Non-compete agreements are frequently a requirement for employment by employers. Since they frequently have little choice but to sign the agreement or find another work, it is understandable that employees sign them without first speaking with an attorney. Employers frequently use this unjust power dynamic to place onerous limitations on their workers after their employment has ended. Even when an employee is dismissed or laid off, non-compete clauses are still enforceable. People who are unemployed and need to find a method to continue their job and support their families are severely harmed by non-compete agreements. Contact a non-competition agreement lawyer Charlotte NC
Since your employer is aware that you cannot just go and work for the opposition, these agreements also reduce your prospects of earning proper remuneration for your job.
Agreements Against Competition in North Carolina
The damage is recognized by the courts, who have rigorous guidelines before enforcing these agreements. Non-compete agreements must be reasonable in terms of the tasks and jobs they forbid, the region they cover, and the period of time the employee must adhere to them following the termination of their prior employment. In other states, judges frequently modify non-compete agreements to make them fairer.
Agreements prohibiting solicitation
The courts pay particular attention to any agreements that forbid you from getting in touch with past clients or potential clients of your previous employer. These contracts need to typically only be made with clients you interacted with while working there. Many contracts forbid workers from speaking with their previous employers’ clients. These agreements are frequently unenforceable and overly broad.
Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are very fact-specific, so if you choose whether to sign a new one or break the terms of an existing one, you should get in touch for a personal consultation.
Commerce Secrets
Many firms attempt to unfairly block you from working elsewhere by claiming that everything is a trade secret. However, what constitutes a trade secret is subject to tight legal rules. In accordance with North Carolina law, a “trade secret” is any piece of commercial or technical knowledge, such as a formula, pattern, program, gadget, collection of information, method, technique, or procedure that:
- Derivatives that have independent actual or potential commercial value include those that are not widely known or easily ascertainable through independent development or reverse engineering by individuals who can profit economically from their disclosure or use; and
- Those that are the target of reasonable efforts to maintain their secrecy under the circumstances.
