#WorkforceWednesday: Non-Compete Compliance, New Requirements for Plan Sponsors, Get Ahead on Anti-Harassment Training - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA’s Three-Phase Plan, COVID-19 Workplace Training, Virginia’s Seismic Shift - Employment Law This Week®
National Backlash Builds Against Non-Compete Agreements - Employment Law This Week® - Trending News
In a first-of-its-kind decision, the Washington Supreme Court took aim at the ability of employers to prevent low wage employees in the state from “moonlighting” or otherwise supplementing their income during their...more
Recently, the Washington Supreme Court held that noncompete agreements for employees earning less than twice the minimum wage must be reasonable and narrowly construed. The court found that prohibiting employees from...more
On January 23, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court held that two Washington workers can argue that their former employer imposed unreasonable restrictions in violation of a state statute regulating non-compete agreements that...more
After a failed attempt to ban non-compete agreements statewide last year, New York City legislators are now poised to take matters into their own hands. Just weeks ago, the New York City Council unveiled a trio of proposed...more
Q: Is New York City considering a total ban on noncompete agreements? A: Yes — a total ban on noncompete agreements would be the result of one of the three noncompete bills currently pending in the New York City Council,...more
Joining an emerging trend of legislative and regulatory hostility towards non-compete agreements, on February 28, 2024, the New York City Council introduced three new bills proposing restrictions on non-compete agreements in...more
Members of the New York City Council are looking to accomplish what the New York State Legislature could not – proposing various bans on the use of non-competes in New York City. On February 28, 2024, members of the New York...more
Since July 1, 2020, Virginia has prohibited employers from entering into, enforcing or threatening to enforce non-compete agreements with “low wage employees.” The definition of “low wage employee” periodically changes...more
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Evergreen Acres Dairy, LLC and affiliated entities and individuals (collectively, “Evergreen”) alleging that the dairy producer violated Minnesota wage and hour laws and...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we’ll see in the workplace in the coming year, especially given the recent volatility we’ve experienced and expect for the foreseeable future. Despite the ever-present...more
In 2014, a Jimmy John’s employee leaked a copy of a noncompete agreement that the Sandwich of Sandwiches™ chain required employees at all levels (including store-level employees, such as sandwich makers and delivery drivers)...more
Making sense of the NLRB’s effort to limit non-compete agreements. In late May, Jennifer Abruzzo, the General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), issued Memorandum GC 23-08, in which she expressed her...more
When the Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act, Act No. 47-2021, went into effect, in addition to the three hourly rate increases set out in the law, a new Minimum Wage Review Board appointed by the governor was to periodically review...more
The Rhode Island legislature recently moved two bills forward that would limit employers’ use of restrictive covenants with employees. On June 19, 2023, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed a bill, Senate Bill (S)...more
Under the Biden administration, administrative agencies have taken aggressive action attempting to banish non-competes and similar agreements from the workplace. On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)...more
Challenges to non-competes by the federal government continue unabated under the Biden Administration. In the latest effort by the federal government to curtail the use of non-competes, which are traditionally governed by...more
Venture capitalists refer to “secret sauce” as the differentiator that gives one startup the edge over competitors. The secret sauce, properly protected, is a trade secret. However, employee turnover can threaten the secret...more
Over the past few years, states across the country have sought to limit or reduce the use of employee non-compete agreements. While some have imposed outright bans on such agreements, many more have passed laws that narrow...more
The New Year has certainly started with a bang at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). First, the agency announced enforcement actions against three employers prohibiting those companies from using non-competition agreements...more
The Council of the District of Columbia passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the “Act”), one of the strictest bans on employee non-compete agreements in the country, approximately two years ago....more
After vetoing a similar bill last year, on September 30, 2022, California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 951, which increases wage replacement rates for lower wage earners under the state Paid Family Leave program...more
In July 2022, the DC Council approved modifications to its previously enacted Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act (the "Act"), previously discussed here. The Act, which had yet to take effect, contained some of...more
In July 2019, Maryland banned non-compete clauses for employees who earn $15 an hour or $31,200 a year, or less. In 2020, neighboring Virginia passed a law prohibiting non-competes for “low-wage employees” (individuals...more
The current labor market is fraught with challenges for employers. In the wake of the COVID-19 market disruptions, the demand for employees, especially for experienced or highly trained employees, far exceeds the supply....more
On June 8, 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado House Bill 22-1317 (the “Bill”), which was passed by the Colorado Legislature on May 10, 2022. Effective 90 days from the end of the legislative session – on...more