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Contract Terms Employment Contract Appeals

Bennett Jones LLP

BC Court of Appeal Upholds Arbitration and Foreign Law Clauses in Employee Incentive Plan

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In Aspen Technology, Inc. v. Wiederhold, 2025 BCCA 261 (Wiederhold), the British Columbia Court of Appeal enforced an arbitration/forum selection clause in an employee incentive plan, overturning a lower court decision and...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Contemporaneous Onboarding Documents May Invalidate An Employer’s “Squeaky Clean” Arbitration Agreement

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., a healthcare staffing company, believed that it had a “squeaky clean” Arbitration Agreement with its employees. ...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Unconscionable Employment Terms In Onboarding Documents Can Void Arbitration Agreements

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On June 13, 2025, a California Court of Appeal struck down an arbitration agreement because of unconscionable terms entered by the parties in a separate employment agreement, governing different dispute resolution fora and...more

Morgan Lewis

Massachusetts High Court Clarifies Noncompete Law’s Scope, Declines to Let Nonsolicits ‘Through the Back Door’

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In Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) clarified that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA or the Act) does not apply to a forfeiture clause triggered by a breach...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Attention Ontario Employers: Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds ESA Termination Clause in Bertsch v Datastealth Inc.

In a rare but significant “win” for employers, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that an employer can enforce a termination provision limiting an employee’s entitlements strictly to the minimum standards under the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Tenth Circuit Affirms Distinction Between Forfeiture and Penalty for Competition

In Lawson v. Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the forfeiture of certain stock awards for violating a covenant not to compete. Like the Seventh Circuit in LKQ Corp. v....more

Morgan Lewis

German Federal Labor Court Strengthens Employee Rights for Virtual Stock Options upon Employment Termination - Legal Insights...

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In its ruling dated March 19, 2025, the German Federal Labor Court (BAG)—in contrast to the two previous instances and contrary to its previous case law—deemed an expiry clause in general terms and conditions to be...more

Dickinson Wright

Start the Clock—The Case for Including Contractual Limitations Periods in Employment Agreements

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Contractual limitations periods provide parties on both sides of an agreement certainty regarding the filing of a potential action. But many employers do not know that they may include such contractual limitations periods in...more

Jenner & Block

Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms Reluctance to Blue-Pencil Overbroad Restrictive Covenants in Sunder v. Jackson

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The Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Sunder Energy, LLV v. Jackson, No. 455, 2023, 2024 Del. LEXIS 407 (December 10, 2024) reaffirmed the courts’ limited willingness to modify or “blue-pencil” overbroad restrictive...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Fifth Circuit Holds Carve-Back Provision Could Not Overcome Breach of Contract Exclusion for Louisiana Wage Payment Act Claim

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, applying Louisiana law, has held that a breach of contract exclusion barred coverage for a judgment awarded to two employees who were not paid severance as required...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Interprétation des dispositions relatives au licenciement : Approches distinctes des tribunaux de la Colombie-Britannique et de...

Aperçu - Il est de plus en plus difficile pour les employeurs de déterminer si les dispositions relatives au licenciement incluses dans leurs contrats d’emploi seraient jugées exécutoires advenant leur contestation devant...more

Bennett Jones LLP

An “Exacting Standard”: the Enforceability of Termination Clauses and the “At Any Time” Conundrum

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Baker v Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc. (Baker) is the latest decision in Ontario to conclude that a termination provision permitting an employer to terminate, without cause, “at any time” is contrary to the Employment Standards...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Feeling Competitive: The Reasonableness of Forfeiture-for-Competition Provisions

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In 2024, employers rushed to track the twists and turns of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) noncompete ban, which attempted to limit the enforceability of agreements that restrict employees from working for a competitor...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

British Columbia and Ontario: Two Diverging Approaches to Interpreting Termination Provisions

Overview - Employers increasingly face challenges regarding whether termination provisions in their employment agreements will be determined to be enforceable if challenged in court. As we continue to see increasing court...more

FordHarrison

"In Any Capacity" Language Dooms Georgia Non-Compete Provision

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Prior to the enactment of Georgia’s Restrictive Covenant Act (“GRCA”), Georgia courts uniformly struck down non-compete provisions that used “in any capacity language”, i.e., a non-compete that prohibited an employee from...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Massachusetts High Court To Weigh In on Forfeiture-for-Solicitation Provisions in Era of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement...

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On Monday, March 3, 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) heard argument in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., regarding whether the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G. L. c. 149, § 24L (the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Plaintiffs, Not Defendants, Must Initiate Arbitration

Arzate v. Ace American Insurance Company, — Cal. Rptr. 3d — (2025) began as a familiar case: plaintiffs signed arbitration agreements (“Agreement”) with their employer that contained a class action waiver. But when a dispute...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Does an Arbitration Agreement Require the Employer’s Signature?  Read the Fine Print

The California Court of Appeal recently reminded employers in an unpublished (but nonetheless chastening) opinion of the importance of carefully drafting arbitration agreements. In Pich v. LaserAway, LLC et al, the court...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Sooner the Better: Employers in Canada Should Really Review Their Termination of Employment Clauses

A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision signals a pressing need for Canadian employers to review and consider updating their contractual termination of employment provisions. Otherwise, employers are at risk of...more

K&L Gates LLP

California Court of Appeal Ends Headless PAGA Actions in Leeper v. Shipt

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The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, in Leeper v. Shipt, Inc., No. B339670, 2024 WL 5251619 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 30, 2024) (Leeper) issued a significant decision benefiting employers seeking to enforce...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Arbitration Agreement Enforceable By Non-Signatory Alleged Joint-Employers

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Employees who sign an arbitration agreement with one company cannot avoid arbitration with related defendant-companies by arguing they were not parties to the agreement. The California Court of Appeal held that claims against...more

Lewitt Hackman

Beyond the Contract: Non-Signatories to an Arbitration Agreement Can Compel Arbitration

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Departing from the ruling in Soltero v. Precise Distribution earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal in the Second District in Gonzalez v. Nowhere Beverly Hills LLC, created a split of authority regarding an alleged...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Indiana Appeals Court Rejects Noncompete That Prevented Work in Any Capacity

On November 25, 2024, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a former chief operating officer (COO) at a medical fee collection company did not breach noncompete agreements and a nondisclosure provision when she took a job...more

WilmerHale

Beating the Odds: First Circuit Doubles Down on Massachusetts Decision Enforcing Noncompete Against Sports Betting Executive Newly...

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Against a growing trend of legislation and broader efforts seeking to limit or eliminate post-employment noncompetition restrictions, recent Massachusetts and First Circuit decisions in a dispute between DraftKings and one of...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Court of Appeal Rules That Partial Sale of Business Can Bind Seller-Owner to a Noncompetition Agreement

In Samuelian v. Life Generations Healthcare, LLC, — Cal. App. 5th —, 2024 WL 3878448 (Cal. App. Aug. 20, 2024), the California Court of Appeal answered two long outstanding questions of California law concerning the...more

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