PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
In the recent Wigdor v Facebook Canada Ltd. and Meta Platforms, Inc., 2025 ONSC 4051 decision (the “Decision”), which has not yet been reported, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice upheld the enforceability of restricted...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently clarified the scope of the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA). In Susan Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., the SJC held the MNAA does not apply where a...more
On June 13, 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a significant decision in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc. (SJC-13697) confirming that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (the “MNAA”) does...more
Imagine you’re a private equity firm. You buy a company, and you want to retain and incentivize key employees, so you give them some equity in the form of incentive units. You also want to prevent them from running off and...more
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
In North American Fire Ultimate Holdings, LP v. Alan Doorly, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the restrictive covenants included in an incentive unit grant agreement were unenforceable when the units received by the...more
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
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
The Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling in Cantor Fitzgerald v. Ainslie, which reversed the Court of Chancery’s 2023 finding that forfeiture-for-competition provisions should be evaluated by the same “reasonableness” standard as...more
The Delaware Supreme Court recently clarified that forfeiture-for-competition clauses under the Employee Choice Doctrine may be enforceable against a broader range of employees, including middle managers, not just...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ban on noncompetition covenants (“noncompetes”) could significantly impact the design and administration of employee benefits and executive compensation arrangements....more
FTC RULE BANS NON-COMPETE CLAUSES FOR NON-SENIOR EMPLOYEES - Non-compete clauses have long been a contentious issue in employment agreements, with concerns raised about their potential to stifle competition and limit...more
Introduction Jimmy John’s In 2014, Emily Brunner (“Brunner”) and Caitlin Turowski (“Turowski”) filed a complaint in Illinois against the sandwich company, Jimmy John’s, and its franchise affiliates. The complaint was amended...more