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Articles Posted in Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants

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Hocus Pocus: PA Supremes eliminate magic language for creating non-compete loopholes

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made a lot of — some would say, creative — lawyers unhappy. In a 4-1 decision, the Court held Wednesday that the language “intending to be legally bound” found in Pennsylvania’s Uniform Written Obligations Act will not save an otherwise unenforceable non-competition agreement. You can…

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Everything you need to know about restrictive covenants and protecting confidential business information

Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting a webinar for LexisNexis with my colleague, Larry Holmes, and Sterling Miller. Larry and I have served in the restrictive-covenant trenches together many times. Sterling serves as Senior Counsel at Gober Hilgers. He’s also the former General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer to Sabre Corporation…

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When your recently-fired employee shares the secret sauce on Twitter

No, the secret sauce isn’t ketchup. Or is it? Literally. [Music] The secret’s out in 140 characters In Texas, there’s a professional football team that could fill an infirmary ward restaurant called Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. A local FOX affiliate reports here that a recently-fired employee promptly raised Cain (see what I…

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New Senate bill would abolish non-competes for low-wage workers

Jimmy John’s aside, is that really a thing? The use of non-compete agreements for employees making less than $15 an hour? The Mobility and Opportunity for Vulnerable Employees (MOVE) Act Well, according to a press release from Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), “research” shows that somewhere between 8-15% of low-wage workers have…

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Your ex-employee won’t tell you the password to your company’s LinkedIn page. Now what?

Your company has set up a private LinkedIn Group. Your company, which controls who may become a member of the Group, has seen the number of Group members swell to nearly 700. Way to go! Because it’s a private group, the names of all of the group members are not generally available…

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Though employees may not balk at signing non-competes, the key is when to use them.

Last week it was #thedress. Before that, Kim Kardashian broke the internet.  But, first, there was the Jimmy John’s non-competition agreement kerfuffle that dominated my Twitter. Probably not yours though, because you have a life. Then again, here you are reading this post, pot. Or shall I call you kettle? [Hey…

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Read this before you ask an entry-level worker to sign a non-competition agreement

My Facebook and Twitter feeds were blowing up yesterday with links to articles at NYTimes.com, Huffington Post, and Jezebel about how the sandwich chain, Jimmy John’s, supposedly makes its sandwich makers and delivery drivers sign these non-competition agreements. These agreements purport to preclude employees from working for certain nearby competitors for two…

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PA Superior Court closes non-competition-agreement loophole

In Pennsylvania, a company and an employee can enter into an agreement whereby, in exchange for some form of consideration, the employee agrees not to compete with the company after the employment ends. Consideration can come in a variety of forms; for example, a raise, bonus, promotion, or sugar. Initial employment…