Employment Agreements

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The North Carolina Business Court recently issued a decision that serves as a sharp reminder that California’s hostility to restrictive covenants can reach well beyond its borders—and attempting to enforce a void restriction may itself create liability.

BioSkryb, a North Carolina–based biotechnology company, removed one of its co-founders and former executives, Jason West, in 2024. Shortly thereafter, and following his…

Continue Reading Liability Knows No Borders: BioSkryb and The Extraterritorial Reach of California’s Section 16600.5.
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Thursday, June 18, 2026
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific

About the Program

When an employee resigns, what walks out the door with them? In today’s environment of remote work, cloud storage, and generative AI tools, the answer is often…

Continue Reading Webinar – Digital Exfiltration & Departing Employees: Protecting Trade Secrets in a Modern Risk Environment
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Dawn Mertineit, Marcus Mintz, and Michael Wexler, co-chairs of Seyfarth’s national Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes practice, are among the contributing authors to the Chambers Trade Secrets 2026 Global Practice Guide.

Mertineit, Mintz, and Wexler authored Chapter 13, “USA Trends and Developments,” examining the evolving US legal landscape governing restrictive covenants, trade secret protection, and employee…

Continue Reading Dawn Mertineit, Marcus Mintz, and Michael Wexler Author Chapter on US Trade Secrets Trends in Chambers Global Practice Guide
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Thursday, May 28, 2026
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific

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About the Program

Two years after the FTC’s landmark final rule on non-compete agreements, and more than a year after the rule was set aside by a federal court, employers…

Continue Reading Webinar – FTC Non-Compete Ban Two Years Later: Enforcement & Workarounds
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On March 5, 2026, we previously advised that Virginia’s Senate Bill 170 introduces new limitations on the enforceability of restrictive covenants by protecting employees who are terminated without cause. Effective April 13, 2026, that bill became law.

What Virginia Employers Need to Know

Non-competes entered into after July 1, 2026, will become unenforceable if the employer terminates the employee’s employment…

Continue Reading Virginia Enacts New Restrictions on Non-Compete 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