Connecticut lawmakers recently introduced two bills that seek to ban non-competition agreements for physicians. If implemented, this would be the second time in five years that Connecticut has legislated in the area of physician restrictive covenants. In mid-2016, Connecticut enacted legislation that implemented a maximum one-year temporal limitation on physician non-competition agreements, as well as … Continue Reading
New Jersey may be next up to join the growing number of states that significantly restrict the use of non-competition agreements in employment. As we discussed back in December 2017, a bill proposed in New Jersey at the time, Senate Bill 3518, would “impose significant restrictions and limitations” on the use of restrictive covenants in … Continue Reading
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indiana has enacted a new law governing non-compete agreements used with physicians. Our Practice Group members in Indianapolis authored an article detailing the new law’s requirements. As the article notes, the new law raises multiple unanswered questions. And, while not as sweeping as other statutes, Indiana now joins … Continue Reading
Is anyone focusing on anything other than the COVID-19 Pandemic? Apparently, the Virginia legislature and governor are undeterred, enacting a series of new laws. Among them, Virginia has banned non-compete agreements for lower wage earners, becoming the most recent state to do so. A summary of the key provisions is included in this article written … Continue Reading
Texas courts are increasingly encountering efforts to challenge restrictive covenant agreements on free speech grounds, where the restricted activity includes business-related communications. A recent Texas appellate court decision indicates that this strategy has its limits. In Hieber v. Percheron Holdings, LLC, No. 14-19-00505-CV (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Nov. 14, 2019), Percheron Holdings, LLC (“Percheron”) sued … Continue Reading
On November 14, 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing to examine recently proposed bills that would regulate non-compete agreements at the federal level. Discussion during the hearing indicates that it may have the necessary support to move forward. Pending Non-Compete Legislation On October 15, 2019, Senators Chris Murphy … Continue Reading
On August 26, 2019, the Delaware Chancery Court invalidated a California employee’s customer and employee non-solicitation covenant on the grounds that it violated California law. In doing so, the Court rejected the plaintiff company’s attempt to override California law by including a Delaware choice of law provision in the underlying agreement. Background We initially reported … Continue Reading
On April 26, 2019, the two chambers of the Washington Legislature passed Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1450 (“HB 1450” or the “Non-Compete Act”), which regulates non-competition agreements with employees and independent contractors, and severely restricts franchisee no-poach agreements as well as policies against moonlighting. Governor Inslee is expected to sign the Act, which would take … Continue Reading
Last year, Democrats in the United States Senate and House of Representatives introduced bills — S.2782 and H.R.5631 — banning non-compete agreements in the vast majority of workplaces across the country. Although those bills failed to gain traction, the authors of this Blog anticipated a renewed effort at federal non-compete reform in 2019, with Democrats taking control … Continue Reading
When implementing restrictive covenant agreements in their workforces, companies often grapple with how best to handle the wide variation in the law from one state to the other. One solution is to include a choice of law provision that calls for all agreements to be construed under the laws of a single state. Still, there … Continue Reading
Just before midnight on July 31, 2018, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill regulating the use of non-compete agreements in the Commonwealth. This development is a long time coming, as the Legislature had been attempting for nearly a decade to create a non-compete law. In an article posted on our website on August 1, 2018, Erik … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2018, Jackson Lewis published an article entitled, “Brazilian Labor Courts Continue to Emphasize Importance of Non-Compete Clause Limitations,” by John Sander and Maya Atrakchi in the New York City office. John currently serves as Chairman of L&E Global, a global alliance of premier employer’s counsel firms. Our colleague Gabriela Lima Arantes at … Continue Reading
This Blog has previously covered the six non-compete bills that were introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature in 2017 (See articles dated December 27, 2017, and March 2, 2018). On April 17, 2018, the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development submitted a revised bill, House Bill 4419 (“H 4419”), in place of the prior bills. … Continue Reading
In the past week, two states have made modifications to their respective non-compete laws. On March 27, 2018, Utah imposed special restrictions on the use of non-compete agreements in the broadcasting industry. One day later, Idaho modified the standard of proof that must be followed when a company seeks an injunction against a former employee … Continue Reading
In October and November of this past year, we wrote about two Minnesota court decisions – Mid-America Business Systems v. Sanderson et al., Case No. 17-3876 (Dist. Minn. Oct. 6, 2017) and Safety Center, Inc. v. Stier, Case No. A17-0360 (Minn. App., Nov. 6, 2017) — that addressed the adequacy of consideration that is provided … Continue Reading
In the final month of 2017 we discussed efforts by the Massachusetts and New Jersey legislatures to limit the use of employment non-compete agreements. By the start of 2018, the spike in activity had become a trend, with Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Vermont introducing non-compete legislation of their own. In an article posted on our … Continue Reading
The Massachusetts Legislature has spent the past several years seeking to regulate the use of restrictive covenant agreements in the Commonwealth. Despite repeatedly falling short in that initiative, the 2017 legislative session strongly signaled the Legislature’s enduring interest in this subject by introducing a whopping eight new competing bills. In an article posted on our … Continue Reading
In states that permit the enforcement of non-compete and other restrictive covenant agreements against former employees, companies must still demonstrate that the restrictions are designed to protect a legitimate business interest, and not to simply avoid ordinary competition. In Osborne Assocs. v. Cangemi, Case No. 3:17-cv-1135-J-34MCR (M.D.Fla. Nov. 14, 2017), the federal court for the … Continue Reading
A bill in the New Jersey Senate, Senate Bill 3518 (“SB 3518”), and an identical companion bill in the New Jersey Assembly (Assembly Bill 5261), would significantly curtail the use of non-compete agreements in New Jersey. In an article posted on our website, Cliff Atlas, Kevin Miller and Colin Thakkar analyze SB 3518 and pose … Continue Reading
Last month, this Blog highlighted a Minnesota decision evaluating the consideration required for non-compete agreements entered into after the commencement of employment. As that decision held, such agreements must be supported by valuable consideration over and above continued employment. This month, in Safety Center, Inc. v. Stier, Case No. A17-0360 (Minn. App., Nov. 6, 2017), the … Continue Reading
