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What I've Been Reading This Week: Non-Compete Edition


Non-compete agreements have become one of the emerging employment law topics as of late, as I have started to come across more and more articles on the matter.  In fact, an in depth analysis of a Nevada Supreme Court case from earlier this year was especially thought provoking and one that lead me to want to dedicate this post solely to this topic.  Even for the casual reader who does not come across non-competes often, there are a couple articles here that I think are worth a review.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Jimmy John's to Pay Illinois AG $100,000 Over Use of Non-Competes for Hourly Employees

Samantha Bomkampt at The Chicago Tribune wrote an article earlier this month in regard to Jimmy John's agreeing to pay $100,000 and notify all current and former employees that it would not enforce their non-compete agreements.  Readers might remember that controversy had arisen last year when it became known that Jimmy John's had non-compete agreements with its sandwich makers (and hourly employees) that prohibited them from working for a competitor for two years following employment at Jimmy John's.  The Illinois Attorney General subsequently brought suit against Jimmy John's on the grounds that the non-competes were "highly restrictive".  I would certainly call this outcome a favorable result for those who opposed the use of non-competes for these hourly workers.


Employers Take Note: Non-Compete Reform Is On the Horizon

It should not come as much of a surprise that non-compete reform is one of the hotter employment law related topics as of late (along with the minimum wage fight).  Sarah DeFranco notes that Illinois, Idaho, Massachusetts, and New York have all taken steps over the past year to spur changes to the enforcement of non-competes in their states...to the detriment of employers.  This article is worth a quick read for those interested in changes at the state level, as well as what could be expected in the coming year.


Nevada Supreme Court Takes Hard Line Approach to Non-Competes

Earlier this year, the Nevada Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Golden Road Motor Inn Inc. v. Islam case and held that if a non-compete is held to be unreasonable in any way, a court is to not reform or modify the agreement but instead find it wholly unenforceable.  The National Law Review has a well thought out analysis of the case and the implications of just how far reaching this decision ultimately is. 

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