Confidentiality, Non-Disparagement, Non-Compete Restrictions

Labor and employment partner Ryan Funk and associate Alexander Preller coauthored an article for Indiana Lawyer that discusses the restrictions imposed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on how employers can contract with their employees.

Funk and Preller explain that the NLRB held in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No.58 (Feb. 21), that broad confidentiality clauses and non-disparagement clauses cannot be included in employee severance agreements. They add that NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued nonbinding guidance on the issue in March 2023, and in May the general counsel singled out non-compete agreements from this list, arguing that it violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The authors list circumstances when activities do not violate the NLRA and note that because the NLRB does not exercise jurisdiction over certain sectors, including the public sector and agriculture, many Indiana employers need not study and respond to these changes.

The full article is available for Indiana Lawyer subscribers.