Noncompete and Employee Compliance Category Archives — Kang Haggerty News Published By Kang Haggerty LLC

We are often asked by our clients for non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements (often referred to as NDAs) in the transactional setting as well as in litigation settlement agreements – but what if the employment contract or settlement includes provisions regarding a discrimination claim?

Effective as of March 18, 2019 in New Jersey, lawyers must be wary of employment or settlement agreements that include any provision that “has the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of discrimination, retaliation or harassment.” If a provision is contained in a settlement agreement to which the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) applies, it is unenforceable against the employee. If the employee chooses to reveal claim specifics in a way that the employer is “reasonably identifiable,” the employer may likewise reveal formerly confidential information. In fact, such settlement agreements must contain a bold, prominently placed notice that “although the parties may have agreed to keep the settlement and underlying facts confidential, such a provision in an agreement is unenforceable against the employer if the employee publicly reveals sufficient details of the claim so that the employer is reasonably identifiable.” Continue reading ›

In the November 8, 2018 edition of The Legal Intelligencer, Edward T. Kang, Managing Member of Kang Haggerty and Kandis Kovalsky, Associate of Kang Haggerty, co-authored “When Noncompete Agreements Involve Competing Laws.”

These days, it is common for companies headquartered or principally located in one city and state to have multiple offices and employees throughout many cities and states in the country, and even the world. Companies in this position will often require their employees to sign contracts with both forum selection clauses and choice of law provisions. The forum selected is usually where the company is headquartered or principally located. Likewise, the choice of law provision often calls for application of the laws of the forum state. Companies have a strong interest in uniformity and predictability when it comes to legal disputes. Litigating matters in different courts throughout the country under different laws is not something that is desirable or productive.

In situations where employers also make their employees, or certain employees, agree to restrictive covenants, particularly noncompetes, companies expect the same uniformity and predictability regarding their enforceability as to each employee, regardless of where the employee works or lives. Employees, on the other hand, often expect (as we learned through a recent case) that even with another state’s choice of law provision, they will still be afforded the protection of the laws of their own state. This disconnect is no clearer than where non-California headquartered companies hire California residents as employees and require them to sign noncompetes governed by another state’s law. In California, noncompete agreements are generally unenforceable (with some limited exceptions). This is well-known, particularly by California residents. So, what happens in this situation if the California employee violates their noncompete? Continue reading ›

Articles Posted in Noncompete and Employee Compliance

NJ Law Against Discrimination Affects Drafting and Enforcement of Some NDAs

Legal Intelligencer: When Noncompete Agreements Involve Competing Laws