A covenant not to compete usually implies that a Washington employee makes an agreement not to work for any of their employer's competitors should they leave the company for any reason. These covenants are typically called "non-compete clauses". Employees who sign them can either receive compensation or simply be required to agree as a condition for their employment.

When are Covenants not to Compete Unenforceable?

It is difficult to discern whether a judge will enforce a given non-compete agreement. Even if the employee's interests may be significant Washington courts will certainly assign great weight to a person's freedom to choose the type of employment that is suitable for them. Accordingly, only those covenants which are deemed to be reasonable will be upheld by the court. Those agreements that courts have seen to be unreasonable include those that last for an prolonged period of time or cover geographic areas around East Wenatchee that are unreasonably large.

The agreements must also deal only with those competitors whose line of employment is reasonably related to the previous employer's. Lastly, an employer is required to have a legitimate business reason in its motivation for imposing a covenant not to compete on an employee.

Do I Need an Attorney when Dealing with a Covenant not to Compete?

Before signing anything that may restrict your rights, you might want to hire an East Wenatchee, Washington attorney to review the contract. A lawyer can then negotiate to modify the covenant as needed, or might even draft a new one that is acceptable to both parties Employers can receive useful advice from an attorney should they decide to sue a worker for breaching a covenant, and employees who have signed such covenants can also benefit from a lawyer's counseling.