The Employer Handbook Blog
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Remember back in January, when I told you that restrictive covenants would be the most significant employment law issues for employers in 2020? Continue reading
Articles Posted in Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants
Forget what you heard. THIS, right here, will be the biggest employment law concern for employers in 2020.
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. Continue reading
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 with another bipartisan bill — this time, legislation taking on non-competition agreements. Continue reading
Seven signs the non-solicitation and non-competition agreements your employees signed may be unenforceable.
User:VasilievVV and user:Jarekt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The rest of you deadbeats are stuck with only five free weekly blog posts. Continue reading
Yes, you can be fired for cursing about clients in the office bathroom
MarkBuckawicki [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
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. Continue reading
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 to hire the others’ employees during their business relationship and for some time after it ends?
That must be legal too, right?
Probably not. Continue reading
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 Commons
Have I piqued your interest? Continue reading
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 private federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. So, now, if an employee takes your precious trade secrets, you can sue under federal law in federal court. And, in certain circumstances, you can collect your attorney’s fees if you prevail. The DTSA has real teeth!
But, what if you learn that an employee misappropriated your trade secrets before the DTSA took effect on May 11, 2016. Are you stuck in state court? Continue reading
A new Senate bill would make your non-compete agreements worth less than the paper on which they’re printed.
By US Army [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons