Are non-solicitation agreements legal in Texas? 05-07-03

Can an employer make you sign a 'non-recruiting statement' upon your leaving the company? If so, what would be a normal length of time and what can he do if you don't sign? From Texas...Thanks

Ann Kiernan replies:

Dear Tex:

The Texas courts will enforce restrictive covenants, which include non-competition and non-solicitation/non-hiring agreements, as long as they are reasonable and balance the employer's legitimate interest in protecting its business and the employee's right to earn a living . The courts can issue injunctions enforcing the agreements, and make the losing employee pay the employer's legal fees in most cases.

There is no precise formula for determining how long such a covenant should last, but the Texas Supreme Court said that:

"The restrictive covenant must bear some relation to the activities of the employee and must not restrain his activities into a territory into which his former work has not taken him or given him the opportunity to enjoy undue advantages in later competition with his former employer."

Peat Marwick Main & Co. v. Haass, 818 S.W. 2d 381, 387 (Tex. 1991)

Enforceability of non-solicitation agreements and other kinds of post-employment restrictive covenants varies greatly from state to state. Louisiana and California forbid them almost entirely, for example Readers in other states should be sure to check with a local lawyer.

Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.