In a complete victory for plaintiffs, a Texas court permanently enjoined the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule banning nearly all employee noncompetes. In the absence of the court’s decision, the rule had been scheduled...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants
In direct conflict with a recent Texas court ruling, on July 23, an Eastern District of Pennsylvania court denied ATS Tree Services’ motion for a preliminary injunction to stay the effective date of the Federal Trade...more
7/26/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pennsylvania ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5
As workers were leaving their offices for the Fourth of July holiday, the Northern District of Texas issued its much-anticipated order preliminarily enjoining the effective date of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC)...more
There has been a great deal of press about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) vote to ban employee non-competition provisions and policies. While the FTC describes the rule as a comprehensive ban, it acknowledges that the...more
4/30/2024
/ Banks ,
Credit Unions ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted along party lines (3 to 2) to ban all worker noncompetition provisions. The final rule applies to all employees, including senior executives, and will become effective 120 days after...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Speaking at the Global Competition Review: Law Leaders Global Summit last month, Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argued that the FTC could — and should — combat worker misclassification...more
4/1/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB
In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
10/4/2023
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
McDonalds ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations
Many recent no-poach agreement antitrust claims have risen within the franchise context, where the alleged agreement was plainly described in the operative franchise agreements. In those cases, the parties fought over what...more
In order to avoid a lawsuit by the Washington State Attorney General, seven fast-food chains with store locations nationwide agreed to no longer enforce “no-poach/no-hire” provisions in their franchise agreements and to...more
Even in the absence of an agreement to fix compensation, simply exchanging competitively sensitive information could serve as evidence of an implicit illegal agreement.
On October 20, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and...more
11/9/2016
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Wage-Fixing