Prior to the enactment of Georgia’s Restrictive Covenant Act (“GRCA”), Georgia courts uniformly struck down non-compete provisions that used “in any capacity language”, i.e., a non-compete that prohibited an employee from...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its long-awaited final rule, banning virtually all noncompetition agreements between employers and workers. Just as the ink dried, the first lawsuit (of several...more
4/24/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Prior to the enactment of the Georgia Restrictive Covenant Act (“RCA”), Georgia courts interpreted noncompete provisions entered into in the context of selling a business differently than they did between employers and...more
Historically, Georgia courts have declined to apply another state’s law to determine whether to enforce restrictive covenants against a Georgia employee, regardless of whether the agreement stated that another state’s law...more
Prior to the enactment of Georgia’s Restrictive Covenant Act (“RCA”) in May 2011, Georgia courts uniformly held void and unenforceable “in any capacity” non-compete provisions in the employer-employee context. “In any...more
Last month, in American Plumbing Professionals, Inc. v. ServeStar, LLC, Georgia’s Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s determination that a non-compete provision was unenforceable and void because its territory was too...more
In Tanium v. Yago et al., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia recently reminded us of a few things: (1) customer contact information can constitute a trade secret; (2) the Georgia Restrictive Covenant...more
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That adage is apparent in Georgia’s non-compete law, which had a major overhaul in May 2011, when Georgia’s Restrictive Covenant Act (RCA) became effective. The RCA...more
In May 2011, Georgia’s Restrictive Covenant Act (OCGA 13-8-50 et seq.) (“RCA”) became effective and applied to all agreements executed on or after May 11, 2011. In 2020, the Georgia State-wide Business Court (“Business...more
In late 2019, the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta federal court) addressed the duties owed when an independent contractor leaves one trucking company to work for another. In Wind Logistics Prof’l v. Universal Truckload,...more
3/3/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Former Employee ,
Independent Contractors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trucking Industry
Applying the “economic realities” test, the Fifth Circuit (with jurisdiction over federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) recently held that a consultant for an oil and gas company was not subject to FLSA...more
2/26/2020
/ Appeals ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contract Terms ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Summary Judgment ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Georgia’s Restrictive Covenants Act (O.C.G.A. § 13-8-50 et seq.) (“RCA”) governs Georgia non-compete agreements entered into after May 2011. Very few courts have interpreted the RCA since its inception. In Bearoff v. Craton,...more
9/4/2019
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Litigation ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Chapter 11 ,
Chapter 7 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Liquidation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Selling a Business ,
Statutory Interpretation
Georgia’s Restrictive Covenants Act (the “RCA”) became effective in May 2011, but it took nearly six years before a court published a decision interpreting the statute in the context of a non-competition provision....more
Effective May 2011, Georgia’s Restrictive Covenants Act (RCA) represented a significant change to pre-existing Georgia law. Since then, however, very few courts have interpreted the RCA, leaving employers and practitioners...more
It’s time to bring back FordHarrison’s Non-Compete News! And what better way to kick off 2017 than with Lifebrite Labs, LLC v. Cooksey (N.D. Ga. December 2016), Georgia’s first-ever published decision interpreting how a...more