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Articles Posted in Non-Competition

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Wait, WHAT?!? Is President Biden planning to ban private employers from using non-competes?

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay So much for my blog servers getting a much-needed Friday rest. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Crystal Lake, IL. About halfway through her prepared remarks, she dropped this bomb on employers:…

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What do restrictive covenants have to do with COVID-19? More than you think.

Image Credit: Maialisa (pixabay.com) Remember back in January, when I told you that restrictive covenants would be the most significant employment law issues for employers in 2020? Well, boy, was I wrong! COVID-19 has locked up this year’s title. However, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Trade Commission…

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Forget what you heard. THIS, right here, will be the biggest employment law concern for employers in 2020.

SimmeD [CC BY-SA]I’ve seen a lot of ink spilled by employment lawyers about how #MeToo, new overtime rules, medical marijuana, and salary history questions will be the significant issues with which employers would have to deal in 2020. The Federal Trade Commission and I have other ideas. Last week, the…

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A first-of-its-kind nationwide ban on non-competition agreements is coming. Possibly.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay In 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act into law. A bipartisan approach to creating a nationwide enforcement mechanism, the DTSA prohibits misappropriation of trade secrets in all 50 states. Fast forward to 2019, and the federal government is back at it again…

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Seven signs the non-solicitation and non-competition agreements your employees signed may be unenforceable.

User:VasilievVV and user:Jarekt [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsOne of the benefits of being a client of this handsome employment lawyer/blogger is a weekly email with links to recent HR news and notes, as well as a bonus HR-compliance tip. The rest of you deadbeats are stuck with only five free weekly…

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Does your company use no-hire agreements? Better call a lawyer. Maybe a criminal lawyer.

Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/vectors/resume-unemployed-job-unemployment-2163673/) In most states, non-competition agreements between an employer and employee are legal, as long as there is some form of consideration (like money) to support them. But, what about a no-hire or no-poach agreement; e.g., a ‘contract’ between two businesses where one (or both) agrees not…

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If you have non-competition agreements with non-exempt employees, now would be a good time to grab some pearls for clutching

Evan-Amos [Public domain], from Wikimedia CommonsSenator Marco Rubio (FL-R) has introduced legislation that, if it becomes law, would be a flamethrower to many of the non-competition agreements that you have with your employees. Have I piqued your interest? It’s called the Freedom to Compete Act. You can find a copy…

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A new Senate bill would make your non-compete agreements worth less than the paper on which they’re printed.

By US Army [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsLate last week, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation to ban employers and employees from entering into non-competition agreements. According to a press release from Senator Warren’s office, the Workforce Mobility Act would accomplish not only…

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Can a LinkedIn invitation to connect violate an agreement not to solicit?

  Your former employee, the one whom you paid an extra boat load of money to sign a non-solicitation agreement, just sent a bunch of LinkedIn invites to connect with some of your current employees. Has he violated his non-solicitation agreement? That was the precise issue in a case decided…

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A lesson on non-competes: What you don’t know, can’t hurt you. Until it does.

Ready, fire, aim. That’s the approach that many employers take when seeking to enforce a covenant not to compete with a former employee. Ready, fire, aim. When there’s a even a whisper that a former employee has gone to work for a competitor, the former employer often rushes into court,…