Employee noncompete restrictions are supposed to provide a company with a means to preserve its legitimate competitive interests when an employment relationship ends. But they can also be used by unscrupulous employers to make demands that outside of the guardrails of the judicial system would resemble extortion.
This post discusses a recent example of arguably
CVS Pharmacy Inc. sued online pharmacy retailer Capital Rx Inc., claiming the web-based business is trying to keep a former employee from working for CVS. The lawsuit, filed on 9/16/2021, claims Capital Rx’s noncompete agreement violates Massachusetts law.
CVS’ lawsuit highlights an all-too-common issue new hires often face – the surprise non-compete
A recent court opinion is a cautionary tale for business owners and entrepreneurs and their attorneys about the importance of protecting attorney-client communications. It is also a reminder of how easily that privilege can be inadvertently waived and the downstream impact it can have on noncompete disputes.
The court opinion comes from a
McDonald’s recently announced it terminated its chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, for having a consensual relationship with an employee. This termination presents a buffet of employment law and HR issues upon which one could devour. However, I want to focus on the non-compete restriction that Mr. Easterbrook ultimately agreed to upon ending his employment.
Despite a strong jobs report on May 3, 2019, wage growth continues to be a disappointment. See Axios post, “The Mystery of Sluggish Wages.”
I don’t have all the answers, but I can point to at least a partial explanation for this mystery; the employment market is often contractually rigged by employers
A common mistake employers make in protecting their business interests is poorly drafted non-compete agreements. And frequently that mistake involves drafting inconsistencies. As explained below, inconsistencies provide a foundation for challenging the scope or outright enforceability of a company’s non-compete restriction.
In this regard, we recently defended against Christian Financial Insurance/Christian Insurance Group, Inc.’s motion
The office share company WeWork Cos. reached a settlement with attorneys general of New York and Illinois over requiring most employees to sign over-broad noncompete agreements.
The Wall Street Journal, by Eliot Brown, reported that WeWork previously required most employees, including baristas and receptionists, to sign agreements barring them from working at similar businesses for
Will the playing field be leveled between employers and employees when it comes to non-compete agreements? Perhaps if anything comes out of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) hearings held last 9/13 and 9/14, which 
focused on how the agency’s competition and consumer protection approaches are working. One area of focus is whether enforcement practices need
On July 2, 2018, we defended against a motion for a preliminary injunction on behalf of our clients. Our clients were sued for allegedly breaching their non-compete agreements with their former employer and related claims.
As is often the case in non-compete litigation, numerous factual and legal issues were up for grabs when it came
An interview with a successful CEO offers business owners a chance to learn from a costly mistake involving employment agreements. This mistake could have doomed her company before it became a billion-dollar business.
Specifically, Therese Tucker is the CEO of BlackLine, which provides automated finance and accounting software. She also founded BlackLine and brought