A recent decision from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals highlights some of the pitfalls of entering into commercial transactions without conducting thorough employment diligence – even in the asset purchase context.

In 2009, buyer (Roark-Whitten) purchased a hotel. Following the transaction, several employees of the hotel alleged management had discriminated against them. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a complaint against Roark-Whitten, alleging Title VII violations. During the pendency of the EEOC’s complaint, Roark-Whitten sold […]

In a welcome move for employers, Washington, D.C. has significantly scaled back its anticipated ban on non-competes with employees. In late 2020, the D.C. City Council passed the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act (the “Ban Act”) which would have imposed a near-total ban on non-competes for employees who work in the District. (Here is our summary of the Ban Act). This caused serious concerns for many employers, especially in the post-pandemic world where the […]