RBS News

 - Are employee non-compete agreements enforceable?

 - This is a common question asked by many of our clients looking to protect their business interests.  In Ohio, where the agreement is competently drafted, the answer is a resounding YES!  Non-competition agreements, non-solicitation agreements and non-disclosure agreements, all of which are referred to as restrictive covenants, have been enforced by courts in various situations.

Generally, courts will enforce restrictive covenants when they are reasonable in geographic and temporal scope, but Ohio courts will even go so far as to reform such agreements when the scope is unreasonable.  For instance, if the court finds a restrictive covenant with a three year scope overly broad, it will reform the agreement and render the covenant enforceable for two years or a period of time which it deems appropriate.

Non-solicitation clauses that prevent an employee from soliciting customers or employees of their former employer are less restrictive and courts are even more apt to enforce such clauses.

While there are many non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements available online for free, there are many nuances to drafting an enforceable agreement and you should always have counsel review such agreements prior to issuing them to employees. Similarly, you should refrain from requiring all employees to sign a restrictive covenant agreement and instead focus upon those employees who have access to your company’s confidential information and/or client base. 

Should you have any questions regarding restrictive covenants or if you would like to discuss the use of such agreements to protect your business interests, please feel free to contact me at 216-447-1551.