Wage Law

An Orange County Register article in today's newspaper says this about the threat that California's supposed "anti-business" laws were going to drive business out of the state in droves:

"A commonly heard theme in recent public debates about California's economic problems is that the state's economy is hostile to the needs of business. As evidence, it is frequently asserted that businesses are fleeing California in droves, relocating to more welcoming, 'business-friendly' states with lower taxes and a less onerous regulatory environment. Californians therefore suffer because their jobs are being siphoned off to benefit residents of other states."

However, a study found that the number of jobs lost from companies moving out of state was "negligible." All that talk about job losses was nothing but talk.

The net number of jobs that California lost from companies moving into or leaving the state didn't exceed 0.1 percent of the total number of California jobs in any year from 1993 to 2002, and since 1998, the number has never exceeded 0.03%.

The largest exodus? A total net of 5,330 jobs in 2001.

Last year, a lawyer from a law firm who defended one of our wage and hour class actions testified that one of his clients (clearly referring to a company we had sued) was contemplating moving its entire California operation out of state unless the laws were changed immediately. The laws haven't changed yet, but that company is still here. And, according to what we've been hearing from current employees, they are still breaking the law. If they get sued again, they will have nobody to blame but their own management.