How to Beat a New York Non Compete Agreement

Contact the experienced employment law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. today at (203) 221-3100 or JMaya@Mayalaw.com

New York Non compete agreements were once limited to high level company executives who had unique access to company procedures and secrets.  Over the past decade, however, New York companies have started to make most all employees sign non compete agreements.

Non compete agreements are now almost standard procedure at some New York companies. Recently, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the growing abuse of non compete agreements by employers.  As a result, non compete litigation is becoming more common.

1.  Argue that the New York Non Compete Agreement is Too Broad

To be enforced, a New York non compete agreement must be reasonable in terms of the time, activities and geographic scope.  The New York non compete agreement must be narrowly tailored to cover only your employer’s market.  If you employer, for example, only operates in New York but your agreement is national in scope, the clause could easily be struck down as over broad.  Or, if your employer only engages in a certain type of business the non compete agreement could be invalided or modified if it attempted to cover other areas of work.  Also, non compete agreements should not exceed a year and the time should depend on the nature of the industry.  A judge in New York, for example, found that a non compete agreement was too broad because market knowledge in that industry changed so fast that even a month was too long.

 2.  Establish that Your Employer Breached Your Employment Agreement

Your employer cannot enforce an agreement that it breached itself.  Assuming that your New York non compete was part of your employment agreement, you may be able to void the non compete clause if you can prove that your employer breached another part of the employment agreement.  For example, if your employment agreement provides for the payment of a bonus or severance payment and your employer failed to pay the bonus or severance amount you can establish that your employer cannot attempt to enforce a contract that it breached.

3.  New York Non Compete Agreements can be Challenged if You were Terminated Without Cause

In New York, courts often will not enforce a non compete agreement against and employee or executive who was fired without cause.  For more on this subject, see our prior post covering this issue in detail.

 4.  Establish that Your New Position Does Not Compete with Your former Employer

Non compete disputes are fact intensive.  Take a close look at your New York non compete agreement and determine if your new position puts you in direct competition your former employer.  For example, does your new position use different technology, service a different market or provide a different type of service?  Try to find a meaningful difference and this can be used to show that the exact terms of the non compete agreement are not being violated by your new job.

5.  Argue that no Legitimate Business Interest is at Stake

A New York non compete agreement is valid only if it protects trade secrets, customer lists or some other legitimate business interest.  Today, non compete agreements are often abused and used to cover positions that do not involve access to trade secrets or other sensitive information.   If you were not privy to sensitive company information, you can argue that the non compete agreement is unenforceable as an unreasonable restraint.

If you have any issues regarding noncompetes and would like to explore your employment law options, contact the experienced employment law attorneys today at 203-221-3100, or by email at JMaya@mayalaw.com. We have the experience and knowledge you need at this critical juncture. We serve clients in both New York and Connecticut including New Canaan, Bridgeport, White Plains, and Darien.

Source- http://ottingerlaw.com/blog/defeating-non-competition-agreements/