John Viola Highlights New California Noncompete Agreements
April 8, 2024
In a new article for Law360, Los Angeles partner John Viola discusses the impact of recently passed California legislation that further restricts employers' ability to enforce non-compete agreements with employees. The new laws apply retroactively and require employers to notify current and former employees that any existing non-compete agreements they have are void.
John notes that this creates challenges in mergers and acquisitions, where non-compete agreements are often used to prevent employees from leaving and taking clients or trade secrets with them. The new law makes it more difficult for acquiring companies to protect their investment. Tech companies in particular may be impacted, as much of their work involves trade secrets and proprietary information. Nondisclosure agreements focused on protecting trade secrets may be a better option under the new laws.
Read the full article here (subscription required).