Restrictive Covenants: Non-Solicit
We are continuing our discussion of restrictive covenants this week with an overview of non-solicit provisions. In essence, a non-solicit provision prohibits a former employee from soliciting its former employer’s current, prior or prospective customers and/or employees for a specified period of time.
In general (it varies State by State), courts are more likely to enforce a non-solicit of employees or customers clause than a strict non-compete provision. The main factors that a court will look at include whether the non-solicit:
- provides adequate consideration for the employee’s agreement to this restrictive covenant;
- has a valid, protectable interest in having the non-solicit provisions enforced;
- imposes restrictions on the geographic scope, duration, and type of prohibited activities that are reasonably limited to protect the employer’s protectable interest; and
- allows the employee to earn a livelihood in their field of work.
The bottom line is that like a non-compete, the non-solicit provision typically must be fair and reasonable. If you have questions, please make sure you follow up with your professional business advisors.
Here are a few other things that may be of interest:
- Navigating the Impacts of the EU’s ESG Reporting Requirements on US-Based Companies (eisneramper.com) (06/07/23 – 12-1pm)
- Tax Cuts Ending: Prepare Now for the Great Expiration | Stambaugh Ness (05/24/23 – 2-3pm)
As always, please don’t hesitate to email myself (jsanders@mpl-law.com), Andy Miller (amiller@mpl-law.com), Christian Miller (cmiller@mpl-law.com), Erik Spurlin (espurlin@mpl-law.com), Brad Leber (bleber@mpl-law.com) or anyone in our office with questions or comments.
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