When a company hires and fires employees they may worry about the safety of their company’s trade secrets or client lists. The risk of an employee taking information can be very real. For employers who want to ensure their confidential information stays that way, establishing a non-compete agreement may be beneficial.
While many employers likely understand the value of a non-compete agreement, understanding how to go about creating one and which type of agreement to create can be challenging.
If a company operates in multiple states, it may seem efficient to create one non-compete agreement for all employees. However, as each state’s laws on non-compete agreements differ; it is not possible to create a single agreement for employees in a variety of states.
Some states’ non-compete agreements are more sympathetic with employees while others are more beneficial for employers. According to a Forbes article, Florida has “broad non-compete provisions” which can be beneficial for employers. However, this does not necessarily mean that every non-compete agreement will be enforced.
Since each state’s non-compete laws are different, it can be challenging to take one state’s non-compete agreement and apply it to workers in other states. So, just because an employer likes Florida’s non-compete agreement, this does not mean that he or she will be able to successfully apply the Florida non-compete agreement to a worker in Georgia or North Carolina, for instance.
To ensure that one’s company’s non-compete agreement states and enforces the exact laws one has in mind, creating a unique non-compete agreement may be the best option. Creating a non-compete agreement may be easier with the help of an attorney experienced in employment law.
Source: Forbes, “Employee non-compete agreements: One size doesn’t fit all,” Richard Tuschman, Feb. 18, 2013