Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Earlier this month McDonald’s announced suddenly that the board had voted to terminate CEO Steve Easterbrook due to a consensual relationship with another McDonald’s employee. The day after firing Easterbrook, McDonald’s outlined the terms of Easterbrook’s severance package in a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission. Easterbrook will receive 26 weeks of salary as severance, totaling at least $675,000 before benefits. In addition, he will be eligible for a prorated bonus if McDonald’s hits its performance targets for 2019.
The severance agreement also includes several restrictive covenants including a strict non-compete provision prohibiting Easterbrook from working for any fast-food competitor and at least two convenience store chains for the next two years. The agreement provides that:
“You acknowledge and agree that, in performing services for McDonald’s, you were placed in a position of trust with McDonald’s and that, because of the nature of the services provided by you to McDonald’s, Confidential Information will become engrained in you, so much so that you would inevitably or inadvertently disclose such information in the event you were to provide similar services to a competitor of McDonald’s.
“As such, you agree and covenant that for a period of two (2) years following your Termination Date: (a) you shall not either directly or indirectly, alone or in conjunction with any other party or entity, perform any services, work or consulting for one (1) or more Competitive Companies (as defined below) anywhere in the world; and (b) you shall not perform or provide, or assist any third party in performing or providing, Competitive Services anywhere in the world, whether directly or indirectly, as an employer, officer, director, owner, employee, partner or otherwise, of any person, entity, business, or enterprise.” Continue reading ›