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Steven M. Chanley is a shareholder with Employer Advocates Group "(EAG") law firm, in San Luis Obispo and Orange Counties, where he concentrates on defending and advising businesses in all aspects of Employment Law. His practice includes wage-hour suits, employee misclassification suits, employment discrimination suits, sexual harassment suits, trade secret misappropriation suits, and wrongful termination litigation defense. Mr. Chanley also advises businesses on Employment Law compliance and personnel matters.

Mr. Chanley is rated as "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, the highest rating given to attorneys based on their legal ability and professional ethics, reliability and diligence.

Prior to founding EAG in 2002, Mr. Chanley practiced Employment Law in San Francisco (Littler) and Palo Alto (Morrison & Foerster), and was a Partner at the San Luis Obispo firm of Sinsheimer, Schiebelhut, Baggett & Tangeman.

Mr. Chanley was raised in San Luis Obispo County, and is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and the University of California Law School, San Francisco. He is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice before all federal Courts in California, as well as federal district courts in Texas.

• Credit Cards Accepted

California

State Bar of California

ID Number: 142079

Since 1989

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Since 2020

U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Since 1990

U.S. District Court, Central District of California

Since 1996

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California

Since 2004

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Oklahoma

Since 2020

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas

Since 2020

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

Since 1990

U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Since 2004

Attorney/Founder

Employer Advocates Group

2002 - Current

Attorney/Partner

Sinsheimer, Schiebelhut, Baggett & Tangeman

1995 - 2002

San Luis Obispo, CA

Attorney

Morrison & Foerster LLP

1990 - 1995

Palo Alto, California

Attorney

Littler Mendelson P.C.

1989 - 1990

San Francisco, California

Board Agent/Extern

National Labor Relations Board, Region 20

1989 - 1989

San Francisco, CA

Summer Accociate

Littler Mendelson P.C.

1988 - 1988

San Francisco, CA

Summer Associate

Cotchett & Illston

1987 - 1987

Burlingame, CA

Paralegal

Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro

1984 - 1985

San Francisco, CA

University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

J.D.

1989

California State University - California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

B.A. (1985) | English

1985

Honors: cum laude

Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

Martindale-Hubbell

2003

AV Rating

Martindale-Hubbell

1996

American Jurisprudence Award

Labor Law II

1988

State Bar of California  # 142079

Member

1989 - Current

Rethinking The 'No Comment Rule' Rule in At-Will Discharges

San Luis Obispo County Bar Bulletin

2011

Quest For Order in "Pigeon Feathers": Updike's Use of Christian Mythology

Thompson Publishing

2008

Employment Law Update 2013, Dibuduo & Defendis Insurance

2013

Form I-9 Compliance, Santa Maria Human Resources Assn.

2013

Avoiding Top 10 Problematic Employment Practices, Nat'l Assn. of Women Business Owners, Cental Coast

2018

9.9 Rating

AVVO

2024

AV Rating

Martindale-Hubbell

2024

Q. Employer fired me after i filled a lawsuit against them.

September 1, 2024

A: Your best option is to contact your nearest County Bar Association and ask for a referral to a competent employment law plaintiffs' attorney. Your situation will require that an attorney meet with you to gather and analyze all of the relevant facts and documentary evidence available before being able to provide competent and meaningful advice.

Good luck to you.

Q. Would the non-compete still apply to a wrongfully dismissed employee?

September 1, 2024

A: Traditional “non competes” are agreements that purport to restrain an employee from working for a competitor, from soliciting customers, from soliciting former co-workers for employment, or from engaging in otherwise lawful conduct that a business may consider competitive and therefore harmful to its business interests. However, such agreements are generally unenforceable in California.

California has a very strong public policy of encouraging robust business competition, employee self-betterment, and employee mobility. Those policies are effectuated in Business & Professions Code section 16600, which renders void and unenforceable any agreement that, by its terms or operation, restrains an individual from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind. The only exceptions to this strict general prohibition against non-competes are the specific statutory exceptions that exist in the Business & Professions Code itself. Those exceptions arise when an individual sells their interest in a business’s goodwill as part of the sale of the individual’s equity interest in a partnership, corporation, or limited liability company.

That an employee was discharged for good cause does not in itself strip them from the benefits and protections of Business & Professions Code section 16600.

I note in passing that the term “non-compete” is sometimes used generically to refer to any agreement that may possibly limit a current or former employee’s ability to engage in work for another employer, particularly one in the same industry or niche space as the individual’s former employer. For example, non-attorneys sometimes refer to a trade secret protection agreement as a “non compete,” because it may impact the individual’s employment opportunities.

Trade secret protection agreements prohibit the unauthorized use or disclosure of a company’s trade secret information, which is information to which the employer has a protectable legal right to prohibit others, including current or former employees, from using.

An enforceable trade secret protection agreement, and the underlying federal and state statutes used to enforce and protect trade secret rights, are unaffected by whether an employee quits, was fired for cause, or was fired without cause. The employer retains all of its trade secrets rights under each scenario.

Please note that the above is a general discussion of the law and should not be interpreted as advice regarding any specific situation, which may include many facts not included in the question posed. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this response. ... Read More

Q. I used "unearned" vacation time at work and now that I'm leaving, they're deducting it from my last check. Is this legal

September 1, 2024

A: The California Labor Commissioner's Office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, has an excellent informational page on its website that answers most questions an employee may have regarding paid vacation benefits provided by their employer. Here is the link: https://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/FAQ_Vacation