Georgia Maps Out New Requirement For Employee Non-Solicits

On May 11, 2011, Georgia passed the Restrictive Covenants Act, which made enforcing employee restrictive covenants far easier than it was under Georgia common law. In an odd twist, a law that Georgia intended to make it easier to enforce restrictive covenants has made it more difficult to enforce employee non-solicits. On June 13 2023, in North American Senior Benefits v. Wimmer, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that an employee non-solicit must include an express geographic restriction-a requirement that previously did not exist under Georgia's common law regime. Employers should revise any restrictive covenant agreement accordingly to avoid a challenge to the enforceability of an employee non-solicit.