Once again surprising the country by acting ten days before her own self-appointed deadline, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling on August 20 in the Ryan v....more
8/21/2024
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
This just in: Judge Ada Brown ruled yesterday on the parties’ dueling summary judgment motions – 10 days before her self-imposed deadline to do so – in Ryan LLC v. FTC. Judge Brown granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary...more
8/21/2024
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Restrictive Covenants
Wednesday, a third court weighed in on the FTC’s proposed ban on non-competes, set to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Judge Corrigan of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the...more
The ongoing battle between DraftKings Inc. and its former executive, Michael Hermalyn, remains contentious, with the District of Massachusetts’ decision to enforce Hermalyn’s non-compete now appealed and argued to the First...more
8/13/2024
/ Choice-of-Law ,
Confidential Information ,
DraftKings ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Code ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Online Gaming ,
Popular ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws
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
Welcome, readers, to a significant moment in non-compete law. On Tuesday, April 23rd, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will convene for a special virtual meeting to address non-compete agreements and...more
As we reported at the end of February, Maine’s House of Representatives voted for a non-compete ban that would have invalidated virtually all such agreements in the state. In March, the Senate passed the bill, sending it to...more
Many restrictive covenant agreements rely on various abbreviations to streamline the contractual language, including most notably the use of “Company” as a stand-in for the employer’s name. Additionally, these agreements...more
Throughout 2021, our dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant trade secret and restrictive covenant issues facing clients today. This...more
For the fourth time in six years, Oregon is in the news again for an update to its non-compete laws....more
Legislators in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the site of Patrick Henry’s infamous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech, have enacted legislation that gives more liberty to low-wage workers looking to leave for greener...more
For the first time in 15 years, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), Massachusetts’ highest court, issued a decision analyzing the enforceability of non-solicitation covenants, the distinction between such covenants in the...more
2/5/2020
/ Business Disputes ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legitimate Business Interest ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Shareholders ,
Tolling Agreement ,
Trade Secrets ,
Written Agreements
Washington state has joined the ranks of an ever-growing number of states that impose significant restrictions on employee non-compete agreements....more
5/15/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
As readers of this blog well know, there is a growing trend of state legislatures seeking to limit or outright ban non-competes....more
3/18/2019
/ Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Readers of our blog will recall that this summer, the Massachusetts legislature passed a non-compete reform bill after nearly a decade of fruitless attempts. The new law goes into effect today, meaning that any agreements...more
10/1/2018
/ Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Garden Leave ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
This week, after close to a decade of “will they or won’t they” nail biters, the Massachusetts legislature finally passed a non-compete bill, just minutes before the end of the 2018 legislative session....more
8/3/2018
/ Choice-of-Law ,
Confidential Information ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Garden Leave ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pending Legislation ,
Reformation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
UTSA ,
Venue
In what has become a highly anticipated annual game of “Will They/Won’t They,” the Massachusetts legislature again failed to pass comprehensive noncompete reform legislation this year, despite much fanfare and high hopes from...more