Employment Agreements

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Washington yesterday adopted a major shift in its approach to employee restrictive covenants. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1155 (ESHB 1155), approved by the Legislature in March 2026 and signed by the Governor yesterday, eliminates the use of noncompetition agreements in employment and independent contractor relationships beginning June 30, 2027 in specified situations including notices to existing agreement holders by October…

Continue Reading Governor Signs Washington’s New Noncompete Law: What Employers Should Know—and How to Prepare
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Virginia’s Senate Bill 170 (2026 Session) introduces new limitations on the enforceability of restrictive covenants by protecting employees who are terminated without cause. More specifically, the proposed amendment will render any non-compete unenforceable against an employee who was discharged from employment unless severance benefits or other monetary payments are made to the employee. The law is silent as to what…

Continue Reading Virginia Moves to Protect Laid Off Workers
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On February 3, 2026, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a short but highly anticipated order in North American Fire Ultimate Holdings, LP v. Doorly, reversing the Chancery Court’s dismissal of contract claims seeking to enforce restrictive covenants against a former senior executive. The decision clarifies that the existence of consideration supporting restrictive covenants must be evaluated at the time…

Continue Reading Let’s Start at the Very Beginning: Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms That Consideration for Restrictive Covenants Is Measured at Contract Formation, Not Time of Enforcement
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Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 1, 2026, new California law prohibits stay-or-pay clauses in contracts of employment with limited exceptions.

Under new Section 16608 of the California Business and Professions Code, effective January 1, 2026, employers are prohibited from entering into an employment contract or other contract relating to the employment relationship that requires an employee to repay any amount…

Continue Reading California Employment Contracts Must be Updated by January 1, 2026 for Stay-or-Pay Reforms
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We are pleased to share that Seyfarth attorney Josh Salinas authored the article, “Recent Developments in Employee Mobility, Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets 2025,” published on August 11, 2025, in the American Bar Association’s Business Law Today.

In the article, Josh examines key developments in employee mobility, trade secret protections, and restrictive covenant enforcement over the past year. He highlights…

Continue Reading Seyfarth’s Josh Salinas Authors “Recent Developments in Employee Mobility, Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets 2025” in ABA Business Law Today
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As jurisdictions around the country continue to impose limitations—or outright bans—on restrictive covenants, Florida is taking a decidedly different approach. The Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act (“the Act”) effective as of July 1, 2025 permits employers to use non-compete and garden leave restrictions up to 4 years in length with qualifying “covered employees,” along…

Continue Reading Florida Becomes Most Employer-Friendly State for Non-Competes
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In the wake of the Federal Trade Commission’s recently failed attempt to ban non-compete agreements between employers and workers,[1] individual states have once again taken up the mantle of further regulating and limiting their use. These states’ new efforts have appeared with greatest frequency in the health care sector. 

In states where noncompete laws have recently changed, legislatures appear…

Continue Reading Non-Compete Agreements in Health Care: A Rapidly Evolving Legal Landscape
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With the FTC Ban on non-competes essentially dead in the Courts of Appeal, various states and agencies have taken up the mantle to further limit or expand the use of restrictive covenants for certain populations in 2025. 

Below is a list of major legislative changes, judicial decisions, and agency actions at the state and federal level affecting non-compete agreements in…

Continue Reading Restrictive Covenant Law For The First Four Months of 2025
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As Republicans regain control of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) under the Trump-Vance Administration, employers that looked to maintain and enforce their non-compete agreements with employees may have found solace in the statements of certain FTC Commissioners who vocally opposed the FTC’s nationwide ban on non-compete agreements. However, recent statements by the FTC’s newly-appointed Chair, Andrew Ferguson, along with the…

Continue Reading FTC Launches Joint Task Force to Investigate and Prosecute Non-Compete Agreements, as FTC Chairman declares the GOP a “Workers’ Party”