Yet another state has made it harder for businesses to implement restrictive covenants—this time with criminal penalties.
Colorado’s restrictive covenants statute already provides that it is unlawful to “use force, threats, or other means of intimidation to prevent any person from engaging in any lawful occupation,” and further states that non-competes are invalid unless they fall into one of four categories:
- Covenants made in connection with the purchase and sale of a business (or the assets of a business);
- Covenants made for the protection of trade secrets;
- Covenants for the recovery of expenses incurred in educating and training employees who were employed for less than 2 years; and
- Covenants for executive and management personnel (and their professional staff) and officers.
That has been the law in Colorado for years—but a new, draconian portion of the statute will go into effect in just over a month.
Continue Reading Colorado Criminalizes Attempts to Curb Competition
Thursday, January 27, 2022
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:
In a move aligned with California’s view of non-competes, the District of Columbia (subject to congressional oversight) will soon impose a complete ban on any employment covenant that restricts employment elsewhere at any time, even restrictions forbidding simultaneous employment somewhere else. On January 11, 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the 
In a strengthening of company contractual rights, the Louisiana Legislature recently expanded its state non-compete statute by permitting a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company to enter into agreements with their shareholders, partners, or members, respectively, that prevent them from becoming employees of a competing company under certain circumstances.
As we 
Legislators in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the site of Patrick Henry’s infamous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech, have enacted legislation that gives more liberty to low-wage workers looking to leave for greener pastures, joining the ranks of many other states that have passed similar restrictions (stay tuned for a post soon on Indiana’s own recently passed non-compete legislation application to physicians). While the new law was passed quietly, it’s not particularly surprising that the Commonwealth sought to join the trend of restricting non-competes for low earners (see for example similar efforts in