Meritas Capability Webinar - California’s Prohibition Against Non-Compete Agreements (B&P Code § 16600), the Protection of Trade Secrets and the Practical Relationship Between the Two
California Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Paula Blizzard recently announced that the California Attorney General’s Office (AGO) intends to “reinvigorat[e] criminal prosecutions” under California’s Cartwright Act, Cal. Bus....more
Late last week, the California attorney general released Frequently Asked Questions regarding California’s “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute,” which will take effect July 1, 2024. The law is anticipated to have a...more
On January 1, 2024, Assembly Bill 853 (AB 853) went into effect in California. It requires parties to a transaction involving retail grocery firms or retail drug firms to file a notice with the California attorney general 180...more
California has a long history of protecting privacy rights. Article I, Section 1, of the California Constitution expressly provides a right of privacy. Recently, the focus has been on compliance with the California Consumer...more
In the evolving world of lead generation and performance-based customer acquisition, the quest for profits can lead to big legal risks, some of them too large for advertisers that buy leads through third parties. Advertisers...more
California is not spreading the love to employers this Valentine’s Day. Employers’ deadline to give their California employees a notice that any non-compete agreements are void was February 14, 2024. Employers who fail to...more
In October 2023, California’s Governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1076 making it unlawful to impose non-compete clauses on employees. The non-compete statute now makes clear that, when California law applies, almost all...more
California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 was recently amended to "void the application of any noncompete agreement in an employment context, or any noncompete clause in an employment contract, no matter how...more
As part of a focused effort by the California Legislature to protect employees from unenforceable non-compete clauses and agreements and increase fair competition among employers in 2024, Assembly Bill 1076 enacted Business...more
California recently enacted two bills — SB 699 and AB 1076 — amending and adding to Section 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code to broaden the scope of California’s already expansive prohibitions on...more
Welcome to our 2023 Trade Secret and Restrictive Covenant Year in Review. 2023 was a busy year in this space, but not as busy as many expected. Although multiple states introduced restrictive covenant legislation, the most...more
Employers should take stock of restrictive covenant agreements that their current and former workforce have signed and which remain in effect. California recently passed two laws amending Section 16600 of the California...more
2023 has seen its fair share of headlines with respect to developments in non-competition law: in January, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that would ban most non-competes; in May, the National Labor Relations...more
The California Legislature has sought in recent years to expand the rights of employees in nearly every facet of business in California. Employer restrictions on an employee’s ability to work in the same industry after...more
Yesterday's post concerned discussed Lagrisola v. North American Financial Corp., 2023 WL 7273708 (Nov. 3, 2023), in which the Court of Appeal held that a borrower had failed to plead a cause of action against an unlicensed...more
The California Real Estate Law is decidedly standoffish when it comes to limited liability companies. While it allows corporations to be licensed as real estate brokers, it makes not such allowance for limited liability...more
For decades, California has taken arguably the most pro-employee-mobility position on noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements in the country – generally, post-employment noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements...more
You may have heard the half-serious joke that California acts as its own independent country. One example of this is California’s strong disfavor of non-compete agreements, which stands in contrast with the rest of the...more
As we’ve previously written, California already takes a strong position against employee noncompete agreements. State law bans such agreements (with extremely limited exception) and imposes significant penalties on employers...more
On September 1, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 699, which buttresses current state law that voids contracts that restrain an employee from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind....more
Envision Healthcare Corp. and certain of its wholly owned subsidiaries (Envision) recently filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Bankruptcy Court). In re:...more
Can an organization sue you simply because it chose to divert resources to respond to your allegedly unfair business practices by claiming your practices are a perceived threat to its mission? The California Supreme Court...more
Sections 17200 to 17210 of the California Business and Professions Code are commonly referred to as the unfair competition law. Stop Youth Addiction, Inc., v. Lucky Stores, Inc., 17 Cal.4th 553, 558, fn. 2 (1998). The UCL...more
California lawyers are well aware of this state disfavors covenants not to compete. California Senator Kevin McCarty would like to increase the level of hostility by adding a provision to the Business & Professions Code...more
In February 2023, new legislation was proposed in the California State Assembly that, if adopted and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, could have a significant impact on employers and their attorneys providing advice...more