Your employment contracts are your first line of protection against misconduct by and claims from your employees. What you include in your contracts will play a major role in how much damage one person can do while they work for your business or after they leave.
Restricted covenants are among the more popular inclusions in employment contracts. These clauses or separate agreements impose limitations on what someone can do even after they no longer work for your company. The most well-known may be the non-compete agreement, which prevents someone from working for a competitor or starting a competing company after they leave.
Can you enforce restrictive covenants in Georgia?
There are three kinds of restrictive covenants frequently included in employment contracts, and you can include any of them in your contracts with the expectation that the courts will uphold them. Georgia law allows for the enforcement of restrictive covenants. If you discover that a former employee has leaked your trade secrets, gone to work for a competitor or attempted to solicit your clients for business, you can potentially take them to court.
A non-compete agreement will hold up in court if it is necessary for the protection of the employer and has appropriate limitations on how long the company can enforce it. Non-disclosure agreements and non-solicitation agreements are also enforceable. You could either hold your former employee accountable for the damages they caused your company or pursue an injunction to prevent them from engaging in unfair competition against your company.
Including restrictive covenants in your employment contracts can help prevent your current employees from competing with your company later and using information or connections acquired while they worked for you.
