As we have previously written, on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a sweeping final rule (“the Rule”) that purports to ban virtually all post-employment noncompete agreements in the United States. The...more
5/20/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
We recently reported on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) 3-2 vote to issue its final noncompete rule that, unless it is enjoined, would ban all new noncompetes and a majority of existing noncompetes (the Noncompete...more
4/26/2024
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Competition ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
As expected, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 yesterday to issue its final noncompete rule, with only a few changes from the proposed rule that are discussed below. Unless it is enjoined, which we expect, the rule...more
4/24/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
In a bombshell ruling last year that upended longstanding Delaware law, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled in Ainslie v. Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., 2023 WL 106924 (Del. Ch. Jan. 4, 2023), that forfeiture-for-competition clauses,...more
2/1/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Forfeiture Statutes ,
Former Employee ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Partnership Agreements ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Trade Secrets
As we predicted when the New York legislature passed a bill that would ban noncompetes in the state without even an exception for the sale of a business, Governor Kathy Hochul has said that she wants changes to the bill –...more
11/30/2023
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
As federal administrative agencies wade further into rulemaking and adjudicative efforts to outlaw noncompetes and restrictive covenants, defendants are beginning to raise preemption arguments in response to state court...more
11/29/2023
/ Breach of Contract ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preemption ,
Restrictive Covenants