Protecting Your Business: What You Need to Know About Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation And Confidentiality Agreements

Your business wants to recruit talent. The only problem: so does your competition. In a recent poll, over 60% of responding employees said they had worked for two or more companies in the past five years. Almost 9% had worked for at least five employers.  Employees move around.  Unless your business is protected, when your employees go, they can take your former clients and use their knowledge of your confidential information, such as your profit margins, to outsell you.

Hire an experienced, skilled attorney to draft non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements for your employees’ signatures.  In Pennsylvania, the agreements have to be “reasonable” in scope and geography.  The restrictions imposed by them must be “reasonably necessary” for the employer’s protection.  The agreements have to be signed “incident to employment.”  The meaning of each of these factors depends on the context in which your agreement is drafted.  Look for a knowledgeable attorney who knows how to draft the agreements to make them most likely to be upheld.

Also, consult the attorney about setting up procedures to safeguard your company’s confidential information.  Courts recognize certain safeguards employers may use to protect their data.  When we are talking about protecting your customer lists, profit margins, secret processes and procedures, you want to make sure you protect them in ways courts recognize as meaningful.

With the right lawyer, you can minimize the chance your employees will take your customers and proprietary information.  You can focus on obtaining talent, and growing your business.