Noncompete reform continues to crop up in New England. We previously wrote about comprehensive reform in Massachusetts late last year, and now three more states have passed legislation in recent weeks. All three states –...more
Maryland has become the latest state to revise its noncompetition law to clamp down on the practice and further restrict the types of workers permitted to be bound by such restrictive covenants.
On May 25, 2019, SB 328...more
6/10/2019
/ Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Null and Void ,
Public Policy ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Enacted in May 2016, the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) created a new remedy that was not available under any state's Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) – the ex parte civil seizure. This remedy permitted plaintiffs to...more
Following the Obama White House’s Call to Action in October 2016, state legislatures have been busy enacting restrictive covenant reform, particularly to non-compete laws. By our count, eight (8) states have enacted some type...more
State legislatures across the country have been active in recent years proposing and enacting legislation concerning employers’ use of restrictive covenants. These new laws alter the legal landscape in an area where...more
Employers enter into restrictive covenants with members of their workforce to protect their trade secrets and confidential information, particularly with employees who have access to such information. As in-house counsel...more
The Eight Circuit recently addressed this question in Ag Spectrum Co. v. Elder, Case No. 16-3113 (8th Cir. August 2, 2017). In that case, Ag Spectrum contracted with Vaughn Elder to work as an independent contractor. Elder...more
Employers who operate in a multi-state environment should take note of a recent case out of the Sixth Circuit (which governs employers that operate in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.) Stone Surgical, LLC v. Stryker...more
6/5/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Forum Selection ,
Medical Devices ,
Misappropriation ,
Multistate Corporations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Salespersons ,
Trade Secrets
Companies commonly assume that they will only be sued for trade secret misappropriation if they or someone from their company steal the “secret sauce” of their competitor. Not true. A far more common way that companies get...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), unapologetically, was modeled after the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”) in many respects. For background, the DTSA is the federal statute, enacted in 2016, that creates a federal...more
In the spring of 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA” or “Act”) was signed into law providing trade secret owners for the first time a federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. Although the DTSA...more
When the Defend Trade Secret Act (“DTSA”) was enacted last year, there was much debate on the remedy provision permitting the ex parte seizure of property. Such an order would not only direct the seizure of information...more
The medical device industry has seen a litigation boom in recent years in non-compete litigation. A new case out of the District of Minnesota involving Medtronic, Inc. (“Medtronic”), one of the med device industry leaders,...more
Since non-compete law can vary drastically by state, many employers who operate in a multistate environment can benefit from utilizing forum-selection and choice-of-law clauses. These clauses are intended to ensure employers...more
The White House, under the Obama Administration, recently issued a “Call to Action” to state legislators across the country for non-compete reform. The Call to Action was a culmination of a months-long investigation by the...more