NLRB Weighs in on Stay-or-Pay Agreements

Skip Sperry October 15, 2024Blog Leave a Comment

In a recent move following the McLaren Macomb case, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) general counsel (“GC”) issued guidance on October 7, 2024, indicating that “stay-or-pay” clauses may violate labor laws.

Key Points

The GC’s memo warns employers that employment terms requiring employees to stay for a set time or repay certain expenses could be illegal.
The GC plans to seek broader remedies for overly broad noncompete and stay-or-pay agreements.

Noncompete Agreements Under Siege

Skip Sperry June 13, 2023Blog 1 Comment

There has always been a tension between two important competing principles that underlie American law when it comes to noncompete agreements. First, is the freedom to contract, which gives individuals the right to bargain with others over nearly any topic and come to a good, bad, or indifferent deal. For example, employers argue that they should have the right to contractually protect their trade secrets and the time and investments they make in developing customer relationships and goodwill.

Defend Trade Secrets Act Sent to Obama for Signature

Skip Sperry April 29, 2016Blog 4 Comments

After passing the Senate (87-0) and the House (410-2), the bill known as Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) is off to President Obama for signature. Every indicator signals the President’s approval of this proposed law. The DTSA would amend the federal criminal code to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) trade secret theft occurs in the United States and around the world,