On April 23, 2024, the FTC announced its Final Non-Compete Clause Rule (“Final Rule”), which bans post-employment non-compete clauses between employers and their workers. The Final Rule becomes effective 120 days after being...more
6/12/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition
On April 23, 2024, the FTC announced its Final Non-Compete Clause Rule (“Final Rule”), which bans post-employment non-compete clauses between employers and their workers. The Final Rule becomes effective 120 days after being...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
This afternoon, the FTC voted to adopt a proposed final rule banning most non-competes with workers in the United States. The final rule provides that it is an unfair method of competition—and therefore a violation of Section...more
4/24/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trade Secrets
Minnesota is joining the growing list of state legislatures targeting non-compete agreements, and doing so with one of the most aggressive laws in the nation on the subject. Included as part of the Senate Jobs and Economic...more
We’ve written previously about Washington, DC’s non-compete bill scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2022. While DC Council has pulled back from enactment before to make last-minute revisions to the legislation—most...more
On August 10, 2022, Colorado’s new statute further restricting non-competition and non-solicitation provisions becomes effective. The new law, which passed earlier this year, continues Colorado’s trend toward increased...more
The world continues to struggle with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and pressures mount on health care organizations to properly share personal health information. While resources abound on how federal rules such as...more
The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, and Office of Personnel Management have released the first set of rules from the No Surprises Act, a new law aimed at preventing...more
Background -
A recently decided Ninth Circuit case provides additional guidance for defendants looking to challenge standing in consumer class actions. In, McGee v. S-L Snacks National, Plaintiff brought a putative class...more
On April 13, 2020, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition released a joint statement and press release regarding “competition in labor markets” and potential...more
4/27/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Wage-Fixing
The Council of the District of Columbia is considering a new bill that would ban the use of non-compete restrictions for workers below certain income thresholds—and impose stiff penalties upon employers who include such...more
10/25/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Regulations ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Threshold Requirements
On June 28, 2019, Governor Mills signed LD 733, An Act To Promote Keeping Workers in Maine, into law. The Act places limits on non-compete agreements and bans restrictive employment agreements....more
8/7/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trademarks
A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Wisconsin affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a defendant accused of conspiring to misappropriate its competitor’s trade secrets. By a 4-3 decision in...more
9/7/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Misappropriation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trade Secrets ,
Tyson Foods ,
WI Supreme Court
While the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) has only been in effect for a few months, the first wave of cases raising DTSA claims have started to generate federal decisions. In what appears to be the first substantive...more
8/2/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts