Real World Impact: Making good on her promise to make a ruling on the FTC Noncompete Rule on or before August 30, 2024, United States District Judge Ada Brown granted a motion for summary judgment that sets aside the FTC...more
8/21/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Summary Judgment
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an extremely broad Final Rule banning most non-competes. As expected, there have been multiple court challenges to the Final Rule, but, to date, no court has issued a nationwide...more
8/13/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Real World Impact: The recent decision by a Texas federal district court judge enjoining the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from implementing its regulation banning most noncompetes provides relief for the parties in that...more
As we recently reported, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its long-awaited final rule on April 23, 2024, banning virtually all noncompetition agreements between employers and workers. Lawsuits challenging the final...more
5/8/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
New York ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its long-awaited final rule, banning virtually all noncompetition agreements between employers and workers. Just as the ink dried, the first lawsuit (of several...more
4/24/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Last week, the New Jersey Assembly’s Labor Committee passed bill A3715, designed to sharply limit the available provisions, use, and enforceability of restrictive covenants in employment contracts by New Jersey employers....more
5/24/2022
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Garden Leave ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
In a recent decision and case of first impression, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that a no-hire of employees provision between a business and its vendor was unenforceable because it constituted an...more
5/10/2021
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
First Impression ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
Executive Summary: Rejecting a bright-line test, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled last week that a covenant not to compete executed by an employee after the first day of employment can be enforceable — even though no new...more
Pennsylvania is entertaining legislation to ban all non-compete covenants. Like other states concerned with the effects of restrictions on the mobility of the workforce, the prohibition on non-compete agreements...more
9/5/2018
/ Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
For several years, Massachusetts has tried—and failed—to pass restrictions on non-compete covenants, and this year is no exception. Massachusetts’ 2017-18 legislative session includes seven bills focusing on reforming...more
When drafting restrictive covenants, employers face a common dilemma about the scope of activities to be restrained. On the one hand, highly focused non-compete language tends to be more enforceable but might not protect the...more
An employer hiring an individual known to be subject to a non-compete contract can expect to be accused of tortiously interfering with that contract. On the other hand, the hiring employer should be innocent of wrongdoing if...more
A company that terminates an employee — even if it offers the employee the chance to apply for a position with the company’s successor — cannot enforce restrictive covenants over that employee, a New York appeals court...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently broadened California's already expansive interest in promoting employee mobility by voiding any contract provision imposing a meaningful obstacle to a California resident's ability...more
The right to enforce a covenant not to compete may be lost when the employer first violates the terms of the same agreement, says a New York appeals court. In Fewer v. GFI Grp. Inc. et al., 124 A.D.3d 457, 2015 WL 176227...more