Page 2 - Rules of the Road-Non Compete Agreements

Many employers require employees, particularly key technical or sales

employees, to sign agreements not to compete with the employer for a certain

period of time after their employment ends (“non-compete” agreements or

“restrictive covenants”).

In Massachusetts, courts will enforce non-compete agreements only if they

are reasonable in time and geographic scope, supported by consideration, and only

to the extent necessary to protect a legitimate business interest. There is a lot

packed into that sentence.

First, what is a “legitimate business interest” that can be protected through a

non-compete agreement? This is one place where the words used by lawyers do not

have the same meaning you might give them in everyday language. For example,

you might consider it perfectly legitimate to want to keep your competitors from

employing someone you have invested a lot of time and money in training, but that

is not enough, even though it has practical and very real consequences for your

business. In the eyes of the law, to rise to the level of a “legitimate business

interest,” the harm you are trying to avoid must involve something more, such as

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