As noted in our post, Ask 70 Trade Secret Lawyers and Paralegals about Noncompetes and Get One Opinion, the FTC and DOJ encouraged the submission of public comments following the “Making Competiti...
Happy holidays! Episode 13 of Fairly Competing is out! In this episode, John, Ben, and Russell take a look back on some of the more significant developments in trade secret and restrictive coven...
Once again, we have resounding unanimity on the issues and recommendations to the FTC and DOJ, as they consider whether to regulate (and if so, how) noncompetes, nondisclosure agreements, and other restrictive covenants. 70 lawyers who practice extensively in the area of trade secret and restrictive covenant law agree: federal regulation is likely inappropriate, definitely premature, and, in any event, should be limited.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) just completed their second workshop on competition.[1] Noncompetes are again squarely in the crosshairs. Here is what you need to know and what you need to do.
“Non-compete agreements that are unreasonable as to temporal length, subject matter, and/or geographic scope will be found to violate both federal and state antitrust laws.”
That’s new — especially because it’s from Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Christine Wilson.
But, at the end, Commissioner Wilson observed, “The elected officials in each state are best situated to weigh the costs and benefits of non-competes and make decisions tailored to the unique circumstances in their jurisdictions. . . . A federal solution at this time is premature.”
That’s new — especially because it’s from Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Christine Wilson.
But, at the end, Commissioner Wilson observed, “The elected officials in each state are best situated to weigh the costs and benefits of non-competes and make decisions tailored to the unique circumstances in their jurisdictions. . . . A federal solution at this time is premature.”
As we look at recent developments in noncompete regulatory efforts at the state and federal levels, it’s good to have a quick reminder of how we got here. We’ll take a quick tour of noncompete regulation from the Middle Ages to now.
As regular readers of this blog know, I focus on providing content and rarely suggest educational programs to attend. However, given that CLE programs are still remote and can be hard to identify, I t...
A recent paper, “The Ethics of Noncompete Clauses,” by University of Georgia Professor Harrison Frye, expands the policy discussion around noncompetes, and argues for a more thoughtful analysis. As Professor Frye details, seeing noncompetes “as solely advancing the interests of employers is myopic.”
Misconceptions about noncompetes abound. And, as noncompete agreements are increasingly in the cross-hairs of the media and legislators, it has become increasingly clear that some of the most vocal de...
Ask two lawyers for their opinion and you’ll get three opinions. But I asked almost 60 lawyers (and paralegals) and got only one opinion — consistent with the last time, when I asked 21 lawyer...
As of Friday (July 16, 2021), we again have competing approaches to federal legislation proposing limits on noncompetes. In addition to the previously reintroduced Workforce Mobility Act, proposing an outright ban, Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) have now reintroduced the Freedom to Compete Act to ban noncompetes for most workers who are not exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
The updates keep coming, but the information does not — well, at least not quickly. President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy is now available, but references noncompetes in only two quick sentences throughout the 46 pages. Those two sentences provide only a bit more guidance.
This afternoon, President Biden signed an “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” which included pushing for the regulation of noncompetes by the FTC. Based on his comments during today’s press conference (discussed in the post), we expect that any regulation will be balanced, focusing on regulating the abuses, rather than a throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater wholesale ban.
President Biden had said that he “will work with Congress to eliminate all non-compete agreements, except the very few that are absolutely necessary to protect a narrowly defined category of trade secrets.” However, he has now announced that he will issue an executive order pushing for the limitation or elimination of noncompetes.
I am pleased to announce that the 6th edition of my book, Negotiating, Drafting & Enforcing Noncompetition Agreements & Related Restrictive Covenants, is now out!
Another Congress, another federal noncompete bill: Four Senators and one Congressman have reintroduced a federal bill to ban all employee noncompetes.
A few days ago, I posted a long article on President-elect Biden’s proposed national partial ban of noncompetes and what to do about it: President Biden’s Proposed Ban of (Most) Noncompetes: Protection Strategies and Steps to Take Now.
To long? Here’s the summary.
To long? Here’s the summary.
Protecting trade secrets, confidential business information, goodwill, and any other recognized legitimate business interests does not happen by accident. Companies need to plan. And, when one of the key tools is taken away (i.e., noncompetes), they need to look more closely at the remaining options to ensure they have the protections they need and that fit their circumstances. We discuss them in this post.
Once again, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy are pushing for federal regulation of noncompetes. By way of background, starting in 2015, a few U.S. Senators (Senators Warren and Murphy inc...
Given the recent changes to Indiana law and Virginia law, both of which take effect on July 1, I have again updated my 50 State Noncompete Chart. The chart is now current through June 27, 2020. A...
With the continuing unfolding of the COVID19 pandemic, I remain particularly focused on identifying resources that I hope will be helpful to people while they try to cope with the new reality (hence t...
The FTC conducted its first workshop on noncompetes on January 9, 2020. An opportunity for the public to submit comments remains open until March 11, which is only two weeks away. I attended the wo...
Thursday is approaching! As mentioned in our last post on the subject, the FTC will be holding a hearing on January 9, 2020 (at 8:30 a.m. at its Headquarters Building, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,...
Happy New Year! On January 9, 2020, the FTC will be holding a hearing (at 8:30 a.m. at the FTC’s Headquarters Building, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC) “to examine whether there is...