The Federal Trade Commission isn’t finished with noncompetes. It is gathering information to understand when these agreements cause real harm and when they may serve legitimate business purposes. Case in point: its latest enforcement action against an employer that allegedly relied on broad, boilerplate restrictions. TL;DR: The FTC has launched…
Noncompetes are under pressure. Federal regulators have wanted to ban them. States like California, Minnesota, and Oklahoma already have. And even where they remain technically legal, courts are increasingly skeptical—especially when the restrictions go further than necessary. Because a large part of my practice involves reviewing employment and equity agreements…
With most eyes focused on a pending lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to eliminate the FTC’s noncompete ban, local employers may have missed the news last week that Governor Shapiro signed into law a measure restricting the use of non-competition agreements in…
The Federal Trade Commission isn’t the only government agency gunning for your company’s noncompetes. Earlier this month, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge ruled that a non-union employer violated the National Labor Relations Act by utilizing unlawful noncompete and nonsolicitation provisions in employment agreements. During their employment and…
Ready. Fire. Aim. That’s often the approach companies take when they learn that a former employee with restrictive covenants like a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement has gone to work for a direct competitor. Many rush into court demanding that a judge enter a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction…
I’ve litigated many battles between companies over trade secrets and non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. The tie that binds them all is that these cases are expensive to prosecute and defend. When these cases advance to court, most are about one thing: getting an injunction to stop a former employee from…
User:VasilievVV and user:Jarekt [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsOne of the benefits of being a client of this handsome employment lawyer/blogger is a weekly email with links to recent HR news and notes, as well as a bonus HR-compliance tip. The rest of you deadbeats are stuck with only five free weekly…
Especially if you overlook that non-solicitation agreement you signed with your prior employer… Early last month, I blogged here about a situation involving an individual who: signed a non-solicitation agreement with Company A; left Company A to work for Company B; and invited some former Company A employees to connect…
Imagine that one of your top salespeople leaves to go to work for a competitor. At least you had the foresight to have her sign a nonsolicitation agreement as a condition of employment. So, your customers are safe. Then again…You have this sneaking suspicion that this salesperson may be emailing…
Your former employee, the one whom you paid an extra boat load of money to sign a non-solicitation agreement, just sent a bunch of LinkedIn invites to connect with some of your current employees. Has he violated his non-solicitation agreement? That was the precise issue in a case decided…