By Dawn Mertineit 

Seyfarth Synopsis: It should come as no surprise to readers of our blog that restrictive covenants are facing significant headwinds.

The last decade or so has seen significant limitations on such agreements—mainly non-competes, but also other restrictive covenants such as customer and employee non-solicits and even non-disclosure agreements. These limitations—or proposed limitations—have come in

Continue Reading Is Maine the Next Frontier in the Effort to Ban Non-Competes?

Seyfarth Synopsis: By any measure, the world has changed vastly since we issued our first Commercial Litigation Outlook in 2020. We are now on our fourth installment of providing insights and flagging trends for what to expect in the coming year, and 2024 promises to be one for the history books.

Notably, AI has taken the commentariat, if not actual

Continue Reading Now Available! 2024 Commercial Litigation Outlook

By Jennifer L. Mora and Elliot R. Fink

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Earlier this week, by denying the employer’s motion to reconsider in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC, 372 NLRB No. 157 (2023), the National Labor Relations Board not only validated the applicability of its new Cemex standard, but also foreshadowed an intense appellate review process expected in the federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. This

Continue Reading Cementing a Path Forward: NLRB Denies Employer’s Motion for Reconsideration of Cemex, While General Counsel Provides Guidance on New Organizing-Friendly Standard

By John T. Ayers-Mann and Jennifer Mora

Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 30, 2023, the Biden Administration issued a sweeping order on artificial intelligence. Among its numerous provisions, the Order touches on several issues of interest to employers. For employers with labor-related concerns in particular, the most significant provision could be the impact of the provisions relating to surveillance of workers.

Continue Reading Sweeping AI Executive Order Has Labor Implications for Employers

By Alex Meier and Cary Reid Burke 

Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Labor Relations Board moved from theory to practice in this administration’s battle against restrictive covenants. Recently, the Regional Director of Region 9 of the National Labor Relations Board filed a consolidated complaint alleging that certain restrictive covenants contained in offer letters and policies in an employee handbook violated

Continue Reading We’ve Got a Test Case: The NLRB Files its First Complaint Challenging the Validity of Restrictive Covenants

By Molly Gabel and Rachael Reed

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 31, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board’s Democratic majority issued a decision in American Federation for Children, Inc. The ruling expands the scope of activities protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to include statutory employees’ efforts to advocate for nonemployees. To reach this outcome, the

Continue Reading NLRB Expands Section 7 Protections to Workers Who Advocate for Nonemployees

By Jamie RichLisa Nichols, and Joe Vento

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued its much-anticipated Cemex decision, which has broad implications for union organizing. It handed unions a win with a partial return to the Joy Silk standard.

Now, if a union demands recognition from an employer because it claims that it

Continue Reading Board Wipes Out Decades of Precedent with Card Check Requirements, Punts on Issuing “Captive Audience” Ban or New Rules About Employer Speech

By Sul Ah Kim and Cary R. Burke

Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) overturned established precedent and held that a facially neutral work rule is presumptively unlawful if a “reasonable” employee predisposed to engaging in protected concerted activity could interpret the rule to have a “coercive meaning.” Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB

Continue Reading The NLRB’s “Reasonable Employee” Definition Defies Common Sense: Time to Review Your Work Rules and Policies…Again

By Elliot Fink and Cary Burke

Seyfarth Synopsis: In The Atlanta Opera, 372 NLRB 95 (2023), the National Labor Relations Board overturned Trump-era precedent by modifying its independent contractor test and returning to the test announced by the Obama Board. The NLRB now will review a multitude of enumerated and non-enumerated factors when determining independent contractor status, with no

Continue Reading Dressing Up the Standard In a New Wardrobe: NLRB Decision Spells Curtains for Trump Board Independent Contractor Test

By Jennifer L. Mora and Jeffrey A. Berman

Seyfarth Synopsis: With a new President comes a shift in the balance of power at the National Labor Relations Board. To start, shortly after President Biden took office in January, the NLRB’s sole Democrat, Chairman McFerran, issued several dissents that provided a window into what the future would look like  under
Continue Reading Don’t Let the Pendulum Hit You as it Swings: NLRB General Counsel Previews a Pro-Labor Agenda