When Right Has Might

Most folks don’t know this part of my story.

Not because I hid it — just because I never needed it to speak for me.
But it shaped the way I see power, responsibility, and the duty a man has to stand his ground when the ground gets uneven.

Years ago, I found myself in a fight with California Portland Cement Co.
Not over drama.
Not over ego.
Over rights — the kind the law says you’re owed whether the company likes it or not.

I asked for leave properly, through the right channels.
What no one bothered to tell me was that I had a legal right to it under the California Family Rights Act.

They kept the rulebook from me.
Then tried to punish me for not following the part I was never given.

The case became Faust v. California Portland Cement Co.
And the court made something plain:

When a man stands on what’s right,
right has might.

Weak systems rely on confusion.
Strong systems rely on truth.
And a court — for once — chose strength.

They ruled that an employer who withholds your rights
cannot turn around and strike you for acting within them.

That judgment wasn’t about loopholes.
It was about justice.
Straight as a plumb line.

And here’s the part that held its shape in me from that day forward:

Most battles aren’t won with fists or fury.
They’re won by planting your feet in the truth and refusing to move.

That’s where Intelligent People Assume Nothing was born.

Not as a slogan.
As a survival rule.

Assumptions let other people write your fate.
Clarity lets you write your own.

Years later, that same principle became the spine of the Faust Baseline —
a framework built so people, institutions, and AI alike can move on ground that doesn’t shift under their feet.

If a man knows his rights,
if he knows the truth,
if he knows where he stands —

then right has might.
And nothing moves him.

Faust vs California Portland Cement Co.

The case of Faust v. California Portland Cement Company involved Michael Faust’s claim that his termination violated his right to medical leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The court ruled that the employer’s failure to inform Faust of his rights under the CFRA precluded the employer from taking adverse employment actions based on leave requests. The court emphasized that employers must notify employees of their rights to medical leave under the CFRA, and failure to do so may prevent the employer from taking adverse employment actions based on leave requests. The court’s decision has significant implications for employers in California, as it highlights the importance of proper notice and communication regarding leave rights. 

It didn’t resolve quickly.
Justice rarely does.
It took eight years

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