Employers have been using restrictive covenant agreements
– contracts that contain non-compete, customer
non-solicitation, employee non-solicitation, or non-disclosure of
confidential information – with increasing frequency in
recent times. Increased media attention on the practice of forcing
lower-level employees to sign non-compete covenants, combined with
the widely publicized report on non-compete restrictions issued by
the Obama White House in its waning days, has led to an increase in
the number of reported cases. Further, several states are passing
new laws or considering changes to existing laws on the
subject.
These agreements can benefit your company by protecting key
relationships, preserving your investment in training, and
shielding confidential information from disclosure. The downside,
however, is that recruiting talent into your organization has
become more complicated because your competitors are likely also
using restrictive covenant agreements.
