December 19, 2016
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N.D.A.'s- Should You Sign?

Non-disclosure agreements, or N.D.A.’s, are intended to protect proprietary information, including ideas and technology, from being stolen by employees, prospective employees, consultants, prospective investors, etc.  But if a server in a yogurt shop is asked to sign an N.D.A., has the trend gone too far?  (No, she did not sign, and still is working.)  A New York Times article notes that while some companies pitching ideas to investors continue to ask for N.D.A.’s, investors most often refuse to sign them.  Entrepreneurs nevertheless continue to pitch their ideas since, as the article suggests, the risk of delaying the funding process by obtaining legal assistance is more significant than the risk of being copied.  Also, from a practical perspective, enforcement of an N.D.A. is difficult since it can be costly for a small start up to litigate, and often boils down to a “he said/she said” scenario.  Noting a decline in N.D.A.s from a decade ago, the article offers some helpful guidelines.  Ultimately however, companies requesting N.D.A.’s, or those being asked to sign them, might find that consulting a lawyer with knowledge of non-disclosure agreements is the best practice, and can help evaluate whether an N.D.A. is appropriate in a specific case.

The First Recession for Women

August 11, 2020
Gender Discrimination
There is a new feature to the pandemic-induced recession that has decimated employment, manufacturing, child care, education, and just about every other facet of life. It is women, not men who are the most greatly affected by the force of the shutdown.

New York State Human Rights Law Invoked in Sexual Harassment Arbitration Case

August 11, 2020
Sexual Harassment
A split has appeared in how to handle sexual harassment cases with a New York trial judge ruling recently that the state’s Human Rights Law prevents companies and employees from entering arbitration over sexual harassment. This contradicts an earlier ruling in New York’s Southern District where a judge ruled that arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) supersedes New York’s statutory prohibition against arbitration.

The Week in FFCRA Complaints: Yet More Wrongful Terminations and Retaliation

August 10, 2020
Leave
Disability Discrimination
As we noted last week, employers seem not to have gotten the message on paid leave under FFCRA and the two notable cases that came up this week both involve employer retaliation and wrongful termination against employees who were protected under FFCRA.

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