The Lawfulness and Awfulness of Employee Non-Solicitation Agreements

By Kelby D. Fletcher | Related Practice: Employment

Kelby Fletcher authored "The Lawfulness and Awfulness of Employee Non-Solicitation Agreements," for the Washington State Bar Association's NW Lawyer September issue. 

A key feature of most post-employment restraints, many employment and severance agreements, and some settlement and release of employment claims agreements is a commitment by the departing employee not to solicit and hire the former employer’s employees for a stated period of time.

Such a commitment by a departing employee to the former employer can have these consequences:

• It may impede the employer’s other employees, XYZ, in terminating their employment at-will;
• It may hinder mobility of labor;
• It may restrain trade;
• It may have the effect of reducing wages.

How can all these things be lawful? The usual response is that these potential results are “reasonable” in the overall scheme of things. But are they? The Washington Constitution and state statutes may provide answers. To read the full article, "The Lawfulness and Awfulness of Employee Non-Solicitation Agreements" click here.