Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Can a former employee breach a nonsolicitation agreement by posting his new job on his Facebook page or inviting former colleagues to connect with him on LinkedIn? It turns out that it depends on the nature of the communication. An Illinois appellate court recently considered the role social media plays in the world of corporate non-compete agreements.
Gregory G. was a branch sales manager in the Warwick, Rhode Island, office of Bankers Life, an Illinois company that sells insurance and financial products to seniors. In 2006 Gregory signed a non-compete agreement that barred him from soliciting any employee or client of that office for two years after his employment ended. Gregory left Bankers Life in 2015 and later joined its competitor, American Senior Benefits LLC, as a senior vice president.
In a breach of contract complaint, Bankers Life alleged that Gregory attempted to recruit employees from its Warwick office by sending LinkedIn invitations to three former co-workers, who would be able to see a job posting for his new employer on his LinkedIn profile page. Continue reading ›