As we recently reported, Virginia recently joined Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington in passing a new law restricting the use of non-competes against low-wage earners (DC legislators made a similar attempt last year, but there has been no movement on those efforts). Now, Indiana has joined the growing number of states that have recently enacted legislation to restrict the permissible scope of non-compete agreements, although Indiana’s new non-compete law ignores the low-wage issue and instead focuses on a particular occupation: physicians.
Continue Reading A Check-Up on Non-Competes: Indiana Legislature Passes Law to Facilitate Physician Mobility

On March 7, 2019, a group of six United States senators from both sides of the aisle submitted a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a federal investigation into the use of non-compete agreements on the basis that their widening use in recent years raises concerns about their negative impact on both workers and the national economy.  Specifically, the letter asks the GAO to assess the following three questions:

  1. What is known about the prevalence of non-compete agreements in particular fields, including low-wage occupations?
  2. What is known about the effects of non-compete agreements on the workforce and the economy, including employment, wages and benefits, innovation, and entrepreneurship?
  3. What steps have selected states taken to limit the use of these agreements, and what is known about the effect these actions have had on employees and employers?

Continue Reading U.S. Senators Request Review of Non-Compete Agreements by the Government Accountability Office

An employee who had executed a two-year non-compete was let go.  He returned to work 10 days later but was not asked to sign a new agreement.  More than two years after his return, he was terminated and became an employee of a competitor.  A lawsuit seeking to enforce the non-compete was dismissed on the ground that it had expired.
Continue Reading Ten-Day Interruption In Employment Necessitates New Non-Compete

By Ryan Malloy and Joshua Salinas

The Court of Appeals of Indiana recently reversed and remanded a 2008 suit brought by the North American Boxing Council (NABC) against HDNet LLC (HDNet), in which the NABC alleged that HDNet stole its idea for a mixed martial arts (MMA) broadcast series after the parties had discussed a broadcast arrangement that never materialized
Continue Reading Indiana Appellate Court Finds That Indiana Uniform Trade Secrets Act Preempts Common Law Misappropriation and Civil Conversion Claims In Mixed Martial Arts Broadcasting Dispute

Soda cans

Shortly before leaving the employ of Swanel Beverage, Inc. (a manufacturer of soft drinks, juice products, and energy beverages), Bodemer — Swanel’s national sales and marketing manager who “was involved with almost every facet of Swanel’s business” — incorporated Innovative Beverage, Inc.  Right after Bodemer resigned from Swanel, Innovative commenced operations as a competitor.  Then, he and Innovative filed a
Continue Reading Indiana Federal Court Holds That A Confidentiality Agreement Without Any Limitations Violates Indiana Law And That A Suit For Misappropriation Cannot Be Brought By A Plaintiff Who Uses A Trade Secret With Permission But Does Not Own It

Indiana and several other states statutorily prohibit employers from “blacklisting” former employees, that is, attempting to prevent them — whether they were discharged or resigned — from obtaining subsequent employment. Responding recently to certified questions from the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court held that former employer Loparex, LLC did not violate the statute when it

Continue Reading Employer Who Sued Former Employees to Enforce Non-Competition Clauses Did Not Violate Indiana’s Blacklisting Statute

A recent Indiana Court of Appeals opinion, designated as non-precedential, discussed that state’s law concerning non-competition agreements. Most significant, the court upheld a commitment not to solicit the employer’s current or recent customers for two years even though the covenant contains no geographical limitation. However, provisions precluding any “contact with” such customers, and forbidding acceptance of “referrals of” them, were “blue penciled.” The

Continue Reading Indiana Court Upholds A Covenant Not To Solicit Recent Customers, But Prohibitions Against Contact or Accepting Referrals With Such Customers Are Stricken