In Part 2 of our tour of the history of trade secret law and developments since before Roman times, we pick up while Newton is inventing calculus.
As we ponder the best ways to protect trade secrets today, it’s good to have a quick reminder that this has been a long-term issue. So, we’ll take a two-part tour of trade secret law and developments from before Roman times to now.
A decision from last week, juxtaposed against two other recent decisions, highlights that the law of no-recruit agreements is, like the law of noncompetes, “a sea — vast and vacillating, overlapping and bewildering. One can fish out of it any kind of strange support for anything, if he lives so long.”
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated and is available here.
Eleven states plus Washington, D.C. have wage thresholds or other criteria that must be satisfied before a noncompete can be used. They are changing again. Will your noncompetes be compliant?
Eleven states plus Washington, D.C. now have wage thresholds or other criteria that must be satisfied before a noncompete can be used. Are your noncompetes compliant?
Washington, D.C.’s new noncompete law will take effect on October 1, 2022. See what you need to know.
A new federal bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to ban noncompetes — both retroactively and prospectively — for nonexempt workers.
Knowing the noncompete and trade secret laws across 50 states, plus D.C., is no easy task. And keeping track of the flood of changes in recent years makes it all the more difficult. Unfortunately, it’s not something you can ignore. Because of this, we have created several resources that make the task easier. We hope you find them helpful.
Given that good CLE programs can be hard to identify, I put together a list of a few upcoming, content-rich programs that I and leading practitioners, in-house counsel, experts, and others from around the country are participating in.
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated and is available here.
While most people reading this blog will know that California has a statute that bans noncompetes, it may come as a surprise that employers have dealt with that prohibition by turning to trade secret law for protection as far back as 1913 — even for low-level employees.
D.C.’s upcoming noncompete law says that it will apply as of October 1, 2022. But it is not scheduled to become “effective” until November 10, 2022. Where does that leave us?
Although five noncompete bills were pending before the Massachusetts legislature this year, none has passed.
Just as the D.C. Council was poised to walk back its 2021 unfunded noncompete ban and permit noncompetes for most people earning over $150,000, the D.C. Council amended the amendment to exempt broadcast industry employees, regardless of how much they earn. The final amendment is now with the Mayor.
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated for recent developments in Hawai‘i. It is available here.
In 2015, Hawai‘i passed legislation that banned the use of noncompetes and no-recruit agreements for employees of technology businesses. Seven years later, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court decided more changes were appropriate. See what it did.
The day an employee shows up for their first day of work is often the day they learn that a noncompete is a requirement of the job. But, according to a 2015 study by Professors Evan Starr, J.J. Prescott, and Norm Bishara, providing advance notice that a noncompete will be required actually leads to 11% more training and 6.6% more job satisfaction.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s seminal 1922 case, Sherman v. Pfefferkorn, remains relevant even today, despite being partially negated by statute.
D.C. is on the verge of walking back its noncompete ban, and putting in place a $150,000 wage threshold. The change is likely to be final in the next month and take effect October 1, 2022. Are you ready? You have some time, but you won’t want to miss the deadline.
In case you were wondering what states have changed their noncompete laws in the past decade or so, we have created a list with links to more information about each of the changes.
Our 50-state (plus DC) chart of noncompete laws has been updated for recent developments. It is available here.
The day an employee shows up for their first day of work is often the day they learn that a noncompete is a requirement of the job. But, according to a 2015 study by Professors Evan Starr, J.J. Prescott, and Norm Bishara, providing advance notice that a noncompete will be required actually leads to 11% more training and 6.6% more job satisfaction.
Eleven states now have wage thresholds or other criteria that must be satisfied before a noncompete can be used. Are your noncompetes compliant?