Most employers know that California has for decades prevented enforcement of employee non-competition and customer non-solicitation agreements. Some companies with California operations modify their agreements with employees...more
As previously highlighted by Benesch, California strengthened its long-standing prohibition on non-competition agreements on January 1, 2024. In addition, and also as previously highlighted by Benesch, one of these...more
Two bills took effect in California earlier this month imposing further limitations on restrictive covenants in employment agreements, one of which voids noncompete agreements even if they are signed outside of the state....more
The California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 renders “every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind” as void, subject to narrowly tailored...more
In another strike against restrictive covenants in employment contracts, Judge Paul G. Gardephe of the Southern District of New York ruled in Jessica Denson v. Donald J. Trump For President, Inc. that the non-disclosure and...more
Quick Hit: Effective October 1, 2019, Maryland law prohibits the use of non-competition agreements for employees with wages equal to or less than $15 per hour or $31,200 annually....more
Washington is the most recent state to adopt a law restricting the use of noncompetition agreements. The new law (HB 1450), which was signed by Governor Jay Inslee on May 8, 2019 and is scheduled to go into effect on January...more
On April 17, the Washington Legislature approved sweeping new restrictions on employers’ non-competition agreements with their employees and independent contractors. The bill, now headed to the Governor’s desk for his...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal has invalidated an arbitration agreement between a law firm and its “partner” because the agreement restricted the scope of arbitral relief available and made pre-arbitration proceedings...more
On September 30, 2018, for the final time during his tenure as Governor, Governor Jerry Brown acted on a series of bills passed by the legislature that would have far-reaching consequences for employers. Though employers can...more
The Nevada Legislature recently passed, and the governor approved, a new law addressing employee non-compete agreements, which went into effect on June 3, 2017. The law expressly defines the standards for enforceable...more
On March 22, 2016, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed into law the Post-Employment Restrictions Act (H.B. 251), which limits the duration of post-employment noncompete agreements between employers and employees to a maximum of...more
It is no secret that California is no friend to arbitration agreements. As the United States Supreme Court noted in its 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, “California’s courts have been more likely to hold...more
In Carlson v. Home Team Pest Defense, Inc. (Ct. of Appeal A142219), published August 17, 2015, the Court of Appeal held that an employer’s arbitration clause which allowed only the employer to file lawsuits for certain...more
A federal district court in Washington has confirmed that an employer’s relationship with the cows that its employees serviced is insufficient to establish a legitimate protectable interest to enforce a non-compete....more
On July 30, 2014, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a collective action waiver signed as part of a separation and release agreement. The ruling is significant because it is the first time a federal appellate...more