Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable? How Will it Impact Me if I Sign it?

YES! Non-Compete
Agreements are generally enforceable in New York. It is in essence a chess game between the
employer and employee and/or the employer and their competitors. Unfortunately,
many employees are pawns in the “game” and are harmed because they
are not educated on their rights and options.

Non-Compete provisions
can be found in a stand alone Non-Compete Agreement or within various
documents, including, among others: Employment
Agreements, Severance
Agreements,
Confidentiality Agreements, Relocation
Agreements,
Workplace Invention Agreements, Bonus Agreements, Deferred Compensation
Agreements, Retention
Agreements,
etc. .

A Non-Compete Agreement
is a legally binding
contract and should be reviewed
by an attorney prior to your signing the document. it may be presented at the
onset of your employment in your onboarding documents, during the tenure of
your employment or upon your voluntary or involuntary departure from
employment.

Employers may use a
Non-Compete Agreement to bind employees and to protect against their employees
going to work against them for their competitors.

Employers may have an
employee sign a Non-Solicitation Agreement. This can, in fact it often is, the
same as a Non-Compete Agreement.

Some employers require
all employees to sign a Non-Compete Agreement and some employers only have key
employees sign these documents.

Non-Compete
Agreements may
impact your ability to transition to a new job. You may be required to disclose
the terms of your Non-Compete to a potential new employer (even if the job is
not the same or similar) and this may prevent you from obtaining new
employment.

Any employees who receive a Non-Compete Agreement
should have the agreement
reviewed by an attorney prior to signing to determine if there are any terms
within the agreement that can be removed or negotiated.

Any employee departing from employment, voluntarily or
involuntarily. should have the agreement reviewed by an attorney prior
to making any transition to understand their rights and obligations and to
determine if the terms of the agreement apply to potential new employment
and/or if there is any room for renegotiation of the terms upon the employee’s
departure. A non-compete provision may effectively put the employee on the
bench for a period of time and impact your ability to obtain new viable
employment.

If you have received
or have already signed a Non-Compete Agreement or an agreement that contains a
non-solicitation or non-competition provision(s) contact Sheree
Donath to have your document
reviewed.