In general, non-compete obligations cannot prevent a person from working for a competitor. However, I leave it to the legal counsel to highlight the particularities of the non-compete obligation. Teresa regularly represents clients in the life sciences, technology, financial services, sports and entertainment sectors. He has resolved issues through pre-litigation, court proceedings and appeals, as well as alternative methods of dispute resolution. In particular, Teresa has helped companies achieve very favorable results in high-stakes litigation over the protection of trade secrets or the enforcement of agreements with employees. Depending on your agreement, you may not be required to notify your former employer of your new job. However, if your agreement explicitly requires a notification, run it. As with your new business, do so in writing and assure them that their confidential information will be protected in accordance with your agreement. By the way, California`s non-compete waiver is often cited as one of the reasons why Silicon Valley became such a dominant center of rapid technological development in the `70s and `80s. People could use what they learned in a business, quit, start their own business, and innovate without fear of endless lawsuits. I have signed a non-compete obligation that prevents me from accepting a position in a similar or similar company for a period of one year after my employment.

Although not a year has passed, I have conditionally accepted an offer from a company that operates in the same sector. The new company offers only one area of activity that my old company does not offer. Would that violate my non-compete obligation? On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed the Executive Order to Promote Competition in the U.S. Economy (“Order”). As Covington has already pointed out, the contract covers a number of competition issues. The order, which is particularly relevant to non-compete obligations between employers and employees, encourages the FTC to use its rule-making legislative power “to restrict the unfair use of non-compete obligations and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly restrict worker mobility.” Executive Order, Section 5(g). While the FTC has yet to issue such rules, the order follows a 2020 FTC workshop on employer-employee non-compete obligations. It also comes shortly after the FTC announced a new updated rule-making group and rule-making procedures aimed at “reviving” rule-making power under Section 57a of the FTC. C of the United States and to “support the planning, development and enforcement of rules, in particular new sets of rules […]”. Potential future employers have a fairly strong non-competition clause in their employment contract. What does /sysadmin think? These recent developments suggest that the federal government will limit the use of employer-employee non-compete clauses. While a universal ban seems unlikely, the federal government can follow the state`s trend and ban non-compete clauses with low-wage workers or workers who don`t have access to the employer`s trade secrets.

Contractors and other employers whose employees only have access to customer relations and confidential (but not secret) information may be particularly affected by such restrictions. A non-compete obligation for employees should clearly state that its purpose is to protect an employer`s trade secrets and other confidential business information from misuse or disclosure. Companies that employ low-wage workers should exercise greater caution when drafting pacts so as not to compete with each other and consider the extent to which such commitments are necessary, if any. Even with significant restrictions on the use of these agreements, employers can protect their assets in other ways. For example, strict prohibitions on soliciting customers may be enforceable if broader non-compete obligations are unenforceable, and non-disclosure agreements for employees are generally enforceable if appropriately adapted. In addition to contractual restrictions on competition or solicitation, employers should maximize the protection of their trade secrets and other confidential information through practical safeguards such as improving privacy protections, training employees to protect company information, and consistently enforcing security and confidentiality policies. The Employee agrees that, during employment and for a period of one year from the last day of the Employee`s employment with the Employer, the Employee shall not be engaged in an employment, partnership, consultant, subcontractor or independent contractor relationship with (i) any competing legal entity or person in a geographic area in which the Employer operates; works or enters into an employment, partnership, consultant, subcontractor or independent contractor relationship, and/or (ii) any client of the employer in any location. Teresa`s practice also includes conducting workplace audits, drafting employment contracts and workplace policies, and advising companies on developments in labour law (including recent changes to non-compete obligations and regulations related to COVID-19).

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