Mid-Term Restrictive Covenants: What is Sufficient Consideration?

To be valid and enforceable, an employment agreement with a restrictive covenant must be agreed to by the employee in exchange for something valuable – "consideration." When the restriction is first imposed at the commencement of employment, consideration is not a problem, because the employee receives a clear and obvious benefit: the job.

However, employers often come to the realization after hiring that certain employees should have executed an employment agreement with a restrictive covenant at the commencement of their employment, but did not. Other times, employers realize a current agreement needs updating. To accomplish this, employers often want to ask employees to sign "mid-term contracts" during their terms of employment. The question then arises as to whether continued employment is sufficient consideration for a mid-term contract. If it is not, what is?