Texas Law Non-Solicitation Agreements

13 avr Texas Law Non-Solicitation Agreements

It should not be otherwise if the non-invitation agreement is part of an employment contract. [2] Each article deals with some of the « vital statistics » of a non-compete clause: consideration, constraints (geography, time, scope), specific statutes (such as doctors) and interaction with cousins of a non-compete clause – non-solicitation of employees and non-demand from customers. Under Texas law, a provision prohibiting a person from requesting clients from a former employer is treated as a non-compete agreement. Therefore, these non-injunction agreements must meet the requirements that generally apply to non-compete obligations in order to be applicable. Many Texas companies have unseened agreements with their employees, but not all companies implement them. Some companies will sue outgoing employees for violating non-compete agreements, even thinking that such an agreement might not be valid under Texas law. Others will not care about the application, even if they have valid agreements. The fact is that the validity of a non-compete agreement is only one factor in a company`s decision to apply it or not. Therefore, if you are the lawyer representing the employee, don`t get too upset if the no-notice clause has no geographic restrictions. It could still be opposable, as written. And even if it is unenforceable, as written, the judge could still issue an injunction that imposes it to a more limited extent.

While the application of non-compete agreements remains strong across the country, the courts are taking a closer look at whether a worker will face « unreasonable difficulties » if his non-competition clause is applied. Therefore, employers should avoid taking inappropriate positions in court and be willing to explain why the application of a certain competition agreement does not prevent a worker from earning a living. This series of articles will examine several countries where I have attached or analyzed non-competition bans. The first article is about Texas – my home state. Texas is interesting in that it believes in free trade (the Texas Covenant Not to Compete Act literally prohibits non-competitors), but it also believes in business (the law therefore offers a huge refuge for such an agreement). Businesses have a strong interest in protecting their trade secrets. To do this, they often invite staff to sign non-competition agreements, also known as restrictive agreements. These agreements are designed to prevent a worker from leaving the company and creating a competing business on the street, to the knowledge of his former employer. Employers also often use non-invitations or non-incentive clauses in their non-compete agreements to prevent a former employee from soliciting clients or current workers from his or her former employer. With regard to the application of Texas legislation, non-invitation agreements are considered non-competition agreements, so the information we are debating here regarding the development and application of non-competition obligations also applies to non-invitations. The law in this area can be incredibly confusing and/or detailed, so this blog is only designed to give employers a very simple and general overview. We always recommend that employers use the assistance of a lawyer in the development or use of competition and/or non-demand agreements.

It should have been easy for the appeals court, right? As we have seen, the Texan non-competition clause applies to a non-invitation agreement and the statute expressly requires an appropriate geographical limitation.