Many times, an employee is required to sign some form of a “restrictive covenant” as a condition for getting hired. For example, these restrictive covenants can be labeled a “non-compete agreement,” which attempts to prevent a former employee from working for another employer in the same field and can severely limit a departing employee from working at a better job in their field of expertise.
Another type of restrictive covenant can be a non-solicitation agreement, which prevents a former employee either from soliciting former employees or clients to work for or do business with the departing employee.
Another restrictive covenant can be an acknowledgement not to disclose what the employer considers to be its trade secrets or confidential information.
The employer’s stated reason for these agreements is to protect against trade secret or other confidential information disclosure; however, many times these are non-compete agreements improperly drafted and used to prevent an employee from advancing their career through a better job.
Our firm has successfully defended former employees against their employer’s improper attempts to use all forms of restrictive covenants against former employees.