Moreover, the scope of a non-competition agreement, even if supported by a valid consideration, must be proportionate. Some of them are inappropriate because the concept of restriction, geographic scope or scope of restricted activity is too broad. These include the impact of the non-competition agreement on the livelihoods of the person or business with reduced mobility. If a person is a seamstress and has been a tailor throughout his or her life, a non-compete clause, which generally limits that person`s ability to perform tailoring work, is probably invalidated, whereas if the same agreement limited the limitation to thieves alone, for example. B if the person is a tailor, the court will probably find that this scope is so limited that it is valid because it does not limit the tailor. The problem with non-competition agreements is that many companies are in the process of developing overly restrictive agreements that would never stop if challenged in court. These companies are trying to impose national restrictions for more than 10 years or more. So how do you know if you have developed a legally applicable non-competition agreement? During the 2014 trial, former Instant employees admitted that they had violated the non-invitation and non-recruitment provisions of their employment contracts, but argued that these provisions were inappropriate. They denied violating the confidentiality provision of the agreement. Patrick Keating, a business attorney in Chicago, said the case offered lessons for companies that want to impose similar agreements. “Employment agreements need to explain precisely what is so important in the information or relationships they are trying to protect,” he said. But he added: “These are very factual situations, so no matter how a restrictive agreement is drawn up, it will not be enforced if it tries to protect what cannot be protected. Several other Texas Supreme Court cases have improved the applicability of competition agreements that culminated in 2011 in the Marsh USA case.
In it, the court found that the employer`s thinking should not “raise” the need to limit competition in exchange for the employee`s promise not to compete. On the contrary, the review must be “proportionate” to the need to limit competition. Considerations such as confidential information, trade secrets and the need to protect the value may, in the right case, meet this standard. Similarly, in the technology industry and other technical occupations requiring specific skills, courts are likely to find flat-rate restrictions invalid. For graphic designers and web developers, the agreements that stipulate that a person cannot carry out graphic design or web development activities are too broad. However, it is more likely that the restriction on this person`s activity in certain areas of web development or graphic design (i.e. certain programming languages or target groups for graphic design clients in certain industries) is more valid. However, the Texas legislature has made an exception by allowing, in certain circumstances, the enforceability of non-competition agreements. [ JUMP TO: Click here to answer questions about setting me up to help with your Texas non-compete problem, and click here to read the real customer reviews.] Even if a non-compete clause is in effect under Texas law, this does not mean that an employer who complains about the application of the agreement automatically takes over.
An employee linked to a non-competition may have different defenses. The impure hands of the employer, for example, can be a defense against false relief. Or an employer seeking an injunction may not have suffered irreparable harm or have an appropriate remedy. The facts of each case must be carefully analysed. In general, non-competition obligations must be closely tailored to the needs of the coercive party and should not be overly restrictive so that the other party is not unreasonable.