As previously discussed, post-employment noncompetes require thoughtful drafting and implementation in order to be enforceable in North Carolina. Courts and judges don’t like them, but they can be an incredibly valuable tool...more
Benesch previously informed its clients about the significant changes made to Illinois restrictive covenants law by the Illinois legislature in the waning moments of its most recent legislative session. These changes include,...more
Citing concerns about worker mobility and advocating for increased market competition, President Biden signed Executive Order No. 14036: Promoting Competition in the American Economy, on July 9, 2021. The Order, published in...more
Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements (“restrictive covenants”) can be a helpful tool for protecting a business, as they allow employers to restrict their employees’ ability to seek employment with competitors and/or...more
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to soon sign into law a bill that will make significant changes to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act and affect the enforceability of employee non-competition provisions. The General...more
Effective October 1, 2018, employers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and other states seeking to hold Massachusetts employees to noncompete agreements must meet the requirements of a new law passed by the Massachusetts...more
Nutter Partner David Rubin recently contributed an article to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly that analyzed the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act. In the article, “Thorny Questions, Issues Emerging as Noncompete Act...more
On August 10, 2018, the Governor of Massachusetts signed “An Act relative to the judicial enforcement of noncompetition agreements,” otherwise known as the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (“Act”), § 24L of Chapter...more
On August 10, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill reforming Massachusetts law regarding non-competition agreements. This new law, which takes effect on October 1, 2018, will require employers to modify...more
Over the years, I have written blog posts related to a plethora of nuances concerning noncompetition agreements. While the signing into law last Friday of new legislation on noncompetes does not eviscerate them (despite...more
A recent decision in the North Carolina Business Court could have significant implications on non-competition covenants in employment agreements that contain a very common automatic renewal term. The decision, if followed by...more
As we previously reported, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed contrasting versions of non-compete reform bills in 2016 but were unable to come to an agreement by the end of the legislative session. Efforts began anew...more
On October 27, 2016, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s order denying an application for temporary injunction seeking to enjoin Thomas Musgrave, the former president of Henry F. Coffeen III Management,...more
Many employers in Utah use non-competition agreements to protect their confidential information, customer relationships and investment in employee training and development. In a somewhat surprising move, the usually...more
Do you have workers in Pennsylvania? If so, do you ask them to sign non-competes after they have already been employed with your company for some appreciable time? If you do, you may be obligated to provide them with...more
In a landmark ruling of first impression, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently held that an employer’s non-competition covenant, which included the employee’s pledge not to challenge the covenant for inadequate...more
Question: We are a Wisconsin employer that recently lost a number of employees to a direct competitor in our region. As a result, we are now in the process of having all of our employees sign non-compete agreements...more
In France, a valid noncompete clause in an employment contract must provide for the payment of financial compensation to the departing employee, as long as the employee remains bound by and complies with the clause’s terms...more
On April 2, 2015, Arkansas enacted a new law (the Act) that greatly expands the enforceability of noncompete agreements in the state. The Act makes striking changes to Arkansas non-compete law. ...more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review Socko v. Mid-Atlantic Systems of CPA, Inc., a case of interest to employers regarding what consideration is necessary to support employee non-compete agreements. The court...more
Often employers invest significant resources in training and developing employees. Prudent employers recognize that, as unfortunate as it may be, employment relationships do not always go as planned. These employers might...more
In a case of first impression, a Pennsylvania appellate court recently held that contractual language satisfying the state’s Uniform Written Obligations Act (UWOA)—that is, a statement that the parties “intend to be legally...more
Most jurisdictions in the United States hold that continued employment constitutes sufficient consideration in exchange for entering into a non-competition agreement. A handful of jurisdictions however – Minnesota, North...more
In a case of first impression for the appellate courts of this Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled in Socko v. Mid-Atlantic Systems of CPA, Inc. that language contained in an employment agreement...more
In June 2013, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District (i.e., Cook County) held that, absent other consideration, two years of employment is required for a restrictive covenant to be deemed supported by adequate...more