Kim Stone testified in opposition to Assembly Bill 335 (Fuentes) in front of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on April 1, 2009.

The bill will unnecessarily prevent California's employers from using forum selection and choice of law clauses in their employment contracts.

The Civil Justice Association of California supports parties' rights to freely contract as they wish. Contractual relationships tend to differ from situation to situation, and certain situations may be best served by a choice of law other than California's.

The association's three primary concerns with the bill are:

• It is unnecessary, as California law already protects California residents from unreasonable contract provisions and unreasonable choice of law provisions;
• We should allow judges to balance factors in individual cases to determine if a choice of law clause is appropriate;
• And it sets a dangerous precedent for prohibiting other choice of law provisions.