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Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold

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  • 01-06-2017, 09:45 AM
    tim2016
    Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Illinois

    1. I signed non-compete agreement with my company about 9 years ago, possibly with the parent company. Later the parent company sold the child company to another company. I am still with the child company. Am I still bound by the non-compete agreement?
    2. I have been thinking about job switching recently. When I asked HR to produce a copy of the document, they told me that they don’t have it. I have their saying in email for proof. Does it mean I am not bound by the non-compete agreement anymore or can they come after me later?
    3. I would certainly prefer to get the copy of non-compete agreement I signed. If the company is withholding the document from me, how will I be able to get it? BTW, is it legal for the company to withhold my signed document?

    Thanks so much for your help!
  • 01-06-2017, 10:37 AM
    hr for me
    Re: Non-Compete Agreement
    on this one, I would suggest speaking with a local employment attorney. NCAs are definitely state specific and with the sale plus them not having a copy, that might change things. However, it is possible they could get one from the parent company if pushed. And it is possible the NCA had wording for successor owners. And it is possible that it got lost in the sale or became obsolete in the sale. It's very hard to know without seeing the document...just too many possibilities.
  • 01-06-2017, 03:40 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    You may ask your employer for the opportunity to review your file under 820 ILCS 40/0.01, et seq. It does not apply to very small employers, but it doesn't sound like your employer is apt to fall under that exception.

    If they have lost the document, beyond whatever terms you admit, they are going to have a difficult time proving its terms in order to attempt to enforce it.
  • 01-06-2017, 03:45 PM
    tim2016
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    Thanks for the replies! I will certainly find an attorney to help me retrieve the document from the company. It would be risky to take on some job offer without having a full understand what I have signed. Our company is not a small one. I would be really surprised to see they lose the document. However, they did surprise me by possibly withholding the document from me. Well, maybe that means I am valuable to them.
  • 01-07-2017, 07:07 PM
    Lovingfatherof2
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    Wait a minute. You want to get a job somewhere else and quit your current job?

    If that's the case then a non compete contract isnt for that. It's to stop you from working for another company at the same time that does the same thing your current company does.
  • 01-07-2017, 07:21 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    Quote:

    Quoting Lovingfatherof2
    View Post
    Wait a minute. You want to get a job somewhere else and quit your current job?

    If that's the case then a non compete contract isnt for that. It's to stop you from working for another company at the same time that does the same thing your current company does.

    No, that's not right. What noncompete agreements do is prevent the employee from going to work for a competitor or starting his own business in competition with the employer, not only during the time the employee is working for the employer but typically for some time after the employment ends, too. One to two years is typical for a lot of noncompete agreements. So it could very well apply to what the OP wants to do.
  • 01-08-2017, 12:16 PM
    tim2016
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    I did email HR to request all documents signed by me. However there is no "non-compete agreement" among the ones provided. It seems that my employer is withholding the non-compete agreement from me. Even I want to switch job, I don't know which company I can switch too. This is really frustrating. Do I have to go through an attorney to request the signed document or can I do it by myself? Based on the above comment from Mr. Knowitall, they must provide the document to me by law. Anyone has experience on that here?

    Thanks!
  • 01-08-2017, 12:25 PM
    llworking
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    Quote:

    Quoting tim2016
    View Post
    I did email HR to request all documents signed by me. However there is no "non-compete agreement" among the ones provided. It seems that my employer is withholding the non-compete agreement from me. Even I want to switch job, I don't know which company I can switch too. This is really frustrating. Do I have to go through an attorney to request the signed document or can I do it by myself? Based on the above comment from Mr. Knowitall, they must provide the document to me by law. Anyone has experience on that here?

    Thanks!

    Are you 100% certain that you signed a non-compete? If you are, then I think that its very unlikely that they are withholding the non-compete from you. I think that its more likely that it has been lost in the shuffle of changing ownership. They have no logical motive for hiding it from you.
  • 01-08-2017, 05:07 PM
    hr for me
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    Agree with llworking, I really can't see a good motive to withhold it from you especially in view of the IL employment records law posted above. Instead they would want to give it to you to "hold" you there unless they want you to assume it had greater restrictions than it actually does. Them not giving is pretty much equal to you never signing one from their point of view.

    I'd ask for it in writing one more time and let them know that if you don't receive a copy within x business days that you will conclude that you never signed a NCA and will proceed under that knowledge. By reading the law posted above, it sounds like they have about 14 days to provide you with access. Section 4 states that if they don't provide it for you, they can't use it against you later in any judicial proceeding.
  • 01-10-2017, 02:32 PM
    tim2016
    Re: Is a Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable After the Company is Sold
    I have checked with several coworkers that worked on the same projects. All of them remembered that we signed some confidentiality agreement or non-competition agreement. Therefore, I submitted my request to HR for a copy of the documents that I signed. Somehow, HR produced nothing related to these documents. What should I do next? Do I have to hire an attorney to request these documents with the company HR? If so, will any of you recommend a good labor and employment attorney in Chicago?

    Thanks!
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