NJ Non-Compete Agreements Lawyer

New Jersey Attorneys Protecting Employee Rights

Many employers have adopted proprietary methods, use custom software or teach their employees certain techniques or practices that they do not want to share with their competitors. To protect their commercial advantages, these employers may ask their employees to sign non-compete agreements. While non-compete agreements can protect an employer’s interests, they can also unjustly impinge on an employee’s right to seek other employment when they are overbroad and burdensome. If your employer asks you to sign a non-compete agreement or you are involved in a dispute over the enforceability of a non-compete agreement, you should speak to our attorneys at Pagliara Law Group. We frequently represent employees with non-compete agreement issues in New Jersey, and we will work diligently to help safeguard your interests.

Risks Associated with Signing Non-Compete Agreements

When employers ask their employees to sign a non-compete agreement, these contracts are usually drafted by company attorneys with only the employer’s interest in mind. Thus, they may restrict an employee from working in the same field or for a competitor in the same field. In many instances, a non-compete agreement will limit an employee’s activities for an extended amount of time or will restrict future employment from a wide geographic area after the employee separates from the employer. Sometimes, these contracts may prevent an employee from engaging in certain types of job activities for other entities while the employee is employed by the employer. As such, employees are often faced with the difficult decision of turning down or leaving a job due to disagreements over the terms of a non-compete agreement or being bound by an agreement that restricts the employee’s ability to find gainful employment in the same field in the future. As such, any employee presented with a non-compete agreement should speak with a lawyer to avoid unwittingly waiving important rights that impacts present and future employment prospects.

Enforceability of Non-Compete Agreements

Presently, New Jersey courts will assess the enforceability of a non-compete agreement on a case-by-case basis. A court will typically only enforce a non-compete agreement if it is reasonable under the circumstances. In other words, it must not present an undue hardship for the employee or harm a public interest while protecting the legitimate interests of the employer, such as maintaining the confidence of trade secrets, business information, and customer relationships.

Usually, a court considering the enforcement of a non-compete agreement will weigh the value of the employer’s interests in protecting its business information or processes against the hardships that such an agreement will pose for an employee trying to find other employment in the same field, as well as the burden imposed on the employee by the agreement as a whole. In some instances, the court will also consider whether the agreement violates public policy, such as when it potentially prevents scientific advances or people from rendering medical treatment.