A recent noncompete case from Minnesota offers a cautionary tale for employers and cause for celebration for employees.
The case, Safety Center, Inc. v. Stier, (11/6/17), involved an employer that ran a treatment center for special-needs sex offenders. The employer sought to enforce its noncompete agreement against a former program director (Stier).
The noncompete
Amendments to the Michigan Business Court S
tatute go into effect today, October 11, 2017. These amendments primarily focus on clarifying the cases that are to be assigned to business courts.
Also, the statute was amended to clarify a Business Court’s jurisdiction to hear business disputes involving equitable or declaratory relief. The amendment now clarifies
One advantage employers often have when it comes to non-compete disputes is time; Employers may win the war without ever doing battle simply by running out the clock. This point was a central issue in a case pending before the Michigan Court of Appeals that our law firm recently argued.
Specifically, on October 4, 2017,
Using Linked for your job searches? Your employer may also be monitoring your LinkedIn profile to find out the same in order to take preemptive action. If this sounds like an HR remake of the sci-fi movie Minority Report, you wouldn’t be too far off.
In that movie, Tom Cruise played a detective in
Non-compete agreements are intended to prevent unfair competition. But they often create unfair advantages against employees and start-ups. And these unfair advantages adversely affect individuals and the overall economy. At least that is the take-away from a recent op-ed in the New York Times.
Specifically, Prof. Orly Lobel wrote in
Last week, ESPN laid off 100 employees. This included well-known SportsCenter anchors and popular writers who are subject to noncompete restrictions. A lot of ink has been spilled about the causes for these layoffs. See, for example,
A lot of ink has been spilled about the causes for these layoffs. See, for example, ESPN is
According to the US Labor Department, employers added 156,000 jobs last month. Additionally, the participation rate increased to 62.9%. And the average hourly earnings moved 0.2 percentage points. These figures indicate a steadily increasing U.S. economy. But the Labor Department also found that the unemployment rate last month increased from 4.9% to 5%.
A
Earlier this month a federal district court judge entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a former Panera executive and his new employer, Papa Johns. The TRO arose out of a lawsuit to enforce the former Panera executive’s non-compete agreement. That agreement restricted him from competing against Panera for one year after his employment ended.
Using a broad brush to draft noncompete agreements that are applied universally to a company’s workforce is increasingly coming under fire. And this exposes companies to unnecessary litigation risks, as well as legal fees associated with enforcement costs.
A recent example of involves Law360 and its settlement with the New
Texting as a reckless activity is well-documented when it comes to driving. It is also noted as an increasing health hazard for “petextrians” (pedestrians who are texting, clever huh?) according to Ben Zimmer of the Wall Street Journal in his article “What Do You Call a Reckless Texter?”
But can it be “reckless”