Question: Am I stuck under a non-compete agreement that my former employer forced me to sign? Before I went to work for this employer, I had twenty years of experience, and plenty of my own contacts. In fact, my new employer hired me because of my contacts and my sales experience.
Answer: If I were answering your question twenty years ago, I would say that your former employer had a very good chance of preventing you from working for your new company. However, almost twenty years ago, the courts significantly liberated the law from the perspective of the employee, and made it significantly more difficult for employers to enforce these “non-compete” agreements, which, in general, are considered a contract in restraint of trade.
Restraint on Trade
There are certain circumstances in which an employer can enforce these non-compete agreements. However, a critical requirement, now, is that the employer provides the court with a legitimate business interest that the employer is protecting. For example, if you have been exposed to certain trade secrets, or valuable confidential information that is generally not available to the public, the employer will likely have a legitimate business interest in protecting that trade secret of confidential information.
Specialized Knowledge or Training
Similarly, enforcement is possible if the employer provided you with specific marketing or specialized training, which may also qualify as a protectable business interest. However, the former employer will only be able to enforce the contractual restraint of trade to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate business interest. Thus, if you did not receive any specialized or extraordinary training by the former employer, if you were privy to any trade secrets or confidential information, and did not have access to confidential customer lists (and pricing information) that is not generally available to the general public, and was developed by the employer through significant expense, there is a good likelihood that you will not be prevented from working for the new employer. It should also be noted that, if the employer attempts to bring a claim for injunctive relief (to prevent you from working for the new employer) you may be able to recover attorney’s fees if you are successful in defending the claim.
Our advice to clients is to move strategically, and prepare your actions in advance. You want to be able to demonstrate to the Court that you took no actions constituting any effort to steal from or injure your employer.
If you have a situation requiring legal representation, get your no-obligation, free case evaluation or contact Corless Zinober, Florida Trial Lawyers, at 866-969-2889.
