Hinch Law

A recent Illinois appellate court decision chimed in on an interesting twist on the enforcement of non-compete agreements and when social media activity might cross the line and pose a violation. In Bankers Life and Casualty Co. v. American Senior Benefits, LLC , Bankers Life sued several former employees who had left the company and joined a competitor, allegedly in violation of their non-compete agreements.  The appeal resulted from a summary judgment award in favor of one particular employee, who was a sales manager in a Rhode Island office of the company, and focuses primarily on that employee's situation. A non-compete agreement must be reasonable in its time and territory restrictions to be enforceable at law.  In this case, the non-compete agreement provided that the employee would not compete with the company for two years after termination, within the sales territory of the Rhode Island office. From the appellate court opinion's summary of the allegations, the c

Note:  This is the first in a new series of posts entitled "Ask a Lawyer," in which readers may submit questions to be considered for this page.  Please note that, as with any posts on this blog, the posts are educational in nature and do not constitute legal advice in the attorney/client sense.  Therefore, questions should be general in nature and not include any confidential information. Question:   Please generally explain the enforceability of Non-Compete agreements in Illinois. This question could justify a treatise, but I will do my best to provide a general, concise, though by necessity perhaps unhelpfully broad, answer.  For a more specific review of a particular Non-Compete agreement or provision in an employment contract, consult and retain an attorney.  I would be glad to talk with anyone who has specific questions about their situation.   A  "Covenant Not to Compete"  is a provision commonly used in an employment  agreement, that limits th