10,000 Lakes and .  .  .  No Noncompetitive?  Minnesota Passes Law Banning Non-Competes Effective July 1, 2023

10,000 Lakes and . . . No Noncompetitive? Minnesota Passes Law Banning Non-Competes Effective July 1, 2023

As expected, on May 24, 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed a new law banning noncompete agreement in Minnesota. The ban will be effective for such agreements entered on or after July 1, 2023. By enacting the Omnibus Jobs, Economic Development, Labor and Industry appropriations bill (MN SF 30035), Minnesota becomes only the fourth state (along with California, Oklahoma and North Dakota) to ban noncompetitors. The new law renders void and unenforceable all covenants not to compete entered by employees or independent contractors on or after July 1, 2023. The only exceptions are noncompetitive agreements relating to the sale or dissolution…
Injury Lawyers Toronto |  Sokoloff Lawyers

Injury Lawyers Toronto | Sokoloff Lawyers

Sokoloff Lawyers are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy. Privacy Legislation:Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA . These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Sokoloff Lawyers. As a services firm, we have professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of…
Injury Lawyers Toronto |  Sokoloff Lawyers

Injury Lawyers Toronto | Sokoloff Lawyers

Sokoloff Lawyers are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy. Privacy Legislation:Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA . These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Sokoloff Lawyers. As a services firm, we have professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of…
Injury Lawyers Toronto |  Sokoloff Lawyers

Injury Lawyers Toronto | Sokoloff Lawyers

Sokoloff Lawyers are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy. Privacy Legislation:Since January 1, 2004, all Canadian organizations engaged in commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information incorporated by reference into PIPEDA . These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Sokoloff Lawyers. As a services firm, we have professional and ethical obligations to keep confidential the information we receive in the context of…
The NLRB Finds Unlawful Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements: Non-Disparagement, Non-Disclosure, Non-Allowed

The NLRB Finds Unlawful Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements: Non-Disparagement, Non-Disclosure, Non-Allowed

On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) continued its aggressive application of the National Labor Relations Act (“Act” or “NLRA”) to workplaces without union representation and lessened the value of severance agreements for all employers by finding it unlawful for an employer to merely proffer a severance agreement that includes broad non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions to an employee. in Mclaren Macomb, the Board held that a severance agreement that contained a confidentiality clause and a non-disparagement clause was unlawful because, in the Board’s view, these provisions impermissibly infringe on employees’ rights under the Act. Specifically,…
Trade Secrets Litigation: 2023 Update

Trade Secrets Litigation: 2023 Update

Thomson Reuters Practical Law has released the 2023 update to “Trade Secrets Litigation,” co-authored by our colleague Peter A. Steinmeyer. Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full article in PDF format): Trade secrets are often an employer’s most valuable assets. When an employee or former employee misappropriates an employer’s trade secrets, the employer frequently initiates litigation with several goals in mind, including: Preventing further unauthorized use or disclosure of its trade secrets. Recovering the trade secrets. Obtaining damages. This Practice Note discusses trade secrets litigation. In particular, it addresses: Preliminary steps to consider, such as sending a…
FTC Enforcement Actions Stake Out Aggressive New Position on Post-Employment Non-Compete Agreements

FTC Enforcement Actions Stake Out Aggressive New Position on Post-Employment Non-Compete Agreements

“Practices that three unelected bureaucrats find distasteful will be labeled with nefarious adjectives and summarily condemned, with little to no evidence of harm to competition. I fear the consequences for our economy, and for the FTC as an institution” – FTC Commissioner Christine S. Wilson The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) started 2023 with a bang. In addition to issuing a proposed Rule that would ban post-employment non-competes nationwide, the FTC announced that it had settled two previously undisclosed enforcement actions and entered into proposed consent orders with three employers based on a novel legal theory. According to the Complaints filed…
Comments to the FTC’s Proposed Noncompete Ban Due March 20, 2023 – and the Comment Period May Be Extended Another 60 Days

Comments to the FTC’s Proposed Noncompete Ban Due March 20, 2023 – and the Comment Period May Be Extended Another 60 Days

As previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a rule on January 5, 2023, that would ban non-competes nationwide. There are serious questions about the FTC’s authority to promulgate such a rule and many practical reasons why such a sweeping approach is unwarranted—in particular at the federal level. The period for submitting formal comments to the proposed rule lasts 60 days following the publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register. The FTC did not file the proposed rule with the Federal Register until January 18, 2023, and it will not be published until January 19, 2023, meaning…