Search for non-compete agreement
Articles (60)
Can they enforce my Non-compete if they Fired Me?
Non-competition agreements hit fired employees particularly hard, especially when the employer fires the employee without warning or cause. Non-competes hits fired employees with a second whammy, a ba...
applies to All States
Employee Poaching & Non-Compete Agreements
Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in non-compete litigation. This is not anecdotal— it is statistical. State and federal court dockets confirmed that non-compete litigation is...
applies to Florida
Overview of U.S. Non-competition Agreements
A non-competition agreement, also know as a covenant not to compete, is a promise by an employee not to compete with his or her employer for a specified time, in a particular place or in a particular ...
applies to All States
Help for Non-competition Problems
Non-competition agreements can block promising career paths. Even so, every state enforces them, but within limits. For help solving your non-compete problems, learn the limits. Neil Klingshirn has wr...
applies to All States
Fighting Florida Non-competition agreements
Many Florida employees believe that, just because an employer forced them to sign a non compete agreement or be fired, they are not bound by the non-compete agreement. That is just not true. Continued...
applies to Florida
List of Employment Law FAQs
Non-competition Severance pay Retaliation Sexual harassment Family leave Discrimination Wrongfully accused Overtime Tax Issues in Settlements Healthy Families Act Smoke free workplace Ohio non-compete...
applies to All States
Ohio Physicians and Doctor non-competition agreements
Non-competition agreements are generally disfavored in the medical profession, but they are not per se unenforceable. Ohio Urology, Inc. v. Poll (1991), 72 Ohio App.3d 446, 451; General Med., P.C. v. ...
applies to Ohio
Enforcability of Texas Non-competition Agreements.
To be enforceable under Texas law, a non-compete must be: ancillary to or part of an otherwise enforceable agreement at the time the agreement is made; to the extent it contains limitations as to time...
applies to Texas
Non-competition Agreements in Ohio - History and Law
History of non-competition agreements in Ohio As in other states, Ohio courts at one time viewed noncompetition agreements with some skepticism. Agreements in restraint of trade, including noncompetit...
applies to Ohio
Rescinding Non-compete Agreements after the Employer's Breach
Some states will not enforce a non-compete clause if the party seeking enforcement previously breached a material provision of the contract containing the covenant not to compete. The breach must be m...
applies to All States
Choice of Law in Non-compete Cases
Non-compete laws vary significantly from state to state. California law favors employees, while Ohio law recognizes and protects most employer interests. Thus, the law that a court chooses to apply to...
applies to All States
Enforcing Non-competition Agreements after the Sale of a Business
If an employer with non-competition agreements sells its business to a new buyer, the buyer does not necessarily acquire the old employer's/seller's rights in its non-competition agreements. The buyer...
applies to All States
Injunctions Barring Enforcement of Invalid Non-competes
Employers who enforce non-competition agreements have long sought temporary restraining orders (TROs) and preliminary injunctions to bar employees from violating valid non-competition agreements. Cour...
applies to All States
Florida's Statutory History for Non-Compete Agreements
Florida law governing non-compete agreements has gone through three major variations since 1953. The enforceability of a covenant not to compete under Florida law is governed by the law in effect at t...
applies to Florida
The Role of Contracts in Employment Law
Contracts play a central role in employment law. The most basic employment arrangement, at-will employment, is purely contractual in nature. Floyd v. DuBois Soap Co. (1942), 139 Ohio St. 520, 530-531,...
applies to All States
Indiana Non-competition Law
Indiana courts disfavor covenants not to compete, which they view as in restraint of trade. Harvest Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Inter-Ocean Ins. Co. 492 N.E.2d 686 (Ind. 1986). Indiana courts strictly constr...
applies to Indiana
Virginia Non-competition Law
Restrictive covenants are disfavored in Virginia as restraints on trade. Virginia courts will enforce restraints in non-competes only if the restraint is: reasonable in that it is no greater than nece...
applies to Virginia
California Non-competition Law
At one time California courts enforced contractual restraints on competition as long as they were reasonably imposed. However, in 1872 California adopted a public policy favoring open competition and ...
applies to California
Arizona Non-competition Agreement Law
Historically, Arizona courts viewed covenants not to compete unlawful restraints of trade. Eventually, Arizona courts began to enforce ancillary restraints on competition, such as those incident to em...
applies to Arizona
Illinois Non-competition Agreement Law
Illinois courts are reluctant to enforce restrictive covenants and scrutinize them carefully. Nevertheless, Illinois courts will enforce a restrictive covenant if it is ancillary to another transactio...
applies to Illinois
Michigan Non-competition Agreement Law
The Michigan Antitrust Reform Act generally prohibits any "contract, combination, or conspiracy between 2 or more persons in restraint of, or to monopolize, trade or commerce." Mich. Comp. Laws § 445...
applies to Michigan
Preliminary Injunctions in Non-competition Cases
A preliminary injunction is a court order, issued at the beginning of a case, which preserves the relative position of the parties while the case is pending. It usually remains in effect until replace...
applies to All States
Physician non-competition agreements in Michigan
Michigan non-competition agreement law states that an employer may protect an employer's reasonable competitive business interests, but its protection in terms of duration, geographical scope, and the...
applies to Michigan
Pennsylvania Non-competition agreements
“Non-competition” or “noncompete” agreements are one of a particular kind of contract, termed “restrictive covenants,” under Pennsylvania law. As in most states, noncompetition agreements ...
applies to Pennsylvania
Tortious Interference Involving Non-Competition Agreements
In most states, a third party cannot interfere with the contractual or prospective business relationships between two other parties, absent a proper purpose. This claim is known as “tortious interfe...
applies to All States
New York Non-competition Law
New York state courts enforce post-employment non-competition agreements under certain circumstances, but their examination of restrictive covenants is rigorous. New York courts adhere to a strict app...
applies to New York
Arizona paid holidays are not mandatory
In Arizona, employers in the private sector are not required to give employees paid time off for national holidays. As a practical matter, most employers pay for the major holidays to keep competitive...
applies to Arizona
Executive Orders affecting Unions issued by the Obama Administration.
President Barack Obama signed a series of executive orders in his first month in office favorable to organized labor. They include: Notification of employee rights under federal labor laws ; Economy i...
applies to All States
EEOC Time Limit for Filing a Charge of Discrimination
Before a sexual harassment or other discrimination victim can file suit in federal court, they must first file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Feder...
applies to All States
Massachusetts Employers must pay Accrued but Unused Vacation at the time of Discharge
The Massachusetts Payment of Wages Act defines “wages” to include “any holiday or vacation payments due an employee under an oral or written agreement.” The Wage Act requires employers to pay ...
applies to Massachusetts
At-will employment in Ohio
Unless otherwise agreed, either party to an oral employment-at-will agreement may terminate the employment relationship for any reason which is not contrary to law. Mers v. Dispatch Printing Co., 19 O...
applies to Ohio
Closing the Severance Pay Negotiation with Non-economic Terms
The amount of severance that an employer is willing to pay an employee, though usually the single most important item addressed in severance negotiations, is only one severance issue. Additional issue...
applies to All States
Implied Contract exception to Employment at-will
In general, under the employment-at-will doctrine, the employment relationship between employer and employee is terminable at the will of either. See At-will Employment . In Mers v. Dispatch Printing ...
applies to Ohio
Overview of American At-will Employment
American employment law is built on the foundation of at-will employment. Before any meaningful body of employment law existed, employment in America was at-will. Based in state contract law, at-will ...
applies to All States
The Role of Seniority in Employment Law
The concept of seniority has a high level of importance in employment law. For example, if there is a conflict between a bona fide seniority system and an agreement to settle a discrimination claim, i...
applies to All States
Trade Secrets Overview
A trade secret is information that is not known to the public, that its owner takes steps to keep from public knowledge and that has value because it is not known to the public. The owners of trade se...
applies to All States
Employee Benefits Overview
As a result of the employment relationship, employees are entitled to certain benefits, such as retirement and disability compensation, as a matter of law. In addition, once an employer decides to off...
applies to All States
Florida wrongful discharge law
Florida law does not recognize a “wrongful termination” or "wrongful discharge" claim, at least by that name. Florida is an at-will state, which means that an employer may fire, demote, hire, prom...
applies to Florida
Implied Contract exception to Employment at-Will
In general, under the employment-at-will doctrine, the employment relationship between employer and employee is terminable at the will of either. See At-will Employment . Even so, some state supreme c...
applies to All States
Massachusetts Wage Payment Act requires Payment of Earned Wages at the time of Discharge
The Massachusetts Payment of Wages Act defines “wages” to include “any holiday or vacation payments due an employee under an oral or written agreement.” The Wage Act requires employers to pay ...
applies to Massachusetts
Rights of an Ohio Employee who is a Minority Shareholder
A special exception to employment at-will doctrine applies to employees who are minority shareholders of close corporations. In their case, majority shareholders cannot terminate their employment with...
applies to Ohio
Arbitration of Employment Disputes
The federal arbitration act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq . and Ohio’s arbitration act ORC § 2711.01 et seq. , both direct a court to stay trial of a matter that is the subject of a written arbitrat...
applies to Ohio
Ohio Duty of Fair Representation in the public sector
A union owes all of its members a duty of fair representation. The union cannot discriminate against an individual or group of members regarding matters for which the union represents them. This inclu...
applies to Ohio
Discovery Plans for Employment Litigation
A court’s Rules of Civil Procedure (its “Civil Rules”) empower the parties to gather evidence, including that in the control of opposing parties and reluctant witnesses. The Civil Rules do this ...
applies to All States
Severance Pay can reduce Ohio Unemployment Compensation Benefits
Severance pay in Ohio can reduce or eliminate an employee's unemployment compensation benefits for the weeks that the severance pay is received. If an employer pays severance pay in a lump sum, the Oh...
applies to Ohio
Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act governs when Illinois employers must pay employee wages and commissions, prohibits most deductions from employee pay, requires notice for changes in pay an...
applies to Illinois
How to Value Claims for Severance Negotiations
This article describes a process for employment lawyers to use to place a value on a severance pay offer. It involves identifying claims, identifying the damages associated with those claims, discount...
applies to All States
Negotiating Severance Agreements
Parties bargaining to reach a mutually acceptable outcome must, as with any negotiation: Have a shared desire to resolve the dispute; Identify the interests at stake; Invent options for mutual gain; S...
applies to All States
How to Find and Select Good Employment Lawyers
Good employment lawyers are like good mechanics. They tell you what you need, suggest the best way to get it, are skilled at their craft and present you with a reasonable bill. Good employment lawyers...
applies to All States
Evidence in Discrimination Cases
Discrimination cases turn on the employer's motive for taking an employment action, like failing to hire or firing an employee. The employee must prove that the employer's bias against people in the e...
applies to All States
Overview of COBRA Health Insurance Continuation Rights
COBRA is a federal law that requires group health plans to continue covering an employee after the employee's employment has ended. COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act,...
applies to All States
Family and Medical Leave Act 2008 Rule Changes.
The Department of Labor issued final changes to its Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules, which took effect on January 16, 2009. These changes include the new leave related to military service me...
applies to All States
How to Hire a Competitor's Employees
Suppose an employee from a competitor applied for an open position with your firm. She did not take any trade secrets from the competitor and will not solicit her the competitor's customers. However, ...
applies to All States
Florida's Statutory History for Non-Compete Agreements
Non-Compete agreements have gone through three major variations since. Prior to 1953 1953 - 1996 1996 - Present The enforceability of a covenant not to compete under Florida law is governed by the law...
applies to Florida
Settlement Term Sheets not binding, Settlement Agreements are
January 22, 2020 Under New York law a financial services professional in his late 50s, who fires his first law firm then proceeds to mediation with a new law firm during which he signs a settlement te...
applies to New York
Frequently Asked Question about Non-competition Agreements
Mel's Frequently Asked Questions about non-competition agreements provides an overview of non-competition agreements. It reflects law common to most states, with the notable exception of California. F...
applies to All States
Employee Poaching & Non-Compete Agreements
This is the post related to employee poaching or raiding and non-compete agreements. This discussion addresses the widespread use of non-compete agreements in today’s economy, issues related to cont...
applies to Florida
10 Mistakes Virginia Workers Compensation Claimants Need to Avoid
I have been practicing Workers Comp Law for 30 years as a Virginia Workers Compensation Lawyer and these are the mistakes I see claimants repeat again and again which often means a denial of their com...
applies to Virginia
Josh Morrow Workplace Fairness Fund for Employment Litigation Court Costs.
The Josh Morrow Workplace Fairness Fund provides loans to attorneys representing employees in litigation against their employers. Loans must be repaid from any recovery but are generally forgiven if t...
applies to All States
3 Reasons to Get Things in Writing in Employment Law
Many people are excited at the prospect of a new job, and most do not predict it will lead to anything but income and perhaps some satisfaction at work well done. People do not usually expect for thei...
applies to California