Limiting Competition and Protecting Your Company: Non-Compete Agreements 101
What Is a Non-Compete Agreement? A non-compete agreement is a contract between an employee and his or her employer, and it restricts an employee from working with other employers in a similar field (i.e., “competing”) after departing the business. These agreements generally impose a time limitation on how long the ex-employee must avoid competing and typically restrict competition within a specified territory or region. Why Do I Need a Non-Compete Agreement? Non-competes can provide many benefits to startups, such as greater assurance that their confidential information, intellectual property, trade secrets, and other proprietary information will not immediately fall into the hands of a competitor; their customer relationships will be protected; and their training investment will not benefit another company. But not all non-competes are enforceable. When a non-compete gets challenged in court, most courts will look to see whether the limitations are reasonable given the circumstances of the employment. Some states, on the other hand, consider non-competes to be void unless they meet narrow exceptions. For example: Tennessee does not have any statute or regulation that generally governs non-competes in employment. But, it does have statutes and regulations that govern health care provider non-competes, and its courts have held that non-competes that attempt to restrict attorney competition are unenforceable. Georgia generally only allows non-competes to be used if: the employee is in sales, is a key employee or professional, the employee is involved in some form of management as covered by Georgia’s non-compete statutes, or if the employee regularly solicits customers for the employer. California is stricter than both Tennessee and Georgia, as non-competes are all but unenforceable except for extremely limited circumstances. Should Your Company Use a Non-Compete for a Particular Employee? Depending on your company’s needs, it may not be necessary for you to utilize a non-compete with each employee that you hire; rather, you may only want to do so with employees that have access to confidential information or are heavily involved in company sales. It really all depends on the circumstances of that individual’s prospective employment. Consider the following: Is the employee the “face of the company” to customers? Does the employee know the company’s trade secrets and confidential information, or is his or her work more general in nature? Have you provided the employee with unique or special training or knowledge? How much competition does your company have? If you decide that you want to utilize a non-compete in your company’s future hirings, here are some things the agreement should include: The reason for the agreement. The date the agreement will begin. Specific timeframes and distances from which employment with a competitor is barred. Particular identification of the type of conduct prohibited and a clear definition of competing companies. An explanation of what the employee receives in exchange for entering the agreement (this is known as “consideration”), which, in Tennessee, can be something as simple as continued employment with the company. What Should the Limitations Be? If you do decide to use a non-compete, you then need to consider what constitutes a reasonable limitation to impose on the employee after his or her employment ends. Example Limitations: One year and a 50-mile radius restriction. Two years and a 25-mile radius restriction. The breadth of the geographical and time limitations that you select will ultimately depend on the nature of the employee’s employment and the competition that your company faces. If your startup or business has questions about whether to utilize non-compete agreements, or whether your proposed restrictions are appropriate, our team is happy to help you navigate these decisions based on your unique situation....
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