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
The New Jersey Appellate Division has clarified the analysis required to determine the effect of restrictive covenant agreements (RCAs) and offered guidance to practitioners drafting RCAs under New Jersey law in a decision on...more
The Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (Non-Compete Act) has yet to be tested, but its venue provision likely will come under special scrutiny. The venue provision governs the geographical location and forum in which...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
On October 1, legislation was passed in Massachusetts regulating the use and enforcement of non-compete agreements in the private sector. The effect on companies has been wide-reaching, and included anticipated changes as...more
Just before midnight on July 31, 2018, the last day of its legislative session, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a significant bill regulating the use of non-compete agreements in the Commonwealth. On August 10, 2018,...more
The Massachusetts Legislature, at long last, has passed a bill regulating the use and enforcement of non-compete agreements in the private sector. Once “An Act relative to the judicial enforcement of noncompetition...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
This Blog has previously covered the six non-compete bills that were introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature in 2017 (See articles dated December 27, 2017, and March 2, 2018). On April 17, 2018, the Joint Committee on...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
Proposals to restrict the use of non-compete agreements in employment have been introduced in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
This appears to be the continuation of a trend that started nearly a year ago. On...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
Criticizing non-solicitation of employees — or “no-poaching” — agreements as an alleged factor in holding back wage growth, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have issued antitrust guidance on...more
“State Call to Action on Non-Compete Agreements” is the White House’s latest in a series of Executive Branch missives decrying the purported misuse of non-competition agreements by employers across the country....more
Once again, the Massachusetts legislature was unable to agree on non-compete reform legislation by the July 31, 2016, end of the current legislative session. The House and Senate had passed versions of non-compete reform that...more
Massachusetts finally may enact non-compete reform legislation. The current session of the General Court, the state’s legislature, ends on July 31, and the House and Senate have passed versions of non-compete reform...more
For the first time, companies have a federal private right of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. The Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), signed by President Barack Obama on May 11, 2016, applies to any...more