We defend many financial advisory firms and individuals in restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation. When an advisor moves from one firm to another, we help manage legal risk, and, if necessary, defend against the...more
Hiring an applicant who has a non-compete or non-solicit agreement with a prior employer creates risk for the both the individual and the new employer. The prior employer can sue both the applicant for violating the contract...more
Minnesota is banning employment non-compete agreements and restricting provisions that require non-Minnesota laws or venues for disputes. The law will become effective on July 1, 2023, and will apply to agreements entered...more
The FTC’s proposed rule banning non-competes nationally has received much attention, but the far likelier change to non-compete law for Minnesotans is from the all-DFL state government. Barely into session, the Minnesota...more
The Minnesota legislature is currently considering HF999, which would ban all non-compete agreements with all Minnesota employees making less than a certain salary threshold, and would require garden leave payments for...more
On July 8, 2021, President Biden announced that he would issue an Executive Order (EO) calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to adopt rules curtailing the use of non-compete agreements. While the announcement offers...more
In a first-of-its-kind decision, NJL non-compete litigator Katie Connolly convinced a Minnesota federal court to apply a novel advice-of-counsel defense to an employer’s hiring of an individual with a non-compete agreement....more
With the presidential election looming, discussions about politics are happening in the workplace now more than ever. In the current political environment, these conversations may be disruptive and may not align with Equal...more
The California Supreme Court issued an important pair of decisions today clarifying that California-compliant wage statements need to be provided only to workers who perform the majority of their work in California, or who...more
Home-bound employees must use their home internet to perform work, but is it reimbursable?
In a handful of states, employers must reimburse employees for all expenditures incurred in performing their duties at home. In...more
Saks Fifth Avenue and several luxury designers were recently hit with a nationwide class-action lawsuit regarding their alleged use of no-poach agreements to limit solicitation of retail store employees between Saks and the...more
Plaintiffs’ lawyers are exploiting Minnesota’s confusing tip-pooling laws to bring class-action lawsuits against restaurateurs. These cases entail substantial costs, both in defending them and in potential damages....more
Restaurants are getting hit with tip-pooling class action lawsuits. Now is the time to audit your practices, or, at the very least, review your tip pooling policies. This is especially important for Minnesota restaurateurs,...more
3/5/2020
/ Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
The Minnesota legislature is currently considering HF 3673, which purports to ban all non-compete agreements with all employees, and may also ban all customer non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements. The language of the...more
California wage laws have taken another alarming departure from federal standards. The highest state court recently held in Frlekin v. Apple that non-exempt employees must be paid for the time their bags and personal...more
The American Bar Association just issued an opinion about what lawyers and law firms can and should do when lawyers move from one firm to another. A key point of the opinion is that, according to the ABA, “ethics rules do not...more
On October 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would allow employers who do not take a tip credit to establish a tip pool to be shared between (1) workers who receive tips and are paid the...more
10/8/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Franchises ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Approximately two years ago, a number of employers received charges of discrimination alleging that they discriminated against applicants by restricting the recipients of employment advertisements on Facebook. The EEOC just...more
Restaurant success used to be all about a winning menu, appealing décor and strong word of mouth. Nowadays, success also has a lot to do with compliance of labor and employment matters, as restaurants frequently find...more
Lawyers generally believe non-competes don’t apply to the profession. That’s mostly true, including for in-house counsel. A recent court decision calls this into question....more
The Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium presents a great opportunity for Minneapolis restaurateurs to generate significant income from parties hosted before and during the big games. With that opportunity, though, comes the...more
As Minneapolis’ US Bank Stadium gears up to host its second national sporting event in over a year, nearby restaurants are looking to once again capitalize on the added foot traffic from the NCAA Men’s Basketball “Final Four”...more
In reaction to the recent proliferation of non-compete agreements, courts and legislatures are increasingly trying to find ways to limit their use. The latest attempt is at the federal congressional level. This week, Florida...more
A little over a year ago, three major employers—T-Mobile, Amazon, and Cox Communications—were sued for allegedly discriminating on the basis of age in the way they recruited new employees via Facebook. The plaintiffs’ lawyers...more
1/21/2019
/ Age Discrimination ,
Amazon ,
Class Action ,
Communication Workers of America ,
Cox Communications ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Facebook ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Online Advertisements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Social Networks ,
T-Mobile
Your employee quits without notice or explanation. You discover that she moved to a competitor in violation of her non-compete agreement, and what’s worse, days before her resignation, she downloaded your trade secrets onto a...more