Category: Post-Employment Restrictive Covenants

The General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), Jennifer Abruzzo, has recently issued two memorandums significantly changing how employers must draft separation agreements and opining on the enforceability of noncompetition agreements. Can she do that?

Abruzzo has been busy. Within the last few months, she has issued two notable memorandums that could have significant impacts on how employers must comply with the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). It is important to note that certain provisions of the NLRA apply to all employers, not only those that currently have unions or are facing union election petitions....

Can employers require employees to accept confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations in exchange for severance pay?

Can employers require employees to accept confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations in exchange for severance pay?

Employee reductions and terminations are an unfortunate result of economic downturns. Even during good economic times, many companies face the need to reduce their workforce or terminate the employment of individual employees. In such circumstances, employers may seek to offer severance pay in exchange for certain releases and promises by the departing employee requiring a severance agreement. The drafting of...

How Important are Irreparable Injury Provisions in Non-Compete Agreements?

How Important are Irreparable Injury Provisions in Non-Compete Agreements?

Today’s workforce is more mobile than in past generations. Long gone are the days when an employee started and ended a career at the same company. Knowing how to protect your company’s confidential information when a trusted employee leaves can have a lasting impact on your ability to compete. So, what can you do when a former employee goes to...

A Matter of Protocol — Rules for Departing Brokers Trying to Solicit Former Clients

A Matter of Protocol — Rules for Departing Brokers Trying to Solicit Former Clients

Question:  We operate a financial services firm that employs account executives who execute investment trades on behalf of clients.  One of our brokers recently resigned to move to a competitor firm.  With his resignation letter, he included a list of clients he plans to solicit at his new firm.  This list includes clients with whom the broker may have had...

Quirky Question # 276: Ex-Employees Gone Rogue

Question: Our company uses agreements to try to protect our confidential and proprietary information. One of our former sales employees recently left us to work for a competing company.  We have evidence he took with him our confidential information about our clients and is planning to use it to sell products to our clients for his new employer.  When we reminded...

Question #273: Crafting a Concrete Non-Compete

Question: Our company uses non-compete and non-solicit agreements that bar former employees from having contact with any client of our company after they leave. One former employee who recently left is now claiming the agreement is invalid because it is “overly broad” in that it bars him from soliciting not only those clients of ours he used to work with,...

Question #272: Competing in California

Question: One of our company’s employees recently left to start a competing business. We think he started this process while he was still employed by us, and that he is probably using information he learned from us.  We’re in California, so I know we don’t have a non-compete agreement with him.  Do we have any other recourse?

Quirky Question #262, An update on Wisconsin non-competes

Quirky Question #262, An update on Wisconsin non-competes

Question: We are a Wisconsin employer that recently lost a number of employees to a direct competitor in our region.  As a result, we are now in the process of having all of our employees sign non-compete agreements prohibiting them from working for a competitor for a limited period of time after leaving our company.  Assuming that the non-compete agreement...

Quirky Question #237, Badger your employees to sign new non-competes?

Quirky Question #237, Badger your employees to sign new non-competes?

Question: We are a Wisconsin employer that has recently lost a number of employees to competing companies in our area. We’re worried our competitors are getting an unfair edge in the market, basically using employees we’ve spent time and resources training to compete against us. It doesn’t seem fair. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to us to have our employees sign...