My employer has announced plans to retire and close the business. Am I still bound by agreement?

You have a whole pile of issues packed into your questions. First, you may have some free-stamding obligations under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act. Second, there would have be an analysis of the four corners of your non-compete. Third, we'd have to look at what "consideration" you rec'd for our signature on the non-compete. Fourth, there is the question of whether your employer even has a claim upon a protected interest in view of his intent to abandon the business in the relatively near future. Then there are some other factors (such as whether you have any equity interest at all, the extent that the customers are already dealing with your current customers and how common your product, service is. Finally, no matter how we analyze all of those things, some employers flinch in tacking on an employee subject to a non-compete anyhow.

As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts here and you need a lawyer to discuss your fact-specific situation and a few modern tools to deal with it.

Be proactive and get a strategy on this. Good Luck!

Tony Cameron
Quincy

posted by Anthony Cameron  |  Jan 31, 2015 2:48 PM [EST]