Last week, Florida Senator Marco Rubio introduced the “Freedom to Compete Act” (the “Act”) proposing to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 to ban non-competes for most non-exempt workers. ...more
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
We reported last week that the attorneys generals of ten states are investigating several fast food franchisors for their use of so-called “no poach” provisions in their franchise agreements. ...more
Marc McGovern, the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts (home to many of the Commonwealth’s established and emerging pharmaceutical, biotech, and other life sciences companies), published an op-ed in the Boston Globe regarding...more
Democratic U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation on April 26, 2018, entitled the Workforce Mobility Act (“WMA”). ...more
In a meaty decision involving the intersection of restrictive covenant and franchise law, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently denied a request by D.P. Dough Franchising, LLC (“D.P....more
12/15/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Misappropriation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Tortious Interference ,
Trade Dress ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Unjust Enrichment
Hearkening back to the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, Massachusetts courts (as well as others around the country) have increasingly been asked to analyze the application of California...more
Fresh off of signing the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the White House released a report yesterday entitled “Non-Compete Reform: A Policymaker’s Guide to State Policies,” which contains information on state policies related to...more
We’ve written a lot this summer about the Massachusetts legislature’s latest failed attempt at non-compete reform. Two other states in New England, however, are able to claim accomplishments in that regard. Specifically,...more
8/23/2016
/ Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Physicians ,
Restrictive Covenants
As we previously reported, Massachusetts is making yet another go at non-compete reform, as the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development introduced a compromise bill at the end of May that has many in the Commonwealth...more
On May 5, 2016, the White House issued a report largely piggybacking on a recent U.S. Treasury Department study, on which we previously posted, with a primary focus on the purported misuse and negative impacts of non-compete...more
Another year, another attempt at noncompete reform in Massachusetts. According to the Boston Globe, Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo announced that lawmakers would unveil a bill limiting the use of noncompete...more
Several members of Seyfarth’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group attended the AIPLA’s annual Trade Secret Law Summit on November 12-13, 2015. Rick Lutkus spoke on a panel that was moderated by Erik...more