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Articles Posted in Trade Secrets

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What’s the worst that could happen to a former employee who hacks your network and lies to the feds about it?

Well, I don’t know if it’s the worst, but getting sentenced to 24 months in prison for a network intrusion and making false statements to a government agency sounds pretty bad. I was reading about this situation last night, and it sounded like something I would have blogged about before.…

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Noncompetition Agreements and Restrictive Covenants in New York

In June, the New York Senate approved this bill prohibiting noncompetition agreements and certain restrictive covenants. I wrote that the days of noncompetition agreements in New York “are as limited as the Knicks’ chances of winning another NBA title.” Oops. There are multiple reports, among them this one from Judy Greenwald…

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The “E” in injunction stands for “evidence.” (Who’s gonna tell him there’s no…)

  Ready. Fire. Aim. That’s often the approach companies take when they learn that a former employee with restrictive covenants like a noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreement has gone to work for a direct competitor. Many rush into court demanding that a judge enter a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction…

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New York is inching closer to banning non-competes

In January, the Federal Trade Commission proposed eradicating most non-competition agreements. Last month, while the National Labor Relations Board doubled down on efforts to eliminate these restrictive covenants, the State of Minnesota voted to eliminate them starting in July. Now New York is poised to become the fifth state to…

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The Labor Board’s top attorney wants to void non-competes that violate labor law. Hot take: meh.

Yesterday, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo claiming that the “proffer, maintenance, and enforcement non-compete provisions in employment contracts and severance agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act except in limited circumstances.” Other labor and employment lawyers may forebode the end for most non-competes. Me?…

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Choose your words carefully when using noncompetition agreements

  Many courts are generally reluctant to enforce noncompetes. And sometimes employers make their tasks even easier. For example, I read a state appellate court decision last night in which a company tried to enforce a three-year, thirty-mile noncompete against its former nurse practitioner that would prevent her from “provide[ing]…

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You may have an overly-broad UNENFORCEABLE restrictive covenant NOT TO COMPETE if…

As we wait patiently for the comment period on the Federal Trade Commission’s proposal to ban employers from imposing non-competes to close next month, I’m here to tell you now that your business’s non-competition agreements may be dead on arrival anyway. I’ll explain why. Most states that greenlight non-competition agreements do so with…

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The FTC is slowing its roll on its proposal to ban noncompetes. And lawsuits are in the queue.

On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission delayed any potential implementation of its proposal to ban employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers by extending the public comment period. With the extension, the FTC will now accept comments on the proposed rule until April 19. The deadline was March 20. The…

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Step aside, FTC. A bipartisan group of Senators has renewed legislation to ban most noncompetes

Who knew the handcuff graphic would get so much use in 2023? And it’s only the beginning of February! Early last month, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule prohibiting employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers. I wrote all about it and then spent another hour talking about it.…

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Join us at 1 PM ET today (1/9/23) on Zoom to discuss the FTC’s new proposed noncompete ban

On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule prohibiting employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers. I wrote about it on Friday and spent the weekend reading all 216 pages of the official “Non-Compete Clause Rule Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.” So, let’s discuss it on Zoom today. Click here…