Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida
Hi,
I am considering a job offer from another company and I signed non-compete agreement with my current employer (COMPANY_A) which is worded like that:
"
Upon termination of employment, for whatever reason, Associates may not compete with COMPANY_A or its subsidiaries by soliciting any Associate for at least one year after leaving"
Does it mean I cannot work for Company_B at the same capacity as for company_A doing very similar work? Company_A head office is in Arkansas and Company_B office is in Florida.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Without reviewing the entire non-compete, it would not be wise to comment specifically on your situation. However, generally speaking, Florida courts do not like non-compete agreements, and read them very strictly. Based on the portion that you submitted, it looks like you are prohibited from soliciting any "Associate" of the company. Depending on the definition of associate it doesn't look like you are prohibited from working for the new company.
It is very difficult to enforce a non-compete which prohibits any type of work. You may want to consult with an attorney in person to review the entire agreement for you. It should not be very expensive to do that.
You would need a lawyer to look at the language of the non-compete, although under Florida law there are many arguments to be made to defend against enforcement of a non-compete agreement, check out my articles on my employee rights blog www.takethisjobnshoveitblog.com or my website www.behrenlaw.com. Thanks.