As employers strive for that little edge to stay ahead of their competitors, restrictive covenants – clauses that limit an employee’s ability to work for a competitor, solicit and/or service their employer’s customers, contract with their employer’s vendors, and/or entice away their employer’s staff – have become increasingly common in all types of work environments and for all levels of employees. From my business clients I know that these clauses are valued for their deterrent effect, even if the employer does not intend to actively enforce them in most situations. But from my representation of departing and departed employees, I have also seen the dark side of such covenants, with employers who threaten departed employees and imperil their status with their new employer by claiming a breach of covenants that are of questionable enforceability. Read More
