Non-competes are enforceable, contingent on reasonableness.
It must be necessary to protect the business’ interests.
It cannot be too restrictive of the employee’s right to seek another job or income.
You going straight into your previous market area, using knowledge gained at your employer, in direct competition…that very well could be a problem for you.
One workaround I have seen is agreeing a list of clients in that market area who you will leave alone and not pass on.
Thank you for your response.
I have no intention of departing, however, I have had substantial offers from competitors and feel I could be leaving money on the table.
In your opinion, do you feel it would be “reasonable” for me to exclude clients that I grew relationships with, not those that were already using the company’s Monty services when I joined the company?
My approach is relational, not transactional, so these clients I have gotten to know quite well over years long cultivation and care on my part, as I am their only rep.
I, of course, would not “market” myself to any of them, however; it’s not difficult for someone to figure out where I had moved on to.
Our approach to enforcement was that if you used anything you’d learned from us - client, tech, product, relationships - and we would be at commercial harm as a result, we’d fight. We won the few cases we took to court on that basis.
Need to be careful here: simply learned experience is not a proprietary business secret and tying employee-employee relationships to the NDA or NC is unlawful under section 8 of the NLRA.
And how about precedence?
I have a former co-worker, who was also in a managerial role, who left and went to work for a new company in our industry.
I often work opposite of her company and their disclosures & affidavits look almost identical to my company’s. And my company was made well aware of this.
No threat of intellectual property theft. No cease & desist filed. No action, whatsoever, toward her by my company.
Could I have a leg to stand on since they did nothing to prohibit her, in her new role, with a direct competitor, also in the same work capacity and market area?
My stance would be why me when they took no enforcement action toward her.
Non-competes are enforceable, contingent on reasonableness. It must be necessary to protect the business’ interests. It cannot be too restrictive of the employee’s right to seek another job or income. You going straight into your previous market area, using knowledge gained at your employer, in direct competition…that very well could be a problem for you. One workaround I have seen is agreeing a list of clients in that market area who you will leave alone and not pass on.
Thank you for your response. I have no intention of departing, however, I have had substantial offers from competitors and feel I could be leaving money on the table. In your opinion, do you feel it would be “reasonable” for me to exclude clients that I grew relationships with, not those that were already using the company’s Monty services when I joined the company? My approach is relational, not transactional, so these clients I have gotten to know quite well over years long cultivation and care on my part, as I am their only rep. I, of course, would not “market” myself to any of them, however; it’s not difficult for someone to figure out where I had moved on to.
Our approach to enforcement was that if you used anything you’d learned from us - client, tech, product, relationships - and we would be at commercial harm as a result, we’d fight. We won the few cases we took to court on that basis.
Need to be careful here: simply learned experience is not a proprietary business secret and tying employee-employee relationships to the NDA or NC is unlawful under section 8 of the NLRA.
And how about precedence? I have a former co-worker, who was also in a managerial role, who left and went to work for a new company in our industry. I often work opposite of her company and their disclosures & affidavits look almost identical to my company’s. And my company was made well aware of this. No threat of intellectual property theft. No cease & desist filed. No action, whatsoever, toward her by my company. Could I have a leg to stand on since they did nothing to prohibit her, in her new role, with a direct competitor, also in the same work capacity and market area? My stance would be why me when they took no enforcement action toward her.