The General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer A. Abruzzo, recently issued a memorandum addressing non-compete agreements that violate the National Labor Relations Act. That memorandum explains that non-compete agreements are unlawful “when the provisions could reasonably be construed by employees to deny them the ability to quit or change jobs.” The General Counsel did note that employer concerns about proprietary or trade secret information could be addressed through a “narrowly tailored” agreement specifically focused on those issues, instead of using a broad non-compete agreement.

That memorandum can be found here.