NLRB’s First Noncompete Case Is Window Into Enforcement Strategy

The NLRB’s first enforcement action against an employer’s noncompete agreement targeted a Michigan cannabis processor and ended with a recent private settlement resolving the alleged labor law violations.

Although the details of the settlement remain confidential, the complaint against Berry Green Management Inc. issued this year provides early clues about how National Labor Relations Board prosecutors will police employers’ use of noncompete contracts.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced that the agency would examine employers’ restrictive covenants with her May 30 memo saying noncompetes generally violate federal labor law. While her view of the law isn’t binding—that requires a decision ...