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Forfeiture For Competition Survives Delaware Challenge
The enforceability of non-compete provisions continues to be in the national spotlight. In a recent Delaware Supreme Court decision...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Apr 9, 20242 min read


DOL Announces Final Rule Affecting Independent Contractor Classification Under FLSA
In January 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule that changes the test for determining whether a worker is an...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Apr 2, 20246 min read


Why the Debate on Privacy Law Matters to Business
Personal data is used by a broader range of entities for a broader range of purposes daily. Privacy and data security issues are...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 26, 20243 min read


Law Imposing Criminal Liability Against Employers Requiring Arbitration Agreements Struck Down
The Ninth Circuit found a California law that prohibited employers from requiring employees to sign an arbitration agreement as a...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 19, 20241 min read


Using Warrants to Get A Deal Done
An essential part of scaling for start-ups and emerging companies is the strategic use of investment tools. Stock options and warrants,...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 12, 20245 min read


Selling Stockholder’s Non-Compete Invalidated
A Delaware court of Chancery invalidated a non-compete entered into as part of a business sale. The court held that the restrictive...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 5, 20242 min read


Sleeper Berth Time Compensable
A U.S. District Court judge ruled in a suit involving long-haul truck drivers that sleeper berth time exceeding eight hours per day is...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 27, 20241 min read


DOJ Incents Voluntary Self-Disclosure in Safe Harbor Policy for Mergers and Acquisitions
Under the new policy, companies that timely and voluntarily self-disclose criminal misconduct uncovered during their pre-acquisition due...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 20, 20242 min read


Indirect Evidence Reinstates Age Discrimination Case
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has reversed a summary judgment granted an employer on a claim of age discrimination asserted by a...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 13, 20241 min read


Carve-Out Transactions
Carve-out transactions allow owners to divest non-core business units for value creation. Businesses have increasingly embraced...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 6, 20245 min read


Website Review Manipulation Is Deceptive
A claim was brought over a company’s practice of suppressing reviews on its website. The company asked for the case to be dismissed. The...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 30, 20241 min read


Wholesaler Inside Sales Reps Entitled To Overtime
A wholesale plumbing and heating product supplier must pay its inside sales representatives overtime. The Court ruled that they did not...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 23, 20241 min read


NLRB Weakens Secret-Ballot Elections
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has ended 52 years of Board law that had previously enshrined the secret ballot...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 16, 20244 min read


Internal Compilation Of Labor Rates Is A Trade Secret
A company sued two former employees and asked that the Court forbid them from using its internal compilation of its labor rates. The...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 9, 20241 min read


Work Generated by Artificial Intelligence Alone Is Not Eligible for Copyright Protection
As more businesses seek to use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate content, it is vital to understand the scope of copyright...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 2, 20243 min read


Contract Choice of Law Does Not Defeat Chapter 93A Claim
A Chapter 93A count was dismissed from a contract lawsuit based on the contract's choice of law clause. That clause said New York law...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 26, 20231 min read


Trade Secret Theft Creates Triple Damages
A jury found two defendants liable for their former employer's misappropriation of trade secrets. The judge found this violated Chapter...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 19, 20231 min read


Internet Privacy Litigation Creates Issues for Websites Using Third-Party Technology
Consumer privacy litigation based on websites is skyrocketing. This is due to two appellate court decisions involving whether a website’s...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 12, 20235 min read


Impact of Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling on Employers
The Supreme Court overturned its precedent and held that the goal of achieving a diverse student body cannot justify using race as a...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Nov 30, 20233 min read


FTC Proposes New National Regulations for Automatic Renewals
Several states have recently passed new automatic renewal laws (ARLs) that regulate continuing or renewing contracts for goods and...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Nov 28, 20233 min read
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