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
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
We are pleased to share that Seyfarth partner Dawn Mertineit authored the “USA Trends and Developments” section in the recently released Chambers Trade Secrets Global Practice Guide. This highly regarded publication provides timely insights and analysis on the evolving legal landscape of trade secrets law across the globe.
Dawn addresses the growing challenges businesses face in protecting their trade
Continue Reading Seyfarth’s Dawn Mertineit Authors “USA Trends and Developments” in Chambers Trade Secrets Global Practice Guide
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
On March 7, 2025, lawyers for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed motions requesting a 120-day stay of the agency’s appeal of district court decisions in the Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit, which had blocked the FTC’s proposed ban on non-competes (the “Rule”) in the Ryan v. FTC and Properties of the Villages (“POV”) v. FTC cases, respectively. The nearly-identical
Continue Reading FTC Requests Stay of Appeals to Challenges to FTC Non-Compete Rule Citing New Administration
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”
On February 14, 2025, NLRB Acting General Counsel William B. Cowan rescinded a number of active General Counsel Memoranda citing an increasing “backlog of cases [grown] to the point where it is no longer sustainable.” Among those rescinded were a pair of memos issued by recently ousted NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo that declare non-compete agreements between employers and workers
Continue Reading Acting NLRB General Counsel Rescinds Biden-Era Policy Guidance on Non-Compete Agreements
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
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
Join us for the final installment of Seyfarth’s 2024 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, where our panel will provide practical guidance on navigating non-compete agreements, safeguarding trade secrets
Continue Reading Webinar – What Employers Need to Know Regarding Non-Compete Changes in 2024
As we previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it is amending and reorganizing the document requirements for pre-merger notifications under the Hart Scott Rodino Act (“HSR Act”), 15 U.S.C. 18a, which also includes a requirement for buyers to indicate the existence of non-compete and non-solicit agreements among the businesses involved. The HSR Act and the associated
Continue Reading FTC Amends Pre-Merger Notification Rules Affecting Use of Restrictive Covenants