In Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G. L. c. 149, § 24L (the “Act”), which generally prohibits noncompete and...more
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, holding that courts may not impose a heightened evidentiary standard on majority-group plaintiffs alleging...more
Fifth Circuit holds six-month delay in ADA accommodation request was unreasonable -
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Strife v. Aldine Independent School District partially reversed the lower court’s dismissal of an...more
Second Circuit holds employees get disability accommodations even if not necessary to perform their job -
In Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s grant of...more
Connecticut declines to restrain departed founder from using client list -
A Connecticut federal judge in TJT Capital Group, LLC v. Timothy McFadden denied an investment adviser’s motion for a temporary restraining order...more
4/2/2025
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Race Discrimination ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
Seventh Circuit upholds forfeiture-for-competition provision in restricted stock unit agreement -
A Seventh Circuit panel, in LKQ Corporation v. Rutledge, held that an employer could enforce a “forfeiture-for-competition”...more
Arizona employer cannot exclude settlement communications from former employee’s retaliation complaint -
In Flores v. Rafi Law Group PLLC, the plaintiff accused her law firm employer of retaliating against her by (i)...more
1/6/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Arizona ,
Blue Pencil Contract Modification ,
Confidential Information ,
Counterclaims ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Tortious Interference ,
Whistleblowers
In May 2024, two TD Bank entities (“TD Bank”) sued two former employees and their new employer Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. and one of its subsidiaries (together, “Raymond James”) in Connecticut federal court,...more
12/4/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Punitive Damages ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Termination ,
TRO ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
In a win for employers, the Connecticut Supreme Court defines “supervisor” narrowly for purposes of vicarious employer liability under Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act -
Under Connecticut’s civil rights law, an...more
9/4/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Bullying ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
Vance v. Ball State University ,
Vicarious Liability
Arbitration agreement deemed inapplicable where plaintiff plausibly alleged sexual harassment claim -
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 ( “EFAA”) amended the Federal...more
8/1/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FinTech ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
On July 3, 2024, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown from the Northern District of Texas issued a decision, and subsequently a preliminary injunction, staying enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) non-compete ban...more
7/9/2024
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Texas
May 2024 NJ Supreme Court holds that non-disparagement provisions cannot prohibit disclosure of details relating to claims of discrimination, retaliation, or harassment -
The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously held that...more
6/4/2024
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Harassment ,
NJ Supreme Court ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Title X ,
Undue Hardship
Employer sues former traders for using an allegedly confidential trading strategy but loses bid for emergency injunctive relief.
On April 12, Jane Street Group LLC (“Jane Street”) sued two of its former traders and...more
New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws May Protect Out-of-State Applicants -
On March 14, the New York Court of Appeals held that out-of-state applicants who seek employment within the State or the City can...more
Former HR Executive Sues Financial Services Company for Equal Pay Violations in New Jersey Federal Court -
A former head of human resources sued a financial services company for allegedly underpaying her relative to her...more
3/1/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Jurisdiction ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Retaliation ,
Transparency ,
Wrongful Termination
Delaware court declines to enforce restrictive covenants in LLC agreement but grants interlocutory appeal.
In Sunder Energy v. Jackson, et al., a company, Sunder, sued a former employee, Jackson, for breaching a...more
Ex-employee’s golf outing with customer does not violate non-solicit -
An auto parts manufacturer in Michigan sought a preliminary injunction against a former sales employee for violating his restrictive covenants,...more
12/4/2023
/ Appeals ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
Confidential Information ,
CVS ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Private Right of Action ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Software ,
Trade Secrets
October 2023: Public information can be a trade secret; Litigants get creative to contest non-competes; NJ addresses the enforceability of non-disparagements; Law firm DEI programs face legal challenges -
Compilation of...more
11/1/2023
/ Appeals ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unions
September 2023: Enjoining competitive employment, advisor mobility, reverse discrimination, the low bar for retaliation, and litigating “Cause”
Connecticut Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Enforcing Noncompete...more
9/19/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Asset Management ,
Breach of Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Financial Adviser ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Race Discrimination ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retaliation ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment