Employers often insist that key employees sign noncompete agreements to ensure the employee will not use information or customer contacts gained during the course of employment to benefit a competitor. In return, the employer offers the employee “consideration”—maybe extra pay or, more commonly, access to the protected information, which enables the employee to succeed on the job.
Each state has a unique set of laws governing noncompete agreements.
Generally, courts hearing lawsuits challenging the validity of noncompetes look to see if the agreements include overly broad restrictions on employees’ business activities or the geographic areas in which they may work.
WHAT’S NEW: Several states have recently changed their laws governing noncompetes. In other states, courts have responded to unusual sets of facts to render surprising decisions.
Perhaps the biggest change occurred recently in Georgia, where legislators approve...(register to read more)
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