We continue our annual tradition of covering legal trends and outlook for this year, focusing this week on employment and labor. Following several years of pandemic-focused legislation, we are now seeing a significant uptick in new employment legislation and emerging work-related trends across the country. The following are a few of the issues and trends
Noncompete
Covenants not to Compete: The End of an Era
On January 5, 2023, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan announced a proposed federal regulation that, if enacted, would invalidate non-competes and similar restrictive covenants that are routinely used by companies to limit a former employee’s professional activities post-employment. The proposed rule would not only ban the future use of non-compete clauses for workers…
A Look Back and Ahead: 2020 Employment Law Predictions
Our tradition includes using our first January post to make predictions about “what’s to come” in the year ahead. But first, let’s see how I did over the last year. “Time for 2019 Manufacturing Law Predictions: Drum Roll Please!” (Jan. 9, 2019).
I boldly predicted that on the federal level the government would…
Protecting a Manufacturer’s Competitive Advantage: Recent Developments in Post-Employment Restrictions
I have posted a few times here about using post-employment restrictions to preserve a manufacturer’s competitive advantage. See “Non-Compete Cautionary Tale” (Nov, 2, 2018); “I’m New – And It’s No [Trade] Secret” (Oct. 27, 2014) and “Even More Reason for Manufacturers to Update Their Employment Agreements” (June 15, 2015). …
Time for 2019 Manufacturing Law Predictions: Drum Roll Please!
When it comes to 2019 employment and labor developments for manufacturers, I predict ….
much more of the same.
The election of President Trump and a Republican controlled House and Senate in November 2016 brought a roll-back back from the aggressive enforcement policies of the Obama administration. Simply speaking, the Federal Government has limited or…
A Tale of Two Trends
James Madison groupies rejoice! All others can share my confusion.
Called the “Father of the Constitution,” scholars credit Mr. Madison for his significant role in the fundamental design of the United States Constitution, where power was distributed between the states and the federal government, and power within the federal government was distributed among three…
State Officials Investigate Use of Non-Competes – Manufacturers Take Notice
Regular readers know that a good part of my practice deals with the use of “post-employment restrictions” to prevent former employees from using, selling or distributing a company’s most valuable assets – its intellectual property. In one of my first blog posts on this site, I commented that the “explosion” of litigation in this area…
States (and Cities) Rush In Where Congress Fears to Tread
Some manufacturers may interpret the “Epic Fail” of Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act as a sign of stability in the labor and employment landscape. After all, one thing which the new Administration and Congressional Republicans had in common was their seven-year pledge to repeal “Obamacare.” When compared to the divergent views on other…
Never too Late for Some 2016 Employment Predictions!
While we are still saying “Happy New Year” (I checked and was told that January 21 was still “not too late” to wish good tidings for 2016), and as we get ready for the Great East Coast Blizzard of 2016, I thought it would be a good time to add my own predictions for…
Even More Reason for Manufacturers to Update Their Employment Agreements
In an increasingly competitive landscape, a manufacturer’s significant employees may hold the “keys to the kingdom.” Loss of such a worker to a competitor could have a substantial impact on future business growth. Many manufacturers invest significant resources to keep key employees and, by doing so, preserve their market advantage. Strategic use of employment agreements,…