Meritas Capability Webinar - California’s Prohibition Against Non-Compete Agreements (B&P Code § 16600), the Protection of Trade Secrets and the Practical Relationship Between the Two
A bill introduced in the California legislature this session aims to prevent employers from posting job notices for positions that don’t actually exist – a growing trend referred to as “ghost” job postings. If you’re not...more
A new California law requires written contracts when engaging most solo independent contractors. The written contracts must contain certain types of information....more
The California Court of Appeals upheld a decision finding that a Texas court had personal jurisdiction over California franchisees. GlobalCFO LLC v. Venkataramanappa, 2024 WL 4220439 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 18, 2024)....more
Companies offering automatic renewal or continuous service terms to consumers subject to California law should review their consent, notice, and cancellation practices. On September 24, 2024, California Governor Gavin...more
On September 26, 2024, a Boston-based federal appeals court refused to extend California’s sweeping noncompete ban to agreements that were signed outside the state and governed by another state’s law....more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has created numerous opportunities for growth and economic development throughout California. However, the unregulated use of AI can lead to a Pandora’s Box of undesirable consequences. A...more
California Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Paula Blizzard recently announced that the California Attorney General’s Office (AGO) intends to “reinvigorat[e] criminal prosecutions” under California’s Cartwright Act, Cal. Bus....more
Late last week, the California attorney general released Frequently Asked Questions regarding California’s “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute,” which will take effect July 1, 2024. The law is anticipated to have a...more
On January 1, 2024, Assembly Bill 853 (AB 853) went into effect in California. It requires parties to a transaction involving retail grocery firms or retail drug firms to file a notice with the California attorney general 180...more
California has a long history of protecting privacy rights. Article I, Section 1, of the California Constitution expressly provides a right of privacy. Recently, the focus has been on compliance with the California Consumer...more
In the evolving world of lead generation and performance-based customer acquisition, the quest for profits can lead to big legal risks, some of them too large for advertisers that buy leads through third parties. Advertisers...more
California is not spreading the love to employers this Valentine’s Day. Employers’ deadline to give their California employees a notice that any non-compete agreements are void was February 14, 2024. Employers who fail to...more
In October 2023, California’s Governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1076 making it unlawful to impose non-compete clauses on employees. The non-compete statute now makes clear that, when California law applies, almost all...more
California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 was recently amended to "void the application of any noncompete agreement in an employment context, or any noncompete clause in an employment contract, no matter how...more
As part of a focused effort by the California Legislature to protect employees from unenforceable non-compete clauses and agreements and increase fair competition among employers in 2024, Assembly Bill 1076 enacted Business...more
California recently enacted two bills — SB 699 and AB 1076 — amending and adding to Section 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code to broaden the scope of California’s already expansive prohibitions on...more
Welcome to our 2023 Trade Secret and Restrictive Covenant Year in Review. 2023 was a busy year in this space, but not as busy as many expected. Although multiple states introduced restrictive covenant legislation, the most...more
Employers should take stock of restrictive covenant agreements that their current and former workforce have signed and which remain in effect. California recently passed two laws amending Section 16600 of the California...more
2023 has seen its fair share of headlines with respect to developments in non-competition law: in January, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that would ban most non-competes; in May, the National Labor Relations...more
The California Legislature has sought in recent years to expand the rights of employees in nearly every facet of business in California. Employer restrictions on an employee’s ability to work in the same industry after...more
Yesterday's post concerned discussed Lagrisola v. North American Financial Corp., 2023 WL 7273708 (Nov. 3, 2023), in which the Court of Appeal held that a borrower had failed to plead a cause of action against an unlicensed...more
The California Real Estate Law is decidedly standoffish when it comes to limited liability companies. While it allows corporations to be licensed as real estate brokers, it makes not such allowance for limited liability...more
For decades, California has taken arguably the most pro-employee-mobility position on noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements in the country – generally, post-employment noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements...more
You may have heard the half-serious joke that California acts as its own independent country. One example of this is California’s strong disfavor of non-compete agreements, which stands in contrast with the rest of the...more
As we’ve previously written, California already takes a strong position against employee noncompete agreements. State law bans such agreements (with extremely limited exception) and imposes significant penalties on employers...more