When I was hired there was no employee manual. Three months later, our employer instituted a manual with a non-compete clause. Does the employer have to offer the employee compensation of some sort because they are changing the terms of employment?

Ann Kiernan replies:

While there is no definitive case law in your state of New Jersey on this question, I suspect that the non-compete clause may not be enforceable. An appellate case from 25 years ago says that if a non-compete agreement is imposed after you start work, the company does not have to pay anything besides your continuing pay check. Hogan v. Bergen Brunswig Corp., 153 N.J. Super. 37, 43 (App. Div. 1977). But in April, 2003, the same court held that a non-compete agreement forced on a worker 4 years into her employment would violate public policy and be unenforceable unless the employee had access to trade secrets or other confidential or proprietary information. Maw v. Advanced Clinical Communications, Inc., 359 N.J. Super. 420, 435 (App. Div. 2003). The New Jersey Supreme Court has not spoken on the subject.

So, whether the non-compete clause is valid or not depends on whether you have access to information that the employer has a legal interest in protecting. Matters of general knowledge in the field, the knowledge, skills and abilities you bring to your job, or the skills and experience you develop on the job "are not worthy of protection through a non-competition agreement." Ibid.

Good luck!