Our colleagues Erik W. Weibust, Peter A. Steinmeyer, and Stuart M. Gerson co-authored an article in the Legal Backgrounder, published by the Washington Legal Foundation, titled “After 200+ Years Under State Law, FTC Proposes to Sweep Away All Noncompetes in Unauthorized Federal Power Grab.”
Following is an excerpt:
Continue Reading FTC Proposes to Sweep Away All Noncompetes in Unauthorized Federal Power Grab
Thomson Reuters Practical Law has released the 2022 update to “Non-Compete Laws: Connecticut,” a Q&A guide to non-compete agreements between employers and employees for private employers in Connecticut, co-authored by our colleagues David S. Poppick and Elizabeth S. Torkelsen, attorneys at Epstein Becker Green.
Continue Reading Connecticut Non-Compete Laws: 2022 Update
Thomson Reuters Practical Law has released the 2022 update to “Non-Compete Laws: Illinois,” a Q&A guide to non-compete agreements between employers and employees for private employers in Illinois, co-authored by our colleagues Peter Steinmeyer and David Clark, Members of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice.
Continue Reading Illinois Non-Compete Laws: Q&A for Employers, 2022 Update
Perhaps we were wrong. Or perhaps we were just not thinking creatively enough. After President Biden issued his “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” in which he “encourage[d]” the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “consider” exercising its statutory rulemaking authority “to curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility,” we assumed that Lina Khan, the 33-year-old Biden-appointed Chair of the FTC (and a vocal opponent of noncompetes), would take the torch and propose a Rule prohibiting, or at the very least severely limiting, the use of noncompetes. And she may still do so.
Continue Reading Companies That Use Noncompetes Face Increased Risk of Government Action Following FTC’s Unilateral Expansion of Its Enforcement Powers
As we previously reported, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill in May making substantial amendments to Colorado’s noncompete statute, C.R.S. § 8-2-113. Governor Jared Polis signed the bill on June 8, 2022, meaning the amendments will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on August 10, 2022, which is only four weeks away. That may sound like a long time, but it will go by quickly.
Continue Reading Only One Month Until Dramatic Changes in Colorado’s Restrictive Covenants Law
We wrote recently about a proposed bill that was introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly on May 2, 2022, which would limit certain provisions in restrictive covenants, and a bill that was passed the following day by the Colorado Senate and is expected to go into effect in August that would likewise limit the enforceability of noncompetes and other post-employment restrictive covenants. Not to be left out, members of the Connecticut General Assembly recently introduced House Bill 5249, which would limit the applicability of noncompete agreements in that state as well. The bill is very similar in many respects to the noncompete law passed in 2018 in Massachusetts, and likely borrowed heavily from that law. Here are the details:
Continue Reading Connecticut Legislature Seeks to Codify Limitations on Noncompetes
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which encourages the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to employ its statutory rulemaking authority “to curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility.” Executive Order, Section 5(g). While the language in the Executive Order refers to the “unfair” use of non-compete clauses, the Administration’s explanatory statement makes clear that “the President encourages the FTC to ban or limit non-compete agreements” altogether.
A comprehensive rule governing non-competes would be an unprecedented move by
Continue Reading Biden Issues Executive Order Encouraging Federal Action to Limit or Ban Non-Compete Agreements
Oregon’s Senate Bill 169, signed May 21, 2021 strengthens Oregon’s existing restrictions on noncompete agreements. Unlike Oregon’s 2019 law which imposed new notice requirements on employers seeking to enter into enforceable noncompetes, Senate Bill 169’s changes are more subtle though just as impactful.
Previously, noncompete agreements which failed to comply with Oregon’s statutory requirements were “voidable.” Senate Bill 169 declares noncompliant noncompetes entered into after January 1, 2022 “void” ab initio. This seemingly minor change may carry significant legal consequence if it ends up reducing the circumstances in which a former employer can sue for tortious interference.
Other
Continue Reading Oregon Law Refines Restrictions on Noncompete Agreements
New Jersey may be poised to become the latest state to adopt strict procedural and substantive requirements on post-employment non-compete agreements. Assembly Bill No. 1650, if passed, would substantially overhaul New Jersey’s laws regarding post-employment non-compete agreements by, among other things, limiting the types of employees against whom a non-compete agreement is enforceable, as well as limiting the time, scope and geographic region of a non-compete agreement. Assembly Bill No. 1650 still permits post-employment non-compete agreements so long as the agreements are “not broader than necessary to protect the legitimate business interests of the employer.” The bill suggests that
Continue Reading New Jersey Legislature Considering Strict Procedural and Substantive Requirements for Post-Employment Non-Compete Agreements
On February 25, 2021, the Workforce Mobility Act, a bipartisan bill to limit the use of non-compete agreements, was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Scott Peters (D-Cal.).
This year’s Workforce Mobility Act is the latest of several attempts in recent years at the federal level to restrict non-compete agreements through legislation. Despite bipartisan support at times, none has passed either the Senate or the House. Will there be a different result this time around?
There may be
Continue Reading Another Bill in Congress Seeks to Limit Non-Competes – Will This One Go Anywhere?