The employer's breach of the parties' employment relationship or unclean hands can serve as a defense to defeat a covenant not to compete or non-solicitation clause signed by the employee, even if that agreement is otherwise properly narrowly drafted and enforceable.
For employees who are not low-wage employees, under Illinois common law, non-competes are enforceable if the employer terminated employment in good faith and with good cause (Rao v. Rao, 718 F.
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission issued its long-awaited Final Non-Compete Clause Rule, which operates to ban most post-employment non-compete agreements between employers and their workers.
As a result, the rule, which was set to take effect on September 4, 2024, is void, and existing non-compete agreements remain enforceable under federal law.
Illinois courts generally disfavor non-competes as a restraint of trade. However, Illinois courts enforce non-compete agreements if they are: Reasonable. Supported by adequate consideration.
They could sue you for damages and attorney's fees if you do not prove you are not competing with their business and their agreement is overbroad.
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its final rule regarding non-compete clauses. The final rule bans most non-compete clauses between employers and their workers. The effective date of the final rule is September 4, 2024.
Non-compete agreements cannot be used if an employee earns less than $75,000 per year. (Note: this salary baseline increases in 2027 and in 5 year periods after that.) Non-solicitation agreements cannot be used if the employee earns less than $45,000 per year.
Under case law, non-competes will only be enforceable if they are no wider than reasonably necessary to protect a legitimate interest (e.g. protection of confidential information or customer contacts) and are not contrary to the public interest.