On September 4, 2025, the FTC announced an enforcement action and proposed settlement with Gateway Pet Memorial Services (the “Company”), a pet cremation company, over the Company’s overuse of post-employment non-competes with certain terms it found concerning. At nearly the same time, the FTC withdrew its appeals pending in the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits of
Non-Competes and Protection of Corporate Assets
Florida on Verge of Enacting Employer-Friendly Non-Compete Law
UPDATED July 7, 2025
The bill became law on July 4, 2025.
Florida lawmakers recently passed the Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act (the “Act”), which would create a presumption that covered non-compete and garden leave agreements are enforceable. If it is approved by Governor Ron DeSantis, or allowed to…
Tenth Circuit Rules Forfeiture-for-Competition Not Subject to Non-Compete Reasonableness Test
By Seth Safra & Jake Lee on
In Lawson v. Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the forfeiture of certain stock awards for violating a covenant not to compete. Like the Seventh Circuit in LKQ Corp. v. Rutledge(which applied Delaware law), the Tenth Circuit concluded that, under Kansas law, the remedy of…
Virginia Strengthens Ban on Non-Competes for “Low-Wage Employees”
By Steven J. Pearlman & Scott Tan on
On March 24, 2025, Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin signed into law S.B. 1218, which amended Virginia’s non-compete law to expand the definition of “low-wage employees” with whom employers may not enter into non-competition agreements.
A “low-wage employee” previously was defined as any employee whose average weekly earnings fell below the Virginia average weekly wage. For…