News & Analysis as of September 22, 2024

Corporate Counsel

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Non-Compete Agreements are contracts, typically formed in employment or business purchase contexts, where one party agrees to refrain from engaging in a particular line of work or pursuing business within a certain industry or locale. The purpose of these agreements is to protect employers or business purchasers from competition stemming from former employees or former owners of a business. less -

Washington Just Turned Many Non-Solicitation Agreements into Illegal Non-Competes: Tips on How You Can Still Protect Your Business

Fisher Phillips on 6/17/2024

Washington state law just changed in a way that might have made your company’s non-solicitation agreements unenforceable and illegal. Recent amendments to the state non-compete statute took effect on June 6 and significantly...more

Summary of FTC’s Non-Compete Prohibition and Best Practices For The Business World

Harris Beach PLLC on 4/29/2024

As reported earlier, the FTC voted this week to approve its Final Non-Compete Clause Rule (the “Rule” or “Final Rule”), which outlaws almost all non-compete agreements between employees and employers throughout the country. ...more

Important Changes to Washington’s Noncompete Law

Foster Garvey PC on 3/27/2024

A bill amending Washington’s noncompete law (RCW 49.62) goes into effect on June 6, 2024. One of the changes will require prompt review and likely revisions of existing non-solicitation agreements....more

50 State Desktop Reference - What Businesses Need to Know about Non-Competes and Trade Secrets Law

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 11/8/2023

Introduction - As we enter a new era of business landscape dynamics, Seyfarth Shaw is pleased to present the latest edition of our annual cornerstone publication. This comprehensive 50-State Non-Compete Desktop Reference,...more

New Seventh Circuit Decision Brings Increased Risk for No-Hire and Non-Solicitation Clauses

A&O Shearman on 9/8/2023

On August 25, 2023, in Deslandes v. McDonald’s, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a district court’s dismissal of an antitrust case that challenged no-hire and non-solicitation clauses in McDonald’s...more

A Closer Look at New York State’s Proposed Ban of Non-Compete Agreements

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 6/26/2023

Non-compete agreements may soon be a thing of the past in New York. Following the passage by the New York State Senate of S3100A, the State Assembly passed A1278B, and if signed into law, it would add new Section 191-d into...more

New Minnesota Law Bans Most Post-Employment Non-Competes: 6 Key Takeaways

Latham & Watkins LLP on 6/8/2023

Minnesota has enacted one of the strictest state non-compete laws in the US, banning almost all post-termination non-competes between employers and their employees and between employers and certain independent contractors...more

Minnesota Is Poised to Enact a Law Banning Virtually All Non-Compete Agreements

Littler on 5/15/2023

A proposed law banning virtually all covenants not to compete (also known as non-compete agreements) is headed to the Minnesota State Senate and House of Representatives, where it is widely expected to pass. Once it arrives...more

Crossing the Atlantic: Comparison of US and UK Employment Concepts

Cooley LLP on 4/5/2023

For US companies contemplating an expansion into the UK, there are a number of employment-related factors to consider, as the requirements for employers and rights of employees differ significantly across the pond. Below,...more

Four Takeaways From The FTC’s Unprecedented Crackdown On Noncompete Agreements

White & Case LLP on 1/9/2023

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) kicked off 2023 by using Section 5 of the FTC Act to take legal action against three companies and two individuals, forcing them to drop noncompete provisions. This is the first time that...more

A Delaware Surprise: Busting the Limits of Enforceability of Non-Competes in an M&A Transaction under Delaware Law

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 11/8/2022

M&A attorneys representing buyers, and their private equity and strategic clients, have long felt comfortable that the courts would uphold restrictive covenants in an acquisition. Even if the restrictive covenant at hand was...more

Demise of the Restricted Covenant?

Bennett Jones LLP on 10/17/2022

Recent amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario) and the Competition Act (Canada) may be sounding the death knell for certain restricted covenants in Ontario—both non-competition covenants given by employees,...more

Non-Compete Agreements: Provide Them Ahead of Time – But Don’t Let Them Be Signed

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 7/19/2022

On March 8, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a non-compete agreement was not enforceable because the employer seeking to enforce the agreement had presented it to the employee, and the employee had signed...more

Federal Court Provides Insight on Meaning of “Solicitation” and Plaintiff’s Burden on Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 4/19/2022

A federal court in Texas recently provided useful insights on what constitutes “solicitation” by a former employee under that employee’s restrictive covenant with his former employer, and the court provided further insights...more

New Guidance on Ontario's Disconnect from Work Policy and Ban on Non-Competes

Bennett Jones LLP on 2/24/2022

As we discussed in our previous blog, Ontario Bill 27: Working for Workers Act, 2021 is Now the Law, the Ontario government amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the ESA) on December 2, 2021 to include a prohibition on...more

Court Of Appeal Affirms Enforceability Of Post-Termination Solicitation Ban In Employment Agreement

Allen Matkins on 2/1/2022

California is famously hostile to covenants not to compete. In fact, Section 16600 of the California Business & Professions Code provides "Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained...more

Colorado Criminalizes Certain Restrictive Covenants

Littler on 1/7/2022

Colorado’s legal landscape continues to shift. Through one sentence in a 304-page bill enacted in 2021, SB 21-271 criminalized violations of Colorado’s restrictive-covenant statute, section 8-2-113, C.R.S. Effective March 1,...more

Ninth Circuit Denies Sherman Act Challenge To No-Poach Provision

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 9/16/2021

In an important decision on August 19, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Aya Healthcare Services, Inc. v. AMN Healthcare, Inc. affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of AMN, finding that the...more

Lessons to be Learned: Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Non-Compete Provision and Limits Non-Solicitation Provision

Fisher Phillips on 9/8/2021

A federal appeals recently addressed two important questions in a critical restrictive covenant case, providing important guidance for employers drafting non-compete and non-solicitation provisions and underscoring how the...more

7 Key Takeaways for Employers as Illinois Passes Groundbreaking Restrictive Covenant Agreement Law

Fisher Phillips on 8/27/2021

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed a new law into effect that amends the Illinois Freedom to Work Act (IFWA) and creates greater obstacles for employers when it comes to the enforceability of restrictive...more

Illinois Enacts Sweeping Reforms to Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Agreements - What All Employers Need To Know

BCLP on 6/21/2021

The Illinois General Assembly has enacted sweeping changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act, 820 ILCS § 90, et seq. (the “Act”), which will limit the use of covenants not to compete (“non-competes”) and covenants not to...more

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Provides A 7-Step Roadmap to Employers While Striking Down No-Hire Agreement

Fisher Phillips on 5/4/2021

In a decision resolving a dispute that has been pending for nearly five years, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania just voided a no-hire provision entered into by two companies that bound one of them from hiring former...more

Maryland Prohibits Noncompetes for Low-Wage Employees

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 11/21/2019

A new state law in Maryland now prohibits employers from requiring low-wage employees to enter into noncompete agreements. Maryland Senate Bill 328, which took effect on October 1, 2019, prohibits employers from obligating...more

Court Rejects Delaware Choice Of Law Provision In Refusing To Enforce Customer Non-Solicitation Covenant Against California...

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 9/9/2019

On August 26, 2019, the Delaware Chancery Court invalidated a California employee’s customer and employee non-solicitation covenant on the grounds that it violated California law. In doing so, the Court rejected the plaintiff...more

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m (Not) Yours: How a Lapse in Record Keeping Can Lead to Non-Binding Contracts

White and Williams LLP on 8/29/2019

Usually, once a contract is signed, sealed and delivered, it is a binding agreement between the parties. However, a recent Delaware case serves as a reminder that a murky path to a signed agreement and lack of good...more

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