Breathing new life into “uniqueness” (of an employee’s services) as a legitimate business interest supporting enforcement of non-competition covenants under New York law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) hosted a virtual workshop on December 6-7, 2021, bringing together agency representatives, lawyers, economists, academics, and other experts to discuss...more
12/23/2021
/ Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Sherman Act ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Competition
Earlier this month, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order encouraging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit...more
In the latest step toward federal regulation of non-compete agreements, President Joe Biden has issued a wide-ranging Executive Order that, among many other competition-focused objectives, encourages the Federal Trade...more
There have been whispers of federal regulation of non-compete agreements for years. Multiple bipartisan bills aiming to ban non-competes have fallen to the wayside without traction. The Federal Trade Commission hosted a...more
It’s not every day the U.S. Supreme Court issues an opinion relevant to this blog, so we are understandably excited when it does.
In a landmark decision, the Court has ruled that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA),...more
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et seq., does not prohibit improper use of computer information to which an individual has authorized...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1836, et seq., is approaching its fifth anniversary after being signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 11, 2016. To celebrate, we are highlighting some of the...more
3/10/2021
/ Barack Obama ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Electronic Devices ,
Ex Parte ,
Motion To Seal ,
Public Disclosure ,
Restraining Orders ,
Search & Seizure ,
Search Warrant ,
Trade Secrets ,
US Marshals Service
The District of Columbia appears poised to join the growing number of nearby states regulating and limiting restrictive covenant agreements in the employment context...more
A federal district court has denied a motion to temporarily restrain an employee laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic from competing against his former employer. Schuylkill Valley Sports, Inc. v. Corporate Images Co., No....more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether it is a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) when an individual who is authorized to access information on a computer accesses the same information for an...more
It’s not often that a case in our practice area reaches the Supreme Court of the United States, so we are genuinely excited!
In Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783, the U.S. Supreme Court will have a chance to resolve...more
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
After enacting its non-compete law on April 7, 2016, Utah has twice amended the law to address additional restrictions on non-competes in the broadcasting industry. Governor Gary Herbert signed the second of those amended...more
Earlier this month, a group of six United States Senators made a joint request for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the impact of non-compete agreements on workers and the U.S. economy as a whole....more
Last year, Democrats in the United States Senate and House of Representatives introduced bills — S.2782 and H.R.5631 — banning non-compete agreements in the vast majority of workplaces across the country. Although those...more
When implementing restrictive covenant agreements in their workforces, companies often grapple with how best to handle the wide variation in the law from one state to the other. One solution is to include a choice of law...more
As we have reported in previous articles, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has repeatedly reaffirmed its intent to criminally prosecute companies that restrict labor market competition through the use of...more
On April 3, 2018, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division settled an antitrust action against the world’s two largest rail equipment suppliers, accusing them of maintaining “naked” no-poaching agreements in violation...more
In the past week, two states have made modifications to their respective non-compete laws. On March 27, 2018, Utah imposed special restrictions on the use of non-compete agreements in the broadcasting industry. One day...more
The Massachusetts Legislature, after a decade of attempts, may pass restrictions on the use of non-compete covenants in the Commonwealth.
The co-chairmen of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, Senator...more
The chief prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division signaled last week that his unit expects to initiate criminal actions against multiple companies accused of entering unlawful pacts not to hire each...more
In the fourth quarter of 2017, two major financial firms dropped out of an industry-wide Protocol for Broker Recruiting (the “Protocol”), an agreement designed to reduce litigation surrounding the movement of stockbrokers...more
The Massachusetts Legislature has spent the past several years seeking to regulate the use of restrictive covenant agreements in the Commonwealth. Despite repeatedly falling short in that initiative, the 2017 legislative...more
A bill in the New Jersey Senate, Senate Bill 3518 (“SB 3518”), and an identical companion bill in the New Jersey Assembly (Assembly Bill 5261), would significantly curtail the use of non-compete agreements in New Jersey. In...more