The Library

Virginia workers’ compensation law has long required that claims can only be compensable if they are “injuries by accident.” There are parts of the law that provide for compensation for “occupational diseases,” but the idea for injuries like sprains and contusions is that such injuries qualify under the Workers’ Compensation Act only if they occurred “by accident.” This has of course led to a great deal of judicial discourse on what constitutes an “injury by accident.” The upshot is that claims based on either repetitive trauma or cumulative trauma are not compensable. This was the state of the law for […]

Consider the following hypothetical: Ivan is an important employee of the ABC Company in Virginia. Ivan has been employed by ABC for 4 years and has learned a great deal of proprietary information. He is not subject to a non-compete agreement, but has signed an agreement not to disclose confidential information. With no prior notice, Ivan has unexpectedly tendered his immediate resignation. You have heard from a reliable source that Ivan has accepted employment with XYZ Company in Virginia, an aggressive and fairly new competitor. ABC’s President is livid. She believes that Ivan will “inevitably” use or disclose ABC’s trade […]

Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), signed into law by President Obama on May 11, 2016, private employers now have a powerful and unprecedented tool to help them in the fight against trade secret misappropriation. As previously mentioned in Part I of this series, the DTSA provides a unique remedy which was never an option under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.[1] This remedy is an ex parte seizure provision which allows for “the seizure of property necessary to prevent the propagation or dissemination” of trade secrets. Ex parte means that an employer may petition a court to seize the […]

The recent case of Lopez-Rosario v. Habib, 785 S.E.2d 214 (2016), demonstrates the sometimes devastating consequences of an Order that does not fully reflect what transpired at a hearing. In 2010, the parents of Ms. Lopez-Rosario, an adult, petitioned the Loudoun County Circuit Court to be appointed guardians of their child. The reason for the petition was that “Ms. Lopez-Rosario ‘[was] an incapacitated individual’” and needed someone to make medical decisions for her. While the facts of the underlying guardianship proceeding made clear that the purpose of having the parents appointed as guardians “was to enable Lopez-Rosario’s parents to make […]

One important new feature of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) is the duty imposed on employers to notify “employees” of the whistleblower and anti-retaliation protection provisions of the DTSA. In 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b)(3)(A), any agreement entered into or updated after May 11, 2016 with an “employee” that includes a provision that governs the use of confidential information must include a provision that explains the new criminal and civil liability immunity provisions provided to whistleblowers and the provision that expressly allows employees to use trade secret information in anti-retaliation lawsuits. This provision makes it clear that “any” […]

On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) which amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) (18 U.S.C. § 1831, et. seq.). The EEA has allowed federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges for the theft of trade secrets, but until the DTSA, there was no federal civil claim for damages or equitable relief. The DTSA addresses this problem and grants private companies (and other trade secret owners) the right to bring a civil suit to protect their trade secrets and recover damages, so long as the trade secret relates to a product […]

Happy (almost) summer. Before you head to the beach for a well-deserved vacation, we post this short article to update you on several substantive developments in the employment law world. New Overtime Regulations Effective December 1. As you know, the DOL has published its new overtime regulations that will take effect December 1,2016.  The key provision is that an employee needs to earn at least $47,476 per year to be exempt from the federal overtime requirements.  Gentry Locke recently hosted a webinar on the new regulations.  Please contact us if we can assist your organization in any way. EEOC Publication on […]

In 1986, Virginia adopted a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (VUTSA),[1] and employers have relied upon the VUTSA for years to protect some of their most important and sensitive intellectual property and know-how. As business operations have expanded outside of Virginia and the United States, differences in how trade secret laws have been applied have often resulted in an ineffective patchwork of protections.[2] As a result, many employers have continued to rely on written employment agreements that not only protect confidential information and trade secrets, but also limit the solicitation of customers and co-workers, and in some cases, […]

For at least 110 years, Virginia has followed the at-will doctrine that employees working under an agreement that does not specify its duration or require cause for termination may be separated from employment simply by being given “reasonable notice.”[1]  An open question in recent years has been “what constitutes reasonable notice under this at-will rule?” On June 2, the Supreme Court of Virginia decided this issue. The case involved a claim by a long-term employee (17-year tenure) who was abruptly terminated without any advance notice. The former employee argued that she should have been given some reasonable period of advance notice before the […]