Law Commons^™

Involuntary Servitude: The Current Enforcement Of Employee Covenants Not To Compete – A Proposal For Reform, Phillip J. Closius, Henry M. Schaffer

All Faculty Scholarship

A covenant not to compete is a contractual restriction upon an individual's ability to compete with another person or entity following the termination of some transaction or relationship between the two. Because of the increasing emphasis in the American economy on technically skilled employees and service oriented businesses, the covenant not to compete has become a standard addition to employment contracts. Moreover, the number of litigated and reported cases may represent only a small percentage of the actual number of employment restrictions currently in force. Regardless of their validity and enforceability, covenants not to compete chill the free movement of …