Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

Plaintiff Art & Cook, Inc., a cookware and kitchenware company, brought suit in New York federal court against a former salesperson, Abraham Haber, when a search of his work computer revealed that he had emailed to his personal email account two categories of documents alleged by Art & Cook to be trade secrets: (i) its customer contact lists and (ii) its designs and branding/marketing strategies. Although the court already had issued a temporary restraining order, in Art & Cook, Inc. v. Haber, No. 17-cv-1634, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164366 (E.D.N.Y. Oct 3, 2017), the court denied Art & ...

It is highly likely that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) will adopt a model data cyber security law premised largely on the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) cyber security regulations.  Recently, we discussed the NYSDFS’ proposed extension of its cyber security regulations to credit reporting agencies in the wake of the Equifax breach.  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced, “The Equifax breach was a wakeup call and with this action New York is raising the bar for consumer protections that we ...

The Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that referral sources in the home healthcare industry can be protected legitimate business interests under the state law governing non-compete agreements, thus finding enforceable such a restriction on a former marketing employee who left for a competitor.

Although the Florida statute in question (542.335) does not specifically list “referral sources” as one of the five categories of business interests subject to protection, the Court notes that those enumerated categories are prefaced by the phrase “including, but not limited ...

When: Thursday, September 14, 2017 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Where: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019

Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing will focus on the latest developments in labor and employment law, including:

• Immigration
• Global Executive Compensation
• Artificial Intelligence
• Internal Cyber Threats
• Pay Equity
• People Analytics in Hiring
• Gig Economy
• Wage and Hour
• Paid and Unpaid Leave
• Trade Secret Misappropriation
• Ethics

We will start the day with two morning Plenary Sessions. The first session is kicked off ...

It is fairly uncommon for a circuit court to opine on the reasonableness of a restrictive covenant. In Ag Spectrum Co. v. Elder, No. 16-3113, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14128 (8th Cir. Aug. 2, 2017), the Eighth Circuit issued a decision holding that an independent contractor’s non-compete was unreasonable and unenforceable.

Applying Iowa law, the Eighth Circuit explained that reasonableness depends on the circumstances, including consideration of several factors such as: (1) the employee’s closeness to customers; (2) the employee’s peculiar knowledge gained through ...

In a very thorough analysis following a 3 day Preliminary Injunction hearing Judge Jed Rakoff declined to issue injunctive relief to a former employer seeking to enjoin four former employees and their new employer from competing or from soliciting clients or employees. The decision is far ranging in the employee movement context touching upon inadvertent retention of confidential information, the propriety of new employers providing broad indemnifications and large signing bonuses to the recruits,  and the scope of allowable “preparatory conduct” in a one year non-compete ...

Featured on Employment Law This Week - An Illinois appellate court weighs in on social media and solicitation. The case involved a defendant who sent LinkedIn connection requests to three former coworkers, even though he had signed a non-solicit agreement. In considering whether social media activity violates non-solicitation agreements, other courts have drawn a distinction between passive social media activity and more active, direct activity. Though these requests were made directly to the former coworkers, the court in this case ruled that the content constituted ...

Nevada employers be advised: on June 3, 2017, Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law Assembly Bill 276, which amends Chapter 613 of the Nevada Revised Statutes and sets forth a new framework in which noncompetes are evaluated. The amended law includes the following four changes:

1. A noncompete is void and unenforceable unless the noncompete:
   1. Is supported by valuable consideration;
   2. Does not impose any restraint that is greater than is required for the protection of the employer for whose benefit the restraint is imposed;
   3. Does not impose any undue hardship on the employee; and
   4. Imposes ...