The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently set its sights squarely on non-compete agreements in merger transactions, making them ripe for further scrutiny. In a Consent Order issued June 14, 2022, the FTC ordered GPM Investments LLC and its parent company ARKO Corp. to roll back provisions it deemed “anticompetitive” in GPM’s May 2021 acquisition of 60 Express Stop retail fuel stations from Corrigan Oil Company. Under the FTC’s order, ARKO and GPM agreed to limit the non-compete agreement that it imposed on Corrigan, and return five retail fuel stations in several local Michigan markets. This decision comes on the heels of a June 10th statement by the FTC’s Chair Lina M. Khan, joined by Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro M. Bedoya, warning businesses that contract terms in merger agreements that potentially impede fair competition would be highly scrutinized.
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House Introduces Legislation Restricting Confidentiality Provisions in Settlement Agreements
Last week, in connection with a House Oversight hearing, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation to restrict confidentiality provisions from covering claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. The “Accountability for Workplace Misconduct Act,” H.R. 8146, appears to be a federal effort to expedite the state-level trend to exempt discrimination, harassment, and retaliation information from confidentiality restrictions.
Over the last decade, lawmakers at the state and federal level have introduced and passed legislation designed to limit the reach of confidentiality provisions in certain circumstances. Those modifications include:
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US Department of Treasury Takes Aim at Non-Compete Agreements
On March 7, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury issued a report entitled “The State of Labor Competition,” (the “Report”)[1] making clear once again that the regulation of anti-competitive practices, including curtailing the use of non-competition covenants, continues to be a core component of President Biden’s agenda. The Report states that its purpose “is to summarize the prevalence and impact of uncompetitive firm behavior in labor markets,” focusing predominantly on practices that firms use to restrain competition for workers in order to lower compensation, including in particular no-poach agreements and non-compete agreements. Citing various research studies and data points, the Report asserts in particular that the lack of labor market competition decreases wages “at roughly 20 percent relative to the level in a fully competitive market,” noting in particular the impact of these practices on low-income workers, workers of color, women, and immigrants, and their contribution generally to income inequality and economic stagnation.
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Robert Milligan to Present Webinar on Non-Compete State Legislation for Strafford
On Wednesday, June 29, Robert Milligan—Seyfarth partner and co-chair of the firm’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes group—is presenting the “Noncompetes Under New State Law Restrictions” webinar for Strafford.
The panel will discuss the latest state legislative changes and case law trends regarding non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants in New York, California, Illinois, Washington, and other states and
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Webinar Recap! 2021 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Year in Review
In the first program in the 2022 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, Seyfarth attorneys Michael Wexler, Robert Milligan, and James Yu reviewed noteworthy legislation, cases, and other legal developments from across the nation over the last year in the area of trade secrets and data theft, non-competes and other restrictive covenants, and computer fraud. Plus, they provided predictions for what to
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Upcoming Webinar! 2021 Trade Secrets & Non-Competes Year in Review
What You Need to Know about the Recent Cases and Developments in Trade Secrets, Restrictive Covenants, and Computer Fraud
Thursday, January 27, 2022
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mountain
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific
In the first installment of the 2022 Trade Secrets Webinar Series,
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Seyfarth Partners Sign on to New Letter Urging Caution on Federal Regulation of Non-Competes
This July, several Seyfarth attorneys signed a letter in response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. On December 20, 2021, following the FTC’s and DOJ’s virtual workshop on “Making Competition Work: Promoting Competition in the Labor Markets” in early December, Seyfarth partners Dawn Mertineit, Robert Milligan, Kate Perrelli, and Erik Weibust
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2021 Trade Secrets Webinar Series: Takeaways & Recordings
Throughout 2021, our dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant trade secret and restrictive covenant issues facing clients today. This year’s series included:
- 2020 Year in Review: What You Need to Know about the Recent Cases and Developments in Trade Secrets, Non-Competes, and Computer Fraud Law
- Employee Termination & Data Repatriation in the Remote Work Environment
- The Connection Between Wage and Hour & Restrictive Covenant Law
- How and Why Texas is Different When it Comes to Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants
- Anatomy of an M&A Transaction: How to Issue Spot for Non-Compete, Trade Secrets/Confidential Information, and Intellectual Capital Concerns
- Overview of Non-Compete Legislation and Enforcement Issues from 2021
As a conclusion to our 2021 webinar series, we compiled a list of key takeaway points for each program. For those clients who missed any of the programs in this year’s series, recordings of all of our past webinars are available on the blog, or you may click on the link for each webinar below to view the online recording.
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Erik Weibust to Present “The Future of Noncompetes and What it Means for the Protection of Your Workforce and Trade Secrets: Part 1” for Thomson Reuters
On Thursday, October 7, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. EST Boston partner Erik Weibust will present a webinar for Thomson Reuters’ West LegalEdCenter entitled “The Future of Noncompetes and What it Means for the Protection of Your Workforce and Trade Secrets: Part 1.”
This is the first installment of a three part series, and will focus on recent developments in federal
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Seyfarth Partners Join More Than 50 Lawyers Nationwide to Recommend to the White House and FTC that Regulation of Non-Competes Should Be Left to the States
Along with 54 other lawyers and two paralegals from across the country, Seyfarth partners Kate Perrelli, Robert Milligan, and Erik Weibust recently signed a letter, penned by our friend Russell Beck, in response to President Biden’s July 9, 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which we previously wrote about. The letter, which
Continue Reading Seyfarth Partners Join More Than 50 Lawyers Nationwide to Recommend to the White House and FTC that Regulation of Non-Competes Should Be Left to the States