Our colleagues Anthony Laura and Matthew Aibel, attorneys at Epstein Becker Green, have a post on the Trade Secrets & Noncompete Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the technology industry: "Jurisdiction to Pursue Non-Compete Claims in the Age of Remote Employees."
Following is an excerpt:
With remote access technology becoming standard across industries, companies readily engage a multi-state workforce, with many employees residing outside of the employer’s home state. While an expanded access to talent may be beneficial, one drawback is the ability to enforce restrictive covenants with out of state employees in a consistent manner and in the employer’s home state. The case of Numeric Analytics, LLC v. McCabe, et al., offers insight into that issue. 2:16-cv-00051-GAM (E.D. Pa. 2/9/16). …
One obvious solution to this problem is to have a forum selection clause in all employment agreements, especially those with out-of-state employees. Such a provision will usually control the analysis and enable a company to seek to enforce the agreements in its preferred locale. This case should serve as a cautionary tale for employers with remote employees and should remind all legal and human resource departments to check on the contracts they currently have with remote employees to ensure they contain forum selection clauses.