什么是竞业禁止协议？

竞业禁止条款或限制性契约是许多雇佣合同的标准条款。雇主通过确保离职员工在合理的时间和合理的地理距离内无法与他们竞争，来保护其商业机密和专有信息。

康涅狄格州采用五项测试来确定竞业禁止协议的可执行性，包括审查（i）时间限制的合理性、（ii）地理限制的合理性、（iii）对雇主的保护程度、（iv）是否不必要地限制了员工追求职业的能力，以及（v）干扰公众利益的程度。

Maya Murphy, PC 的就业律师在就业合同方面拥有丰富的经验，特别是在非竞争协议方面。在放弃您的权利之前，您应该咨询一位律师，他可以确保您不会受到阻碍，无法获得职业生计。

违约金

当限制性契约合同条款规定了固定金额的损害赔偿（有时以违约金的形式）时，就会出现问题。违约金是指合同双方在订立合同时商定的固定金额。违约金条款是否会被执行取决于是否实际遭受了损害。 因此，如果法院认定一方没有遭受任何损害，则不会执行违约金条款。

此外，如果法院裁定支付违约金将构成暴利条款，则该条款将不予执行。[3] 在康涅狄格州，法院采用三管齐下的测试来评估违约金条款是否为不可执行的罚款或暴利。如果出现以下情况，则该条款将被视为不可执行：(i) 违约预期造成的损失金额不确定或难以证明；(ii) 双方有意提前支付违约金；(iii) 约定的金额合理，与损失造成的损失金额不成比例。

What is a Non-Compete Agreement?

A non-compete clause, or restrictive covenant, is a standard feature of many employment contracts.  Employers seek to protect their trade secrets and proprietary information by ensuring that employees who leave their employ are unable to compete with them for a reasonable time and within a reasonable geographic distance.

Connecticut uses a five-prong test to determine the enforceability of a non-compete agreement, examining (i) the reasonableness of the time restriction, (ii) the reasonableness of the geographic restriction, (iii) the degree of protection afforded to the employer, (iv) whether it unnecessarily restricts the employee’s ability to pursue his career, and (v) the degree to which it interferes with the interests of the public.

The employment attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. have extensive experience in employment contracts and specifically, with non-compete agreements.  Before signing away your rights, you should consult with an advocate attorney who can make sure that you won’t be prevented from earning your professional livelihood.

Liquidated Damages

Issues arise where a restrictive covenant contract provision provides for a fixed sum of damages, sometimes in the form of liquidated damages. Liquidated damages refers to a fixed sum of money agreed upon by the contracting parties during the formation of the contract.  Whether or not a liquidated damages provision will be enforced depends on whether any damage has actually been sustained.Therefore, where a court finds that no damage has been sustained by a party, a liquidated damages clause will not be enforced.

Moreover, if the court determines that payment of the liquidated damages would represent a windfall provision, the clause will not be enforced. In Connecticut, courts employ a three-pronged test to evaluate whether a liquidated damages provision is an unenforceable penalty, or windfall.  Such a provision will be deemed unenforceable if: (i) the damage which was to be expected as a result of a breach of the contract was uncertain in amount or difficult to prove; (ii) there was an intent on the part of the parties to liquidate damages in advance; and (iii) the amount stipulated was reasonable and not greatly disproportionate to the amount of damage caused by the loss.

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