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Employment Litigation Contract Terms Appeals

Husch Blackwell LLP

Michigan Supreme Court Upends Shortened Limitations Periods in Employment Contracts

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Imagine accepting a new job, signing a stack of documents, and working for years—only to learn after being fired that hidden fine print gave you just months, not years, to sue for wrongful termination. Sound fair? The...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Limits Scope of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement

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The Massachusetts legislature passed the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA) in 2018, culminating a longstanding effort to balance employers’ rights to protect legitimate business interests—such as trade...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

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

California Employers Using Arbitration Agreements Want To Take Note of New Guidance From a Recent California Appellate Case

California employers often require their new hires and current employees to sign arbitration agreements ("agreements") as a condition of employment or continued employment. To be enforceable, these agreements require that the...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

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Scope of Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has ruled that a forfeiture clause triggered by a breach of a non-solicitation agreement is not a "forfeiture for competition agreement" under the Massachusetts Noncompetition...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

Morris James LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Enforcement of Forfeiture-for-Competition Provisions

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LKQ Corp. v. Rutledge, C.A. No. 110, 2024 (Del. Dec. 18, 2024) - In this en banc decision, the Delaware Supreme Court answered a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit...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

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

An Important Win for Employers in California: Meal Period Waivers

For over a decade, many California employers have issued written meal period waivers that permit employees to voluntarily agree to prospectively waive 30-minute meal periods throughout their employment and under certain...more

Payne & Fears

Prospective Written Meal Period Waivers Can Be Enforced in California Says the California Court of Appeal

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Employers in California often offer employees the ability to sign “meal period waivers,” usually at onboarding. These written waivers reflect the employee’s agreement, on a going-forward basis, to waive their first meal...more

Jenner & Block

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

Jenner & Block on

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

Wiley Rein LLP on

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

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

To Sever or Not to Sever, That is the Question For Courts Reviewing Employment Arbitration Agreements for Enforceability

Less than a year ago, the California Supreme Court in Ramirez v. Charter Communications, Inc. opined, in the context of employment arbitration agreements, that there is no bright line rule that requires a court to refuse...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

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