Fifield Continues to Evolve

All Illinois employers who utilize or are thinking of utilizing non-competes for their employees should keep current on the trends in this area. For higher salary and professional employees, the do’s and don’ts are mostly prescribed by Illinois precedent, i.e. court decisions. The recent case of Axion RMS, Ltd. Vs. Michael Booth, had some interesting findings as of March, 2019:

1. Continued employment for two years or more constitutes adequate consideration to enforce a restrictive covenant.
2. A fact-specific approach, sometimes referred to as a “totality of the circumstances” test, for a non-compete will not apply in the case where no other consideration, other than continued employment, was given to the employee.
3. Monies paid specifically for a non-compete, or perhaps job promotions, may constitute adequate consideration, thus allowing the court to examine the “totality of the circumstances.”

If non-competes are an important part of your employment relationships, attention must be paid to the changing parameters of Illinois caselaw.