How to Take Action Against the Breach of an Employee Noncompete Agreement
Draft a demand letter to your former employee., Mail the demand letter to your former employee., Consider sending a similar letter to the new employer., Evaluate the response.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Draft a demand letter to your former employee.
If you have an attorney who assisted you in drafting the noncompete agreement, you may want to reach out to them about the issue so they can draft a cease and desist letter with teeth.If you don't want to involve an attorney at this stage, you can certainly draft a letter yourself – although it may not have the same impact as one drafted by an attorney.
Include a summary of the restrictions that bind the behavior or actions of the former employee, and include a copy of the signed noncompete agreement.
Write out the facts that have led you to believe that your former employee has breached the agreement.
Describe specifically the harm you and your business may suffer as a result of a breach of the agreement, and explain that was the point of the agreement in the first place.
Demand specific actions from your former employee, including written assurances that they are not violating the agreement or to stop any actions that would constitute a breach of that agreement.
Give your former employee a deadline to respond to your letter from the date of receipt – typically a week to 20 days should be enough time. -
Step 2: Mail the demand letter to your former employee.
Make a copy of the letter for your records before you send it off, then mail it using certified mail with returned receipt requested so you know when your former employee gets it.When you get the green returned receipt card back, mark the date of the deadline you gave your former employee to respond.
At this point, you may want to consult an attorney if you haven't already to start planning your next steps if your former employee is non-responsive or outright refuses to meet your demands. , Keep in mind that the new employer may not know that your former employee signed a noncompete agreement.
Letting them know what's going on may help resolve the situation.Introduce yourself as the former employer of the person they just hired, and explain that the person signed a noncompete agreement with you.
Describe briefly how the person's employment with you potentially constitutes a breach of the noncompete agreement.
You may want to attach a copy for reference.
List the facts that have led you to believe your former employee is breaching the noncompete agreement.
Ask the new employer for assistance in stopping the breach of the agreement.
Ask them to contact you within a week to 10 days of receipt of your letter.
Like the letter to your former employee, you should make a copy of this letter for your records and then mail it using certified mail with returned receipt requested so you know when it is received.
Keep in mind that it is against the law to defame your former employee or interfere with the relationship between your former employee and their new employer, so this letter must be written carefully.
If you have any doubts as to whether a statement would be improper, simply leave it out. , You should receive some sort or response – from your former employee, their new employer, or both – by the deadline you set in your demand letter.
If they agree to capitulate to your demands, that could be the end of the situation.However, even if your former employee agrees to do all the things you set forth in your demand letter, that doesn't mean you shouldn't continue to monitor the situation.
If you receive a phone call from your former employee in which they agree to cease any activity that might constitute a breach of the noncompete agreement, you still need to get that in writing.
Send your former employee a letter confirming the conversation.
Keep in mind that if you believe that simply the act of taking the job with the other company constituted a breach of the former employee's noncompete agreement, that employee is not likely to go down quietly.
You shouldn't expect someone to quit a job they just started.
In that situation, you still may be able to work out a compromise with your former employee without taking them to court.
Offer to meet with them and their new employer to figure out what compromise can be reached that will protect your interests while still allowing them to keep their job. -
Step 3: Consider sending a similar letter to the new employer.
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Step 4: Evaluate the response.
Detailed Guide
If you have an attorney who assisted you in drafting the noncompete agreement, you may want to reach out to them about the issue so they can draft a cease and desist letter with teeth.If you don't want to involve an attorney at this stage, you can certainly draft a letter yourself – although it may not have the same impact as one drafted by an attorney.
Include a summary of the restrictions that bind the behavior or actions of the former employee, and include a copy of the signed noncompete agreement.
Write out the facts that have led you to believe that your former employee has breached the agreement.
Describe specifically the harm you and your business may suffer as a result of a breach of the agreement, and explain that was the point of the agreement in the first place.
Demand specific actions from your former employee, including written assurances that they are not violating the agreement or to stop any actions that would constitute a breach of that agreement.
Give your former employee a deadline to respond to your letter from the date of receipt – typically a week to 20 days should be enough time.
Make a copy of the letter for your records before you send it off, then mail it using certified mail with returned receipt requested so you know when your former employee gets it.When you get the green returned receipt card back, mark the date of the deadline you gave your former employee to respond.
At this point, you may want to consult an attorney if you haven't already to start planning your next steps if your former employee is non-responsive or outright refuses to meet your demands. , Keep in mind that the new employer may not know that your former employee signed a noncompete agreement.
Letting them know what's going on may help resolve the situation.Introduce yourself as the former employer of the person they just hired, and explain that the person signed a noncompete agreement with you.
Describe briefly how the person's employment with you potentially constitutes a breach of the noncompete agreement.
You may want to attach a copy for reference.
List the facts that have led you to believe your former employee is breaching the noncompete agreement.
Ask the new employer for assistance in stopping the breach of the agreement.
Ask them to contact you within a week to 10 days of receipt of your letter.
Like the letter to your former employee, you should make a copy of this letter for your records and then mail it using certified mail with returned receipt requested so you know when it is received.
Keep in mind that it is against the law to defame your former employee or interfere with the relationship between your former employee and their new employer, so this letter must be written carefully.
If you have any doubts as to whether a statement would be improper, simply leave it out. , You should receive some sort or response – from your former employee, their new employer, or both – by the deadline you set in your demand letter.
If they agree to capitulate to your demands, that could be the end of the situation.However, even if your former employee agrees to do all the things you set forth in your demand letter, that doesn't mean you shouldn't continue to monitor the situation.
If you receive a phone call from your former employee in which they agree to cease any activity that might constitute a breach of the noncompete agreement, you still need to get that in writing.
Send your former employee a letter confirming the conversation.
Keep in mind that if you believe that simply the act of taking the job with the other company constituted a breach of the former employee's noncompete agreement, that employee is not likely to go down quietly.
You shouldn't expect someone to quit a job they just started.
In that situation, you still may be able to work out a compromise with your former employee without taking them to court.
Offer to meet with them and their new employer to figure out what compromise can be reached that will protect your interests while still allowing them to keep their job.
About the Author
Virginia Mitchell
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow creative arts tutorials.
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