Earlier this year, we wrote a blog post about the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issuing its Non-Compete Clause Rule (“Final Rule”) which is meant to prohibit non-competition agreements nationwide.[1] To recap, noncompetition agreements (“non-competes”) generally are provisions in contracts whereby an employee agrees not to enter into competition with an employer after their employment period …
Nathan Sisodia
Cooperatives and Limited Cooperative Associations: Their Differences and When to Use Them
Introduction Cooperatives are a unique business model, emphasizing democratic control, equitable distribution of benefits, and member participation. Within the cooperative world, two common structures are cooperative corporations (simply “cooperative(s)”) and limited cooperative associations (“LCA(s)”). While these two forms share fundamental principles, they contain key important differences in their legal frameworks and operational flexibility. This blog …
Federal Trade Commission Issues Final Rule Banning Non-Competition Agreements
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued the Non-Compete Clause Rule (“Final Rule”) prohibiting non-competition agreements nationwide.[1] Noncompetition agreements (“non-competes”) generally are provisions in contracts whereby an employee agrees not to enter into competition with an employer after their employment period with that employer is over. While state statutes have targeted non-competes …
Demystifying Data Privacy: an Overview and Compliance Discussion of Major Data Privacy Laws
This blog post will explore the intricacies of major data privacy law frameworks applicable organizations and businesses, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). While these regulations may be specific to only those jurisdictions, they are important to understand because the CCPA is rooted in GDPR …
ESOPs and Cooperatives: A Comparison of Two Options of Employee Ownership Models
This blog post will explore two different employee ownership models – ESOPs and Cooperatives. It will discuss the distinctive features, advantages, and challenges of each model, and will briefly compare the two. Our hope is to help readers better understand these two models, and when either might be a suitable ownership structure for an organization …
Department of Labor Issues New Final Rule (2024) to Clarify Employee vs. Independent Contractor Status under FLSA
We previously wrote on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s 2021 rule publication regarding classification of employees and independent contractors in the context of gig workers. The DOL has again published a new final rule clarifying the test for determining the status of a worker as an employee or an independent contractor. For any business …
Reflections on Co-op Cincy and Cooperative Professionals Guild Conferences in 2023
I recently attended two cooperative-related professional events in 2023: the Co-op Cincy Union Co-op Symposium and the Cooperative Professionals Guild Conference. As someone relatively new to practicing law in the cooperative movement space, I wanted to share my reflections and thoughts following these very inspiring experiences. By starting as an associate attorney with JWPC in …
Worker Cooperative Board Compensation
Introductory note: this blog post will be discussing board compensation for worker cooperatives. It does not address other forms of cooperatives (purchasing, marketing, producer, etc.) which may not have the same issues as worker cooperatives regarding board compensation. When starting a business, among many of the decisions the organization must make is what to pay …
Nathan Sisodia – Pathways to Purpose
This is the fourth post in a series where the attorneys of Jason Wiener | p.c. will share the path that led them to purpose driven legal practice. This is Nathan’s story. *** I’ve always put very high value on the importance of community in my own life. But the moment I understood I wanted …
