Legal Question in Business Law in Georgia

Re: Employment law

That depends on the terms of the contract. You should have a business attorney in the state where the contractual law applies review the agreement and give you a comprehensive answer.

If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. My contact information is below. Thank you.

The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.

Re: Employment law

Usually, a non-compete provision will not take effect if the contract fell through prior to the employment beginning. But there are many factors to consider, other than just whether you actually began work for the employer.

You note that you did not receive any benefits from the employer. Did you receive any training or preparatory classes from the employer? Did the employer make any special arrangements on your behalf (e.g., contracted with a moving company to relocate you, even if you did not wind up moving because you decided not to take the job)? Make sure to mention any of these sorts of activities or facts if you speak with an attorney, as they may make a difference as to whether the non-compete clause sticks.

Non-compete provisions are generally set up to prevent employees from using information obtained while at the job (including how to do tasks, names of clients, trade-specific skill sets, etc.) against the employer who provided the information for a certain length of time--so that you can't work for the employer and then try to beat him at his own game by opening a shop next door the next week.

So when the exposure to information, clients, training, processes, etc. never occurred (because you never started your employment), the basis for the non-compete is typically null, and there is no basis for enforcement.

However, as Mr. Lyon mentioned in the prior response, the exact wording of your contract is important. To be safe, you should have an attorney look at the entire contract to make sure that you're in the clear.

All the best,

Marissa Bracke