Non-compete agreements are are commonly included in employment contracts, especially contracts for high-level executives. These agreements often require the employee to promise not to work for a competitor for a certain amount of time after leaving the company’s employment. They also usually require the employees to promise to protect the…
Covenant Not To Compete Enforceable or Not — Factors to Consider?: Reliable Fire Equip. Co. v. Arredondo (2011 IL 111871). “Non-Compete Agreements: Are they Iron Clad?” In Illinois, the standard for enforcing non-compete agreements has changed in recent years. Prior to a landmark decision in 2011, Illinois courts generally enforced…
“Can you leave a company, and take employees with you?” In InsureOne, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District upheld the trial court’s award of $7,670,210 in damages for alleged violations of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Plaintiffs InsureOne Independent Insurance Agency, American Agencies General Agency, Inc., and Affirmative Insurance…
Unemployment benefits were designed to help those who lose their job through no fault of their own. As a result, most employers don’t expect former workers who resign their position to receive unemployment benefits, but a Missouri appellate court recently ruled that, in some instances, an employee who resigns can…
Non-compete agreements have been in use in the top tiers of American companies for several years now. The idea is to protect the interests of the company by making sure that executives or other employees with trade secrets and confidential information don’t take those secrets to a competitor, where they…
Non-compete clauses have been included in employee contracts for decades now. These provisions ensure that employees do not walk off with valuable trade secrets or client lists and take them to a competitor. Putting such a clause in employee contracts makes sense, but only up to a point. A…
Non-disclosure agreements exist so that companies can safely have discussions about developing ideas of technology without worrying about one company stealing the trade secrets of another. However, the language involved in the non-disclosure agreement is crucial. The line between what information is confidential and what information is not confidential…
As this blog has discussed, non-compete agreements have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. However, they have also grown in severity in some companies, such that they frequently impose undue hardship on an employee’s search for future employment. As a result, courts in some states have grown increasingly unfavorable towards…
As the popularity of covenants not to compete increases, the competitive practices which are prohibited by those agreements also seem to grow. However, there are laws in place which ensure that covenants not to compete that are deemed too stringent cannot be upheld in a court of law. One of…
As of late, employers have been using non-compete provisions in their contracts with their employees with increasing frequency. A non-compete provision is part of a contract which prohibits a worker from going to work for a competitor of the employer after they leave the company’s employment. These provisions usually…