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Author Archives: Rich Van Nostrand
The FTC’s Proposed Ban On Noncompetes – Predictions
Following his election, President Biden issued “The Biden Plan for Strengthening Worker Organizing, Collective Bargaining and Unions,” in which he promised to work with Congress to “eliminate all non-compete agreements” with very limited exceptions. While a bipartisan bill, the Workforce … Continue reading
The Times They Keep A-Changing: The New Illinois Restrictions on the Use of Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Agreements
The state-by-state non-compete reform movement keeps rolling – this time in the state of Illinois. Effective January 1, 2022, the Illinois Freedom to Work Act has dramatically changed the landscape for employers in that state who desire to use non-compete … Continue reading
The District of Columbia’s Aggressive Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Likely to Take Effect in 2022
In December 2020, the District of Columbia Council passed and in January 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed legislation entitled the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the “DC Act”). While the effective date of the Act was delayed … Continue reading
The Summer of Noncompete Reform: Three Other New England States Get In On the Act – Part 2
Following the Massachusetts legislature’s attempt at reform of the use of employee noncompetition agreements last summer, three other New England states – New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island –passed their own noncompetition agreement reform bills in the summer of 2019. … Continue reading
The Summer of Noncompete Reform: Three Other New England States Get In On the Act – Part 1
Most readers are probably aware that the Massachusetts legislature, after a decade of starts and stops, passed a very detailed bill retaining but reforming the use of employee noncompetition agreements last summer. While we were the first New England state … Continue reading
More News on the Noncompete Front: Employers Should Still Expect Strict Scrutiny of Their Restrictive Covenant Agreements
In earlier posts, I reported on the passage of the new Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, which took effect on October 1, 2018. That Act significantly changed the law in this area, narrowing the permissible protections and imposing several new requirements … Continue reading
Posted in Non-Competition Agreements
Tagged Massachusetts, Non-Competition Agreements, noncompete
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A Rebalancing for Wage Act Claims and Class Actions?
Citing three Wage Act cases in 2018, I raised the question in this space whether the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was now taking a more pro-employer view. With appointees of Governor Baker now holding a majority of the Court, did … Continue reading
Posted in Wages
Tagged Chapter 149, Gammella v. P.F. Chang's, Massachusetts Wage Act, Wage Act
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WARN Act Violations ≠ Wage Act Violations
Early in 2018, the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, §148, was in the news with two noteworthy decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Bookending 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court closed the year with yet another decision narrowing the … Continue reading
Judicial Protection of the Employment Relationship: The Broad Reach of the Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Prohibition
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently had the opportunity to assess the limits of a statute designed to protect employees – the prohibition on employer retaliation against employees for pursuing Workers’ Compensation claims. The Court seized upon the unique facts of … Continue reading
Posted in Workers Compensation
Tagged Appeals, Bermudez, Massachusetts, retaliation, Workers Compensation
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Constructive Discharge Claims: Recent Appellate Decision Narrows Availability
In our defense of employers, we often see the situation where an employee who has quit makes the argument as part of the claim that the actions of the employer compelled the employee to resign. This “constructive discharge” argument can … Continue reading
Posted in Constructive Discharge
Tagged Appeals, Constructive Discharge, Employment Litigation, Flint, Massachusetts
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