Zombie Covenants: Have Non-Competes Returned From the Dead?

There can be no doubt that 2024 was a grim year for the traditional non-compete. There were increasing calls to scrap the venerable covenant at the state level and a looming ban by the Federal Trade Commission threatened to finish off the covenant once and for all. However, the covenant surprisingly bounced back from death’s door at the last minute and its obituaries appear to have been premature.

However, there can be no question that the non-compete’s future – and that of its companion covenants – remains clouded. The last few years have seen a seismic shift in the enforcement of restrictive covenants throughout the United States, with some states enacting or expanding bans to penalizing employers for pushing overbroad terms.

Join us to explore the current landscape, both at the federal and state level, to stay on top of these changes and to address what measures will work in the current environment to protect against unfair competition. Employers with workers in multiple jurisdictions that intend to rely on these covenants need to pay attention to these changes, especially as more employers rely on remote workers who are scattered throughout the country.

This program is offered compliments of Barnes & Thornburg's Labor and Employment group

1.0 hour CLE credit and 1.0 hour HRCI credit pending. This program is valid for 1.0 PDCs for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®