2012. PPLSI sells legal service plans, using a multi-level marketing model that allows sales associates to recruit additional sales associates to work “downline” from them. A sales associate receives commissions for their own sales and those of downline associates. Cahill began as a sales associate, and received a promotion to regional manager in 2008. He signed an “Associate Agreement” when he began working for PPLSI, which included a clause prohibiting him from “proselytiz[ing], recruit[ing], or solicit[ing]” other associates while employed by PPLSI and for two years after termination or departure. Cahill, magistrate’s report at 3 (Jan. 22, 2013).
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April 5, 2012

A Resnick Law Group Victory: Last Minute Arbitration Will Not Be Upheld in New Jersey

by Resnick Law Group, P.C.

On March 29, 2012, the Appellate Division held, in Cole v. Jersey City Medical Center, et al., A-4914-09T1 (N.J. App. Div. Mar. 29, 2012), that an employer, Liberty Anesthesia Associates, LLC (“Liberty”), was equitably estopped from enforcing an arbitration clause contained in an employment contract. Because Liberty actively participated in the litigation — and opted to wait until three days before trial to first invoke the arbitration clause — the Court reasoned that Liberty had “voluntarily and intentionally decided to relinquish its right to arbitration as a forum to adjudicate plaintiff’s claims as a matter of litigation strategy.” Plaintiff, who is represented by New Jersey employment lawyers at the Resnick Law Group, will indeed have her day in court on her claims that the wrongful termination of her employment as a nurse anesthetist violated the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”) and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”).
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July 31, 2011

New Jersey Cuts Benefits to Union Workers, Other States Follow

by Resnick Law Group, P.C.

Unions are a big deal in New York and New Jersey. As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics points out, in 2010, union members accounted for 24.2 percent of wage and salary workers in New York and 17.1 percent in New Jersey. And that’s a drop of 1 percent in New York and 2.2 percent in New Jersey from 2009.

Unions have steadily declined in the last 15 years, the bureau reports. While union membership in both states are at a current low, they were still well above the national rate in 2010. New York’s union membership was 1,959,000 in 2010 and in New Jersey, about 637,000 workers belong to a union.New Jersey Employment Lawyers seek to protect union employees as well as others who aren’t protected by unions. Coalitions of workers have helped establish strong benefits, better pay and helped reduce workplace discrimination for years. But as states face budget crises, many officials have begun making difficult cuts, including to unions.

Most will remember how in early 2011, Wisconsin teachers protested at the state capital building after the state’s governor sought to cut $900 million from educators. The Hartford Court recently reported that 7,500 state employees in Connecticut could face changes to healthcare and pension benefits and a two-year wage freeze in exchange for four years of no layoffs.

New Jersey’s move in June addressed a deep budget crisis when officials realized the state’s pension and health plans are underfunded by $110 billion, CBS News reported. So, in response, the state passed a law that requires public employees to begin contributing several thousand dollars more for their benefits. State leaders believe it will be a model for other struggling states.

CBS News cites Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan as other states who have asked public employees to start contributing for their benefits. Florida also passed legislation doing the same.

Collective bargaining agreements are powerful tools that help protect employees from unfair work conditions, a lack of benefits and other perks. But if states or businesses that entered into the agreements don’t honor them, employees should seek a New Jersey Employment Lawyer who can straighten these things out.

Sometimes, filing a lawsuit is the best way to resolve the issues, and sometimes the gap can be bridged through other means. But consulting with an experienced and aggressive law firm can be essential to assure the employees are afforded all the rights and benefits that are contractually guaranteed.

According to the bureau of labor statistics, 31 states and the District of Columbia had union membership rates below the 11.9 percent United States average in 2010. Last year, 19 states had a rate higher than the country’s average. In New York, New Jersey, California, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, the union membership rate was 17 percent or more of the workforce. Southeastern states — Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana — had the lowest union membership rates, at 4.9 percent or less.
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