Frequently, employment arbitration agreements are written with the intent to apply to future disputes between an employee, the employer and the employer’s parent and sister companies....more
Last Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) gave notice to appeal Judge Brown’s nationwide bar on the FTC’s final rule creating a Non-Compete Ban or enforcement of the rule in the case of Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade...more
In what might be the first published case discussing California’s newest anti-non-compete laws, Cal. Bus & Prof. Code § 16600.5(a) & (b), DraftKings successfully obtained a preliminary injunction and defeated the appeal of...more
As of yesterday afternoon, employers across the country that utilize noncompete agreements may breathe a sigh of relief, as Judge Ada Brown beat her self-imposed deadline of August 30, 2024 and ordered an end to any...more
8/21/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Restrictive Covenants
In July, this blog alerted you to the outcome of the preliminary injunction rulings in Ryan, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission and ATS Tree Services, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, which resulted in a 1-1 tie between...more
Judge Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a much anticipated Preliminary Injunction to stay the September 4, 2024 effective date of the FTC’s announced ban on non-compete...more
The Federal Trade Commission promulgated regulations that stand to ban non-compete agreements in employment relationships nationwide. These regulations are scheduled to become effective on September 4, 2024....more
Join us for an informative webinar on the latest developments in the non-compete agreement arena with two members of CDF’s Unfair Competition & Trade Secret Practice Group: Dan M. Forman, Chair, and Ashley A. Halberda who...more
6/11/2024
/ California ,
Confidential Business Information (CBI) ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets ,
Webinars
Employers may be able to breathe a sigh of relief as a California Court of Appeal concluded that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempts state law that allowed employees to wriggle out of arbitration and win thousands of...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Commissioners’ voted 3-2 to approve rules first announced in January 2023 to, essentially, ban the use of non-compete agreements in most employment relationships in the United States...more
4/26/2024
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Restrictive Covenants
Many people are contemplating what to give their Valentine in a couple of weeks.
However, California employers that employed California persons under an agreement with a noncompete clause “no matter how narrowly...more
In September, California created a cause of action whereby employees may challenge non-compete agreements and win damages and attorney’s fees (see our prior post on “New Golden State Law to Create Gold Rush Litigation Testing...more
For over two decades, California law concluded non-compete agreements are not enforceable in the context of employment, Edwards v. Anderson, 44 Cal.4th 937 (2008) and even created a public policy claim against employers...more
A private class-action complaint claimed that the department store, Saks, and several luxury brands (including Louis Vuitton, Loro Piana, Prada, Brunello and Fendi) violated Federal Antitrust laws when they agreed that each...more
8/15/2023
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Luxury Goods ,
No-Poaching ,
Restraint of Trade ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Labor Practices
Employers following the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) rulemaking process that will restrict non-compete agreements in many employment relationships may be relieved to learn that the FTC is not expected to vote on its...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed new Federal regulations to ban non-compete clauses from employment agreements nationwide. The ban will include non-solicitation and other restrictions that are currently designed to...more
The Ninth Circuit gave California employers a belated Valentine’s Day present by upholding the District Court’s injunction against enforcement of California Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”) because it inhibited arbitration contrary...more
Evenskaas v. California Transit Inc. reversed a Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s denial of an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of a former employee’s wage and hour class action. The trial court had concluded that the...more
7/22/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Wage and Hour
A former driver for UberEats alleged that Uber misclassified drivers as independent contractors as part of a PAGA action. Uber sought an order to compel arbitration of the question of whether the plaintiff was an independent...more
4/19/2022
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
In novel and important decision, DePy Synthes Sales v. Howmedica Ostionic’s, Ninth Cir. Case No. 21-55126, on March 14, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decisions to prevent a former employer...more
To update our February 16, 2022 Blog, on March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the law amending the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit mandatory arbitration of employee claims of sexual harassment or sexual assault....more
3/8/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Over the course of three days, the House and Senate passed HR 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, amending the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) that is expected to be signed...more
2/17/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
On October 7, 2021, Governor Newsom enacted SB 331 to put up additional restrictions on employers offering severance agreements and settling claims alleging harassment, discrimination or retaliation based on purported...more
President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy includes a directive to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements...more
7/12/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Restrictive Covenants