The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found its first target under recent guidance issued in a memo from its General Counsel claiming that noncompete agreements may violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). According to Bloomberg Law, “[t]the NLRB’s first enforcement action against an employer’s noncompete agreement targeted a Michigan cannabis processor and ended with a recent private settlement resolving the alleged labor law violations.” (The enforcement action predates the guidance memo). Bloomberg obtained redacted documents from the case via a Freedom of Information Act request.As we previously reported, on May 31, 2023, the NLRB’s top lawyer, Jennifer…
On May 17, 2023, US Senator Rob Wyden (D-OR) announced the release of a long-awaited report on the US Government Accountability Office’s multi-year investigation into the use of noncompete agreements across the US labor market. In announcing the release, Senator Wyden said that the GAO report “highlights the problems of noncompete agreements – particularly their impact on limiting workers’ fundamental freedom to change jobs,” and pledged to “fight tooth and nail for fair labor laws that protect workers and promote the creation of new businesses in Oregon and nationwide.”In March 2019, Wyden and a bipartisan group of US senators…
Earlier this year, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it was launching the Disruptive Technology Strike Force (“Strike Force”) in an effort “to target illicit actors, strengthen supply chains and protect critical technological assets from being acquired or used by nation-state adversaries.” The DOJ’s initial announcement can be found here. The Strike Force is co-led by the DOJ and Commerce Department with the goal of countering efforts by hostile nation-states seeking to illegally acquire sensitive United States technology. On May 16, 2023, the DOJ announced criminal charges in five cases from five different US Attorney’s Offices in…
The California legislature is considering new legislation that proposes, among other things, penalties for an employer’s use of restrictive covenants as well as for attorneys who assist with their enforcement.
Assembly Bill 747 was introduced in February 2023 and, if passed, would make the following changes:The existing exceptions for restrictive covenants that are part of the sale of a business would be narrowed. Presently, any person who sells the goodwill of a business or who disposes of their ownership interest or other specified assets in a business may agree with the buyer to refrain from competing in the geographic…
