On March 18, President Trump fired both Democratic commissioners from the Federal Trade Commission—Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter—with a “your services are no longer aligned” email from the White House. This is not surprising. This administration has already fired leadership at the NLRB, EEOC, and other federal agencies. The goal is to reshape the…
New York is once again considering a broad ban on non-compete agreements, with a newly introduced bill (S4641) that refines—but still largely maintains—the sweeping restrictions that Governor Hochul vetoed last year. 🔹 What’s in the Bill? 1️⃣ Broad Definition of “Non-Compete” The bill applies to any agreement that restricts post-employment work, which could include forfeiture-for-competition…
Something that I did not have on my bingo card for Trump 2.0 is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continuing to, among other things, target noncompetition agreements. However, that’s exactly what’s happening. The FTC recently announced the formation of a Joint Labor Task Force focused on investigating and prosecuting alleged deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive labor…
Delaware courts made one thing clear: they won’t rewrite overbroad restrictive covenants to make them enforceable. Instead, they’ll strike them entirely. This trend was solidified in the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Sunder Energy, LLC v. Tyler Jackson, et al. In Sunder Energy, the plaintiff, a solar sales dealer, tried to enforce a noncompete against…
On October 14, 2024, the NLRB issued its report for the agency’s 2024 fiscal year. You can read the full report by clicking HERE. The number of election petitions has more than doubled in recent years. Indeed, between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024, the NLRB received 3,286 union election petitions, up 27% since…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is appealing a Texas federal judge’s decision to block its ban on employment noncompete agreements The appeal will be heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge Ada E. Brown of the Northern District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce…
Just ask Michael Hermalyn, a former DraftKings executive who tried to jump ship to work at Fanatics, DraftKings’ main competitor. An opinion from the First Circuit Court of Appeals shows that non-compete agreements remain enforceable, at least when it comes to high level executives. Before getting into the specifics of this case, it’s important to…
Texas federal judge Ada Brown permanently blocked the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) ban on noncompete agreements in employment contracts, setting aside the regulation with a conclusion that it’s beyond the agency’s authority. A copy of Judge Brown’s Opinion is attached to my LinkedIn post. So, let’s discuss how Judge Brown reached her conclusion of block…
Recall, the Plaintiffs in the Texas federal court case challenging the FTC Non-Compete Rule filed a Motion for Reconsideration. Per the attached order, the judge denied the motion. 🤷🏻♂️ What did the plaintiffs want the judge to “reconsider?” Originally, the plaintiffs asked the judge to stop implementation of the FTC Rule for the entire country.…
Let’s get right to the bottom line, and work from there. 1️⃣ What Did Judge Ada Brown Order 🧐 Judge Brown issued a preliminary injunction stopping enforcement of the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban, BUT the injunction is limited. Specifically, the injunction only applies to enforcement against the plaintiffs in the case. That’s it! The Memorandum Opinion…