Blogs

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Non-Competition Law After Home Paramount

The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision in Home Paramount Pest Control Companies, Inc. v. Shaffer continued to reshape the enforceability of restrictive covenants well after the original 2011 ruling. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that Home Paramount established a stricter approach to evaluating the “function” element of non-compete agreements, making overly broad restrictions far more vulnerable to challenge. The…

March 1, 2013

Employment Law

Using Consumer Reports as a Pre-Employment Screening Tool

Employers choosing to utilize the consumer report or “credit report” as a method of evaluating potential employees face a myriad of legal pitfalls. Both the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provide guidelines employers should follow to avoid potential legal liability. The usage of consumer reports as…

January 24, 2013

Employment Law

EEOC Discusses How Not Being Able to Graduate from High School Could Be Considered a Disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. The act was amended by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008 with final regulations being issued in March 2011. A significant change in the ADAAA was an expanded definition of “disability.” For an impairment to be considered a disability…

January 3, 2013

Business and Financial Services

Distinguishing Between Non-Competition Agreements in Employment Agreements and Those in the Sale of a Business

Virginia courts apply different standards to non-competition agreements depending on whether the restriction arises from an employment relationship or from the sale of a business. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that courts generally give greater deference to restrictive covenants tied to the sale of a business because those agreements are viewed as part of an arm’s-length transaction between sophisticated parties…

November 1, 2012

Employment Law

Maryland is the first state to ban employers from asking applicants and employees for online passwords

As a follow up to my most recent post about the media coverage of the emerging trend of employers asking or requiring job applicants and/or current employees to provide their Facebook or other social media passwords, Maryland just passed legislation on Wednesday that bans employers from asking applicants and employees for their personal online passwords.…

May 3, 2012

Employment Law

A Warning for Employers Requiring Social Media Login Information

A new trend that has emerged in the employment arena is employers asking applicants to provide their Facebook username and password or other social media login information during the interview process. Other employers are making compliance with this new policy a condition of employment. Many Facebook users have increased the security settings on their accounts…

May 2, 2012

Employment Law

Old Law Wins a New Case

Virginia courts apply different standards to non-compete agreements depending on the context in which the restriction appears. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that the Fourth Circuit reversed an Eastern District of Virginia decision in BP Products North America, Inc. v. Stanley because the trial court had evaluated a restrictive covenant in a real estate purchase agreement using the stricter standard typically applied…

May 1, 2012

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Narrows Employer Non-Competition Protections

Virginia employers received another warning in late 2011 that broad non-competition agreements were becoming increasingly difficult to enforce. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Construction & Land Use Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that the Home Paramount Pest Control Companies v. Shafer decision invalidated a non-compete provision that prohibited a former employee from working in nearly any capacity within the pest control industry. The court found the…

December 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Non-Competes in Virginia Civil Settlement Agreements

Virginia courts generally give greater deference to non-competition agreements arising from arm’s-length business transactions than to those imposed in employment relationships. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that civil settlement agreements may fall into that more favorable category because the parties are presumed to have relatively equal bargaining power. The article notes that Virginia courts are more likely to…

November 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Non-Competition Agreements and Independent Contractors

Virginia courts traditionally analyze non-competition agreements in the employment context, but cases involving independent contractors raise additional questions because the parties are not in a typical employer-employee relationship. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, James V. Irving explains that Virginia courts in 2011 enforced several non-compete agreements against independent contractors where the restrictions were narrow, reasonable, and…

September 1, 2011