违反竞业禁止协议
竞业禁止协议的商业目的是防止前雇员抢走客户或其他雇员。通过签署竞业禁止协议，雇员同意在雇佣关系结束后的一段时间内不创办竞争性企业或为竞争性企业工作。与任何合同一样，竞业禁止协议必须考虑约束力。当雇员开始工作时，该考虑就是工作。如果要求雇员在工作开始后签署竞业禁止协议，则必须提供“新的和有价值的”考虑。这可以包括加薪、晋升、所有权或从兼职变为全职。一个人受雇后的考虑因州而异。
除出售企业外，如果竞业禁止协议的期限少于两年，且地域范围仅限于会影响雇主业务的地区，法院更有可能执行该协议。员工还应该已经转投真正的竞争对手，或者通过在同一领域创办新企业成为直接竞争对手。
在审理竞业禁止协议诉讼时，法院一般关注前雇员的两种潜在风险：
干扰与客户、员工和供应商的关系
商业秘密和其他机密商业信息的使用
雇主可以寻求禁令救济。如果禁令救济失败，雇主还可以寻求补偿性赔偿。在非竞争案件中，利润损失的金钱赔偿有时很难证明。需要经济学家、法务会计师或经验丰富的企业估值师来量化损失并证明因果关系。可以通过前后分析以及记录销售历史、可避免的成本和费用来证明因果关系。因错失的商业机会而提出的损害赔偿要求必须表明，如果没有前雇员的不当行为，客户会与雇主做生意。
非竞争协议通常包括违约金条款。这些条款避免了雇主证明实际损失程度的需要。雇主只需证明违反协议即可。要具有可执行性，违约金必须代表“合理的损失预测”，并且相对于签订合同时预期的损失，数额不应过高。
The business purpose of a non-competition agreement is to prevent a former employee from taking customers or other employees. By signing a non-competition agreement, an employee agrees not to start a competing business or work for a competing business for a period of time after employment ends. Like any contract, a non-competition agreement must give consideration to be binding. When an employee begins employment, that consideration is a job. If an employee is asked to sign a non-compete after a job commences, “new and valuable” consideration must be provided. This can include a salary increase, a promotion, ownership, or a change from part-time to full-time employment. What qualifies as consideration after a person is employed varies by state.
Except for the sale of a business, courts are more likely to enforce non-competition agreements when the duration is under two years and the geographical coverage is limited to an area that would affect the employer’s business. The employee should have also moved to a true competitor or become a direct competitor by starting a new business in the same field.
When litigating a non-competition agreement, courts generally focus on two potential risks from a former employee:
Interference with relationships with customers, employees and vendors
Use of trade secrets and other confidential business information
Employers can seek injunctive relief. If injunctive relief fails, employers can also seek compensatory damages. Money damages for lost profits are sometimes difficult to prove in non-competition cases. An economist, forensic accountant or experienced business valuator is needed to quantify damages and show causation. Causation can be shown by a before-and-after analysis and by documenting sales history, avoidable costs and expenses. A damage claim for missed business opportunities must show that a customer would have done business with the employer absent the former employee’s misconduct.
Non-competition agreements often include liquidated damages provisions. These provisions avoid the need for the employer to prove the extent of actual damages. The employer must prove only a breach of the agreement. To be enforceable, liquidated damages must represent a “reasonable forecast of damages” and not be an excessive amount relative to the damages anticipated when the contract was signed.
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