Recently in the White Plains, NY area, we have had a number of employers come to us after being sued by another company. The clients company has a new employee who previously signed a non compete agreement with it’s former employer and the question becomes whether that employee can be precluded from working for me or my company and whether my company is going to be subject to any kind of damages? We caution people that non-compete agreements are construed differently by different courts and we have had situations in our law office where the same non-compete agreement has been construed differently in one county from another. We caution employers when you are hiring an employee to ask if they have signed any agreement with their former employer and if so, we urge the company that we are working with to look seriously at that agreement. We think consultation with an attorney is best, but the answer is depending on the facts. In certain circumstances, an employee can be enjoined from working for a new company and in certain circumstances if the employee continues to work for that new company, that new company may be liable in damages or certainly to an injunction.
This informational blog post was provided by Jane Gould, an experienced White Plains, New York Employment Lawyer.
