This week, Judge Ada E. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Ryan v. The Federal Trade Commission upheld a challenge by business groups to the FTC’s non-compete ban. In addition to confirming...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Yesterday (July 23), a Pennsylvania judge—in ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission—upheld the legality of the FTC's non-compete ban. This ruling contradicts the ruling recently issued in a parallel proceeding in...more
On July 3, a Texas judge in the bellwether lawsuit, Ryan, LLC v. The Federal Trade Commission, became the first to weigh in on the legality of the FTC’s non-compete ban that is set to take effect on September 4. As was widely...more
May 29, in Ryan, LLC et al. v. The Federal Trade Commission, the FTC filed its response in opposition to Plaintiffs’ request to stay/enjoin the FTC Rule banning non-competes from taking effect on September 4. The Court has...more
Mark your calendars for July 3—the date we will likely learn whether a Texas Court will enjoin the FTC Rule banning non-competes from taking effect on September 4. This week, Judge Ada Brown, the presiding judge in Ryan, LLC...more
5/9/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
To date, three lawsuits have been filed challenging the legality of the FTC’s Final Rule banning non-competes. The initial two cases were filed in Texas federal court, which is widely viewed as a more hospitable forum for...more
5/1/2024
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) conducted a special Open Commission Meeting to vote on a Final Rule (the “Rule”) banning most non-compete clauses as an “unfair method of competition.” By a vote of 3-2,...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
FTC Final Rules Banning Non-Competes Vote Next Tuesday -
As you know, last year, the FTC issued a proposed rule banning virtually all non-compete agreements (which does not include non-solicitation agreements,...more
As we reported last month, effective January 1, 2024, non-compete agreements in California are unenforceable regardless of where the contract is signed. This means employees who sign non-competes outside California, then move...more
On January 9, 2024, shareholders in our Restrictive Covenant and Trade Secret Practice Group conducted a webinar covering “What Employers Need to Know About Non-Competes in 2024.” A recording of that webinar is available...more
To ring in the 2023 new year, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has taken multiple actions targeting the use of non-compete agreements, all of which are consistent with President Biden’s July 2021 Executive Order on...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal government continue to aggressively pursue antitrust violations and promote the federal government’s interest in heavily limiting the use of non-competition agreements. While the...more
On December 14, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) supplemented its guidance concerning COVID-19, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Rehabilitation Act, and other Equal Employment...more
Employers now have a clearer picture of how to determine whether a worker is classified as an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) thanks to a new final rule from the U.S. Department of...more
1/14/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Wage and Hour
It seems everything in the world right now somehow revolves around COVID-19. Stay-at-home orders; the debate over students returning to the classroom; “essential” versus “non-essential” workers; college and professional...more
In light of CDC Interim Guidelines stating antibody test results “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace,” the EEOC released guidance on June 17, 2020 indicating that employers should...more
6/19/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Since 2011, the number of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) lawsuits filed annually has continued to climb. The data demonstrates that employers struggle with compliance, especially regarding the FCRA’s disclosure...more
Employers should be able to definitively identify their “trade secrets” and non-public information. Indeed, employers may miss out on opportunities for relief from misappropriation of their trade secrets by former employees...more
Restrictive covenants, such as non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, typically assist employers to protect their legitimate business interests. ...more