It’s not uncommon for Texas employers to ask new workers to sign noncompete agreements at the time of hire. Although such agreements are legal, the way they are written controls as to whether they are enforceable. Furthermore, laws governing noncompete agreements may vary from state to state.
Employers require new hires to sign noncompete agreements in order to protect them from the employee signing on with a competitor or starting a competitive related business. These are contracts that may have limitations as far as geography and time are concerned. However, those same documents cannot prohibit employees from working in their chosen careers.
Employees may question the enforceability of the agreements they have signed and may wonder whether they are legally binding. Courts have chosen to uphold or void noncompete agreements depending on the verbiage within. Sometimes, courts may decide to re-write some of the questionable or illegal clauses. However, courts tend not to change what has already been written.
Texas workers may not want to leave their noncompete agreements to chance. By the time employees review the agreements they have already signed, they may discover that they entered into agreements that are difficult, if not impossible, to abandon.
One way to stay protected against the future ramifications of a noncompete agreement is to ask an attorney to review documents before signing them. An experienced lawyer might be able to explain the details of a document. Choosing not to have attorney review may result in dire consequences, such as being prohibited to work in one’s current profession.
