You Signed a Form Contract, Now What?
Much is being made of the use of the so-called “archaic” word “Lodestar”, a 14th century word used by an anonymous op-ed penned by an anonymous White House official critical of the President, according to the Washington Post.
Recently our firm assisted a client with a devastating problem. The company discovered that their CFO, who had been in his position for more than 10 years, had fraudulently stolen over $750,000.00 through electronic funds transfers.
A recent case from the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland underscored the growing trend by courts across the country to limit the application of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. These agreements, typically referred to as “restrictive covenants”, are integral to many employment agreements. Restrictive covenants in employment contracts serve as a means of assuring the employer that its employee will not use his/her familiarity with the customers of the employer to take those customers and clients to a new employer. Even though they constitute a restraint against trade, most courts will enforce them provided that the limitations are reasonable, both in terms of the length of the prohibition as well as the geographic scope of the limitation.
February 11th is a date every employer in Maryland needs to know and prepare for right now. On that day, the new Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (the “Act”) takes effect. For many businesses, it will affect the nature and details of sick and safe leave that you must provide to your employees. It will add new levels of rules that may have a big impact on your current policies. And there are consequences if you don’t comply with the timetable that the Act requires.