Restrictive Covenant Charts
We know how hard it is to keep up with the ever-changing restrictive covenant requirements around the country. To help, we created several first-of-their-kind, regularly updated restrictive covenant charts (available for free).
We started with our 50-state noncompete survey chart in 2010. In 2021, we added a chart of noncompete notice requirements and a chart of noncompete low-wage thresholds (since expanded to cover new restrictive covenant wage thresholds and other criteria).
Each of our charts is updated on a regular basis, with a date at the bottom to reflect when it was last updated.
Collectively, they provide an overview of noncompete laws (in the 50-state survey chart) and then (in the other charts) greater details about the notice requirements for noncompetes and the wage criteria for all restrictive covenants in each state that has them.
For convenience, we made all three restrictive covenant charts available in one place here, so the latest version is just a button click away.
Trade Secret and Legitimate Business Interest Protection Plan Checklist
The ability to protect trade secrets, other confidential information, customer goodwill, and other legitimate business interests is a difficult task that requires planning, diligence, and dedication.
Advancing technologies and changing behaviors have heightened risk of loss of valuable information. And, an evolving legal landscape has simultaneously made dependence on the courts increasingly challenging.
The result? The need for a robust trade secret protection program is even more pronounced now than it was before.
To help, I we’ve created our a primer and (very long) checklist for companies to use as a guide – not prescriptively – to help think through the issues and quickly identify what they’re doing right and what they might consider doing differently.
The goal of the primer and checklist is two-fold:
First, while different companies will take different approaches, preventing the loss is always better than seeking a remedy afterward. The primer and checklist provides a starting point to help figure out what will work for your company.
Second, when loss cannot be prevented, courts are more inclined to help those who help themselves. Whatever steps a company takes to protect its legitimate business interests will increase the odds that a court will step in and help.
Training Videos
Also take a look at our Ten Minute Trade Secret Training Videos, designed to help companies and employees understand how to protect trade secrets, customer goodwill, and other legitimate business interests — and avoid the common mistakes that employers and employees make — throughout the employment lifecycle. (These are also available for free.)
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Podcast
Finally, join hosts, Ben Fink, John Marsh, and Russell Beck, of the Fairly Competing podcast for an in-depth discussion of the latest trends and hot topics, evolving federal and state laws, key developments, and other emerging issues in trade secrets, noncompetes, and employee mobility in today’s knowledge economy.
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We hope you find all of these resources useful. More are coming.
And please note that we are grateful for all of the input we’ve received over the years, and welcome any suggestions for improvements that you may be willing to share.