Author Archives: Rich Van Nostrand

About Rich Van Nostrand

Rich is a partner at the Firm. He has extensive experience in general civil trial work, with concentrations in business, commercial and employment litigation. He provides advice and representation in a variety of business and commercial litigation matters, including shareholder disputes, corporate dissolutions, intra- and inter-company disagreements, and intra-family business disputes. Rich also provides ongoing employment litigation and counseling services to numerous clients in the private, public and higher education sectors. In the private sector, Rich represents clients in a broad range of industries including health care, professional services, high technology, industrial and manufacturing. In addition, he is also frequently selected by litigants to assist in the resolution of their disputes as an independent arbitrator or mediator.

The FTC’s Proposed Ban On Noncompetes – Predictions

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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The Times They Keep A-Changing: The New Illinois Restrictions on the Use of Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Agreements

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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The District of Columbia’s Aggressive Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Likely to Take Effect in 2022

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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The Summer of Noncompete Reform: Three Other New England States Get In On the Act – Part 2

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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The Summer of Noncompete Reform: Three Other New England States Get In On the Act – Part 1

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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More News on the Noncompete Front: Employers Should Still Expect Strict Scrutiny of Their Restrictive Covenant Agreements

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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A Rebalancing for Wage Act Claims and Class Actions?

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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WARN Act Violations ≠ Wage Act Violations

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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Judicial Protection of the Employment Relationship: The Broad Reach of the Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Prohibition

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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Constructive Discharge Claims: Recent Appellate Decision Narrows Availability

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Rich Van Nostrand

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 →

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