The two states recently have enacted restrictions on noncompete agreements being used in certain professions.

In Maine, on June 1, 2023, the Governor signed into law LD 688/HP 457, entitled “An Act to Protect Access to Veterinary Care by Prohibiting Noncompete Agreements.” The act amends Maine Revised Statute title 26, § 599-A, which already prohibits an employer from entering into a noncompete with an employee if the employee is earning wages at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The new amendment expands the noncompete ban to licensed Maine veterinarians, with a carve out for those with an ownership …

Now on Spilling Secrets, our podcast series on the future of non-compete and trade secret law:

Trade secrets and non-compete litigation can result in massive damage awards, but those cases can also be unpredictable. Many viable trade secret claims went unexplored due to financial limitations or a lack of willingness to invest in litigation.

Attorney and Spilling Secrets host Erik W. Weibust and three special guests—Epstein Becker Green’s Managing Partner, James P. Flynn; Stephanie Southwick of Omni Bridgeway; and Mary Guzman of Crown Jewel Insurance—discuss the monetization of trade secrets litigation.

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Tune in to Spilling Secrets, a …

New York State may soon join the growing list of restricting jurisdictions or banning noncompete agreements. On June 7, 2023 the New York State Senate passed S 3100A (the “Bill”), which would prohibit employers from seeking, requiring, demanding, or accepting certain noncompete agreements.

If adopted and signed into law, the Bill would significantly change the landscape for New York employers, in part because the legislation uses broad–and sometimes vague–definitions. The Bill defines “non-compete agreement,” as “any agreement, or clause contained in any agreement, between an employer and a covered individual that prohibits or restricts such as covered individual from obtaining …

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found its first target under recent guidance issued in a memo from its General Counsel claiming that noncompete agreements may violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). According to Bloomberg Law, “[t]the NLRB’s first enforcement action against an employer’s noncompete agreement targeted a Michigan cannabis processor and ended with a recent private settlement resolving the alleged labor law violations.” (The enforcement action predates the guidance memo). Bloomberg obtained redacted documents from the case via a Freedom of Information Act request.

As we previously reported, on May 31, 2023, the NLRB’s top lawyer, Jennifer …