Many employees feel trapped by non-compete agreements, but there are legal ways to handle these restrictive employment agreements. Before risking legal action by breaking your agreement, consider these alternatives....more
New York law generally does not favor non-compete agreements, viewing them as unreasonable restraint of trade. As a result, New York courts apply a rigorous standard when deciding whether to enforce these restrictive...more
In late April, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its final rule banning noncompete agreements that is scheduled to become effective on September 4, 2024 (Rule). The Rule upends arrangements many employers—including...more
Please join us for BakerHostetler’s The ‘New’ Normal: The State of Labor Relations and Employment Law Master Class. Our 9th Annual Master Class will be virtual again this year, as it was last year, due to the continuation of...more
One of Ohio’s most influential appeals courts has affirmed the power of courts to modify non-compete agreements (here, a physician’s employment contract) to strike the right balance between employers’ interests in protecting...more
Employers across North Carolina invest a lot of time and money in their employees and their customers. As part of that investment, companies often provide employees with confidential information and entrust them to interact...more
Employers (Montana-based or otherwise) obviously cannot brand their employees and/or toss them off a dark cliff, even in the interest of protecting legitimate business interests such as trade secrets or customer...more
Florida’s noncompete statute, Fla. Stat. 542.335, provides numerous protections to employers or business purchasers who are looking to safeguard a company’s goodwill, trademarks and the like. Still, it is important to not...more
Where a business’ non-compete employment agreement precluded its former employee from contacting its suppliers, such restriction could constitute a legitimate business interest. KNC Technologies v. Tutton, 2021 NCBC 25 (J....more
For the first time in 15 years, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), Massachusetts’ highest court, issued a decision analyzing the enforceability of non-solicitation covenants, the distinction between such covenants in the...more
The Federal Trade Commission has issued an administrative complaint challenging Axon Enterprise, Inc.’s consummated acquisition of its body-worn camera systems competitor VieVu, LLC from parent company from Safariland....more
Manhattan restaurant Sottolio, Inc., d/b/a Norma Gastronomia Siciliana hired Giuseppe Manco—“a noted Italian pizza chef, or pizzaiolo”—to consult on its menu. At the same time, Manco and his wife purchased a 9% interest in...more
Non-compete clauses are commonly included in M&A agreements. Although generally recognized as lawful, non-competes must fulfill certain requirements to comply with antitrust and competition laws. A recent FTC enforcement...more
Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd., the first employment competition case to reach the UK’s highest court in over a century was decided on July 3, 2019, changing the landscape for noncompetition agreements in the UK....more
Non-compete and other restrictive covenants are commonly used by employers in many industries to protect their trade secrets and legitimate business interests. While employees may be willing to sign them when they take a new...more
On August 10, 2018, the Governor of Massachusetts signed into law comprehensive reforms governing covenants not to compete in the State of Massachusetts. See MGL c.149, § 24L (added by St.2018, c.228, §21). As detailed below,...more
New Massachusetts laws govern the protection of trade secrets and the enforceability of noncompete agreements. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed into law the state's version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act...more
• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed into law the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (Act), governing noncompetition agreements signed on or after Oct. 1, 2018, by employees and independent contractors...more
A Florida federal court held that the non-compete provision in a chocolate shop franchise agreement was enforceable against an ex-franchisee operating a competing chocolate store at the former franchised location....more
Executive Summary and Takeaway: Trade secrets and confidential information are receiving increasing protection in many states, and as more states perceive this as a "business friendly" issue, this trend will continue and...more
Can relationships with referral sources give rise to a legitimate business interest sufficient to enforce a non-compete? The answer is yes, at least in Florida....more
There is more discussion of non-solicitation clauses and non-inducement clauses in Judge McGuire's opinion last week in Sandhills Home Care,, LLC v. Companion Home Care-Unimed, Inc., 2016 NCBC 59, than I think that I've ever...more
South Carolina courts evaluate the enforceability of non-compete provisions executed in the employment context and in connection with the sale of the business under the same reasonableness test. To be enforceable in South...more
A recent North Carolina Court of Appeals case, Phelps Staffing, LLC v. C.T. Phelps, Inc. and Charles T. Phelps, COA12-886, 2013 WL 1575409 (N.C. Ct. App. Apr. 16, 2013), highlights the need for employers who either have...more
Last Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an important decision in a case involving the enforceability of non-compete agreements....more