This article was written by John H. Riordan, Jr. Of Counsel in Ogletree Deakins’ Pittsburgh Office.

In general, contracts “in restraint of trade” have been considered to be illegal. One exception under most state laws is the “Non-Compete Agreement,” wherein an employee agrees – typically upon being hired – not to compete with his/her employer

Non-competition, confidentiality, and non-solicitation agreements all are examples of restrictive covenants that are used to preclude an employee from taking certain proprietary information or customers and using it (or them) in a way that may adversely affect the individual’s previous employer. When a company determines that a former employee may be prepared to violate such