How Long Can a Pre-2018 Non Compete Restrict Me From Competing?
Understanding What is a Reasonable Time Restriction in Your Non CompetePrior to the Non Compete Act (i.e., before October 1, 2018), which limits the length of a non compete to one year, there was no bright-line limit to the amount of time you could be restricted from competition after employment.
There are still many people working in Massachusetts who signed their non-competes before October 1, 2018. This means the "old rules" are still important to understand, because those re the rules that will be applied to your non compete. Before the Non Compete Act, courts analyzed on a case by case basis what amount of time was reasonably necessary to protect the employer's legitimate business interest. For example, if a sales representative left a job where the average sales cycle was a year or more, a court might allow a two year non compete to protect the employer's good will in these longer term relationships. In contrast, in a higher volume, higher turnover business, there might be an argument that even a year is longer than necessary. Historically, Massachusetts courts typically would not enforce periods longer than two years, unless the non compete was signed in connection with the sale of a business. In most cases, a period of one year was considered reasonable. Learn more here about non compete agreements in Massachusetts. |
We're Here to Help.OR
|
Meet Our Employment and Non Compete Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, been interviewed by the Massachusetts Superlawyers magazine about non compete agreements, and written an op-ed in the New York Times about the dangers of non competes. Along with the rest of the slnlaw team, she has helped hundreds of clients navigate, negotiate, or defend against their non compete agreements.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped many clients understand and evaluate their non compete agreements and develop strategies for defending against non compete enforcement and negotiating resolution.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna works with employers to develop reasonable and enforceable employee agreements, including non competes. She has also helped employees understand and evaluate their non compete agreements and develop strategies for defending against non compete enforcement and negotiating resolution.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients both evaluate and negotiate their non compete agreements, and defended non compete claims in state and federal courts.
How We Can Help
We have years of experience helping employees understand, navigate and negotiate non compete agreements, representing people in non compete lawsuits in Massachusetts state and federal courts, and responding to cease and desist letters, and we would be happy to help. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team to learn more about how we can help, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
|
|
|
|
|
