Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey

Re: non compete contract

It depends on what the contract says. My guess is that the contract is enforceable but that the exclusionary period begins to run when you ceased to be an employee and started to perform as an independent contractor. To give you a more accurate opinion, I would have to review the contract.

Even if the contract were to be otherwise enforceable, a defense may be possible if the change in employment circumstances caused the contract to fail of its essential purposes or if there is bad faith involved. Many chancery judges are reluctant to specifically enforce such employment restrictions from the start and they are even less so when jobs are scarce. Such a judge may bend over backward to find a reason not to enforce a non-compete provision in this economy.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm