There are only two reasons why a Maryland employer can ask an employee to sign a non-compete clause. These two interests are the same: the courts also require that a non-competition clause be appropriate with regard to the geographical scope within which it prevents a former worker from competing with his former employer. As with the permanent statute of limitations, Maryland courts assess whether the former worker`s geographic restriction is appropriate to determine whether the non-compete clause is applicable. There are non-competition rules to avoid these situations. But they are not always opposable and if they are, certain elements must be present. Any employee who is considering either applying a non-competition clause or taking measures that may conflict with a non-competition clause already concluded must be provided with legal advice. As explained above, the inability of a staff member to seek the assistance of a lawyer in a timely manner can have disastrous financial consequences for the employee. At the law firm J.W. Stafford, L.L.C., our labor lawyers in Maryland often advise clients at different stages of non-compete rule management. If you need non-competition advice or legal representation to challenge the non-competition clause, please feel free to contact us via our website or call us at 410-514-6099 to arrange a consultation so that we can analyse your needs and develop a comprehensive strategy for you. In Maryland, a job offer is enough to tie it to a non-compete agreement. If an existing worker is subject to a non-competition clause, the employer may provide compensation in the form of a promise of substantial job preservation. The employer could also provide another type of benefit, for example.
B a cash payment. This would probably be the case for a recently dismissed employee who is invited to sign a non-competition agreement. Sounds unfair, doesn`t it? This is the situation that lawyers and legislators have imagined when it comes to non-competition, contractual limits that prohibit workers from unfairly passing on to a direct competitor the information and skills they have learned in the workplace. The Obama administration has weighed up non-compete rules. In 2016, the Obama White House released a report on competition bans in the labor relationship, concluding that the agreements “can impose considerable costs on workers, consumers, and the economy in general.” This type of provision can have serious consequences for employees who may not even have been aware of the particularities of this clause. . . .