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Articles Posted in Trade Secrets

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Wait, WHAT?!? Is President Biden planning to ban private employers from using non-competes?

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay So much for my blog servers getting a much-needed Friday rest. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Crystal Lake, IL. About halfway through her prepared remarks, she dropped this bomb on employers:…

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What do adult toys and X-rays have to do with protecting trade secrets?

Image by Tayeb MEZAHDIA from Pixabay I’ve been revising a lot of NDAs recently — not to be confused with N.W.A.s. Although, sometimes, I do listen to N.W.A. while updating nondisclosure agreements. My curious legal listening habits notwithstanding, there is a practical employment law point I’d like to make here.…

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What do restrictive covenants have to do with COVID-19? More than you think.

Image Credit: Maialisa (pixabay.com) Remember back in January, when I told you that restrictive covenants would be the most significant employment law issues for employers in 2020? Well, boy, was I wrong! COVID-19 has locked up this year’s title. However, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Trade Commission…

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Forget what you heard. THIS, right here, will be the biggest employment law concern for employers in 2020.

SimmeD [CC BY-SA]I’ve seen a lot of ink spilled by employment lawyers about how #MeToo, new overtime rules, medical marijuana, and salary history questions will be the significant issues with which employers would have to deal in 2020. The Federal Trade Commission and I have other ideas. Last week, the…

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A first-of-its-kind nationwide ban on non-competition agreements is coming. Possibly.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay In 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act into law. A bipartisan approach to creating a nationwide enforcement mechanism, the DTSA prohibits misappropriation of trade secrets in all 50 states. Fast forward to 2019, and the federal government is back at it again…

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Seven signs the non-solicitation and non-competition agreements your employees signed may be unenforceable.

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…

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Hey Eric! Can I spy on my former employee’s Facebook messenger account?

Image Credit: Pexels.com (https://www.pexels.com/photo/facebook-glasses-privacy-privacy-policy-267372/) Asking for a friend, of course. A bunch of your employees just resigned, set up a competing venture, plundered a bunch of your trade secrets, and have begun contacting your customers. But, hold up! Your IT administrator examined their company laptops and struck gold! He reviewed…

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Does your company use no-hire agreements? Better call a lawyer. Maybe a criminal lawyer.

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/vectors/resume-unemployed-job-unemployment-2163673/) In most states, non-competition agreements between an employer and employee are legal, as long as there is some form of consideration (like money) to support them. But, what about a no-hire or no-poach agreement; e.g., a ‘contract’ between two businesses where one (or both) agrees not…

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If you have non-competition agreements with non-exempt employees, now would be a good time to grab some pearls for clutching

Evan-Amos [Public domain], from Wikimedia CommonsSenator Marco Rubio (FL-R) has introduced legislation that, if it becomes law, would be a flamethrower to many of the non-competition agreements that you have with your employees. Have I piqued your interest? It’s called the Freedom to Compete Act. You can find a copy…

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You may be able to litigate older trade secret misappropriation claims in federal court. Here’s how.

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/stamp-characters-label-informant-143799/) Until a few years ago, if an employer wanted to pursue a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets, it probably had to do so in state court under state law. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 changed all that. The DTSA is a federal law that created a…